Republican AG candidate Keith Faber defends ICE, saying protesters like Renee Good don’t have a right to interfere

Auditor of State Keith Faber, who is vying to become Ohio’s next attorney general, said Renee Good, the woman who was shot and killed after seemingly driving into a federal immigration officer earlier this month, did not have a right to interfere with law enforcement.

In an op-ed for The Columbus Dispatch, Faber wrote that American citizens and legal immigrants do not need to be afraid of the ICE officers, claiming that the reason why people are afraid of them is because of the mass media and Democratic politicians.

“ICE is not fomenting fear among citizens and legal immigrants. The political left is,” he wrote. “They describe law enforcement as lawless, claiming agents are ‘scooping up’ anyone of a certain race, accent, or appearance. That claim is not only false, but it’s also dangerous.”

Of Good, Faber said she “accelerated her vehicle into a law enforcement officer,” which resulted in the officer killing her.

“ICE is not the Gestapo. She did not have the right or any justification to interfere with law enforcement, and her death did not have to happen,” he wrote. “One would hope lessons would be learned-that we would understand the difference between peaceful protest and dangerous escalation.”

He added that Americans and legal immigrants should just follow the law, and they won’t have a problem with law enforcement.

“Ohio will not be governed by hysteria, viral videos, or pressure campaigns that excuse lawlessness,” he wrote. “We will be governed by the rule of law.”

In his response to Ohio.News, Democratic candidate for the state’s attorney general Elliot Forhan, who recently said that he will “kill” President Donald Trump if he gets the job, criticized Faber, saying that “the views expressed by Mr. Faber are no more than those of a simple Trump thug.”

“He does not believe in the truth or the rule of law. He asks Ohioans to disbelieve what they saw with their own eyes, that an ICE officer killed Renee Good without justification, shooting her twice in the face after he was clear of her vehicle,” he said.

Forhan also criticized Faber’s claim that ICE agents “were doing their jobs” in Minneapolis.

“Was the ICE officer who shot Alex Pretti 10 times just doing his job? No. ICE is not enforcing the law. They are breaking the law,” he said. “Mr. Faber is telling Ohioans that, if elected, he will let Trump get away with murder. Ohio voters should take Mr. Faber at his word.”

Forhan previously advocated for abolishing and prosecuting both ICE and the Department of Homeland Security.

Ohio.News also contacted another Democratic candidate for the attorney general job, John J. Kulewicz, to comment on Faber’s op-ed, but did not receive a response.

Ohio Democrats also criticized Faber’s recent op-ed, claiming that “no one who wants to be Ohio’s AG should defend the targeting and terrorization of our communities.”

“Keith Faber is running for the very job that would investigate an incident like this if it happened in Ohio,” Chairwoman of Ohio Democrats, Kathleen Clyde, wrote on X. “His rush to judgment is a callous and disqualifying display of why he should never be Ohio’s AG.”