ICE contractor arrested for shooting protester in Aurora, Colorado

Immigration and Customs Enforcement has yet more blood on its hands.

An employee at an ICE detention facility in Aurora, Colorado, shot a protester Thursday evening, the Aurora Police Department shared in a written news release. The woman was hit in her lower body but is expected to survive.

The Incident

The suspected shooter is Brandon Booth, a 42-year-old who works for ICE contractor GEO Group. Moments before the violent incident, Booth and other facility employees were waiting in their cars on Nome Street, reportedly unable to enter the detention center due to an anti-ICE protest, according to local law enforcement.

Police say that two women broke off from the demonstration, verbally confronted Booth, took photos of his car, and walked away. But Booth wouldn't let them. Instead, he grabbed his pistol and fired a shot at the women, striking one in the lower body, according to the police report. He then hopped back into his car and drove away before he was caught by Aurora Police.

The department noted that additional officers found Booth in his car with his gun "a short distance away" after he fled the scene.

Charges Filed

Booth was booked on probable cause of:

• Attempted second-degree murder
• First-degree assault
• Attempted first-degree assault
• Felony menacing
• Unlawful carrying of a concealed weapon

Responses

In a statement to Colorado Public Media, a spokesperson for GEO Group acknowledged that one of its off-duty employees had been involved in a shooting. "This individual has been placed on unpaid administrative leave, and we will fully cooperate with law enforcement," the spokesperson said.

"This is a tragedy on all fronts, and the Aurora Police Department will investigate this incident with the same commitment to transparency and integrity as we do all shootings," said Aurora Chief of Police Todd Chamberlain. "We remain committed to ensuring an ethical, thorough, objective, and comprehensive review of this case. Violence of any kind will not be tolerated in Aurora. Constitutional rights are a pivotal part of a just society—violence is not."

Broader Context

The attack is the latest in a long string of domestic bloodshed by ICE and its contractors. Just this month, federal agents have shot and killed at least two people:

• Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, who was killed in Biddeford, Maine, despite having a valid work permit and Social Security number
• Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old Mexican father of three and a local small-business owner who was killed in Houston

There have now been 11 fatal shootings by ICE agents since Donald Trump returned to office and made mass deportations a cornerstone of his second-term agenda.

In January, federal agents shot and killed 37-year-old mother Renee Nicole Good and, days later, ICU nurse Alex Pretti. Both were U.S. citizens. Their deaths sparked national outrage and further exacerbated the local pandemonium in Minneapolis that started weeks prior with Trump's sudden decision to occupy the city with federal agents.

It's been over six months since their deaths, but still virtually nothing has come of the federal investigation into the extrajudicial killings. Instead, Washington has reportedly utilized its heft to stow critical evidence—such as Good's vehicle—away from the local and private detectives attempting to hold their killers accountable.

Editor's Pick: ICE Agent in Fatal Maine Shooting Has History of Terrifying Violence

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