Local groups holds protest against ICE after shootings

Published 7:54 am Monday, January 12, 2026

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Around 100 protesters with SOKY Solidarity, SOKY Indivisible and other local groups gather on East Eighth Avenue at The Fringe outside the downtown parking garage on Saturday evening, Jan. 10, 2026, to speak out against Immigration and Customs Enforcement as part of a nationwide wave of protests after Renee Nicole Good was shot on Wednesday by an ICE agent in Minneapolis. (GRACE McDOWELL / BOWLING GREEN DAILY NEWS)

Part of a nationwide wave of protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement sprung up in Bowling Green Saturday evening, after one person was killed and two more injured by ICE agents in two shootings last week.

The protest, put on by SOKY Solidarity, SOKY Indivisible and other local groups, comes after Renee Nicole Good was shot on Wednesday by an ICE agent in Minneapolis. The event led to demonstrations taking place there and in major cities across the United States.

“Renee was a human being, … a neighbor, a mother, a member of a community that deserved safety, dignity, and life,” protest organizer Ayla Jo Newton told the group. “Instead, she became another name added to a growing list of people killed by a government agency that claims to protect us while terrorizing our community.”

Another shooting took place last week in Portland, Oregon, when a man and woman were shot and wounded in a vehicle outside a hospital. Officials in both cities have called on ICE to suspend actions there while investigations into the shootings take place.

Bowling Green’s demonstration, attended by about 100, began at 6 p.m. on East Eighth Avenue at The Fringe outside the downtown parking garage. Protesters chanted Good’s name along with calls to defund ICE, as cold wind blew through the crowd and songs including Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth” played.

Several individuals spoke during the demonstration, including community organizers from across the state and candidates for office.

Polls

After the speakers finished, the group marched up College Street and around Fountain Square Park before passing by the Bowling Green Ballpark and ending back at the Fringe.

“I wasn’t expecting this big of a turnout, and I’m very happy,” Newton told the Daily News following the march. “With the shooting of Renee, that could have been any one of us.”

One attendee, Ashton Goldsberry, came to Bowling Green from Leitchfield to demonstrate and has been to several other protests recently.

She told the Daily News that she came down to show her support for the protest and summed up her thoughts.

“I just wish people would just see people as people,” she said. “That’s what America’s about — just let them be.”

About Jack Dobbs

Jack covers city government for the Daily News. Originally from Simpson County, he attended Western Kentucky University and graduated in 2022 with a degree in journalism.