Kansas

Kansas Citians hold vigil, protest for Renee Good to get ‘justice’ while demanding ICE reform

Published

2 months ago

January 11, 2026

Kansas Citians hold vigil, protest for Renee Good to get ‘justice’ while demanding ICE reform

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – Large protests were organized across the country calling for justice for Renee Good, including in Kansas City, where Good lived before her move to Minneapolis.

Because Renee Good once called Kansas City home, locals still consider her one of their neighbors. They want her death to be a turning point in how ICE works.

The gathering began with a vigil as roughly 1,000 protesters honored Renee Good and everyone else who has died in ICE custody or encounters. Reports show that since President Trump took office again, more than 30 people have lost their lives in that category, marking 2025 the deadliest year for the agency in over 20 years.

Hundreds gathered in Kansas City to protest after multiple federal shootings were reported, including the fatal shooting of former community member Renee Good.(KCTV5/Alex Love)

Speakers call for reform

“The killing of Renee Good reminded this country of a hard truth: this system doesn’t just harm immigrants,” one speaker during the vigil said. “It harms the soul of our communities.”

In attendance was Bradford Bray, an Iraq War veteran who served in the Air Force and Navy from 1995-2005. He said he is furious about how ICE operates.

“It’s the constitution. That’s what we’re fighting for,” Bray said. “It’s the land of laws. These people are not trained. They’ll hire anybody with a signing bonus. If these people are trained, I’m the Pope.”

Hundreds gathered in Kansas City to protest after multiple federal shootings were reported,... — Hundreds gathered in Kansas City to protest after multiple federal shootings were reported, including the fatal shooting of former community member Renee Good.(KCTV5/Alex Love)

Like most in attendance, he disputes arguments by the federal government that Renee Good was trying to run over the ICE agent.

“Even the guy that shot her was filming her and she said I’m not mad at you,” Bray said. “She was pleasant. She was just trying to get out of the way and do the right thing. She was turning her wheels to get out of the way when she was shot.”

March moves through Plaza

After the vigil, most of the crowd turned the protest into a march through the Plaza, spreading the message that killings by federal agents cannot become the norm.

“I’m a 71-year-old great-grandmother who’s afraid for the future of my great-grandchildren in a country that’s turning fascist,” Terisa Mott said. “Any of them could be grabbed off the streets or shot like they shot that woman.”

Counter-protesters present

Some Trump and ICE supporters, like Scott Watts, were among the crowd. He sent condolences to Renee Good’s family but said he believes illegal immigration should not be tolerated.

“I spent time at the southern border and I saw thousands of pretty dangerous people being let out of that border,” Watts said. “That are here now and that’s what Trump’s trying to do is protect us.”

Watts carried a sign highlighting American citizens who had been killed by illegal immigrants over the years, including Mollie Tibbetts of Brooklyn, Iowa, who was stabbed to death while jogging in 2018 by Christian Behena Rivera.

“I’m at a loss for words when it comes to stuff like this,” Watts said. “But I’ll stand out here day after day to try to educate people. I don’t want to fight or anything like that. I just want people to realize there’s dangerous people out there and they need to be aware of those people.”

The gathering stayed peaceful, and traffic kept moving smoothly.

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Kansas

Doe v. State of Kansas | American Civil Liberties Union

Published

1 hour ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Doe v. State of Kansas | American Civil Liberties Union

In early 2026, the Kansas state legislature passed SB 244, a law which prohibits transgender people from using public restrooms on government property that align with their gender identity and establishes a private right of action that allows anyone who suspects someone is transgender and in violation of the law to sue that person for “damages” totaling $1,000.

The law also invalidates state-issued driver’s licenses with updated gender markers that reflect the carrier’s gender identity. In February 2026, transgender people across the state received letters from the state Department of Revenue’s Division of Vehicles informing them that their driver’s licenses “will no longer be valid,” effective immediately. SB 244 also prohibits transgender Kansans – or those born in Kansas – from updating the gender marker on state-issued birth certificates and driver’s licenses in the future.

The same day SB 244 went into effect, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Kansas, and Ballard Spahr LLP filed a lawsuit challenging SB 244 in the District Court of Douglas County on behalf of two transgender men who had their driver’s licenses invalidated under the law. The lawsuit charges that SB 244 violates the Kansas Constitution’s protections for personal autonomy, privacy, equality under the law, due process, and freedom of speech.

“The invalidation of state-issued IDs threatens to out transgender people against their will every time they apply for a job, rent an apartment, or interact with police,” said Harper Seldin, Senior Staff Attorney for the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Rights Project. “Taken as a whole, SB 244 is a transparent attempt to deny transgender people autonomy over their own identities and push them out of public life altogether.”

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Kansas

Kansas City man sentenced for cocaine trafficking, possession of illegal firearm

Published

13 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Kansas City man sentenced for cocaine trafficking, possession of illegal firearm

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – A Kansas City man was sentenced in federal court for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy and possession of an illegal firearm.

According to the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri, 22-year-old Antoine R. Gillum was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison without parole.

His sentencing stems from a June 2024 incident in a metro gas station. KCPD investigators contacted Gillum inside and found that he had discarded a 9 mm pistol in an aisle between the merchandise. He also discarded a pill bottle containing multiple illegal substances: cocaine base, oxycodone/acetaminophen and oxycodone.

Officers searched the vehicle Gillum had arrived in and found approximately 32 grams of cocaine base.

On May 6, 2025, Gillum pleaded guilty to one count each of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Jennings. It’s a part of ‘Operation Take Back America,’ a nationwide Department of Justice initiative to eliminate cartels and transnational criminal organizations.

No further information has been released.

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