Revisiting January 7th

     On January 7, 2026, 37-year-old Renée Good was shot and killed by a federal immigration agent in Minneapolis during a large-scale enforcement operation. Officials said the agent acted in self-defense, but witness accounts and video evidence have raised questions, and multiple investigations remain ongoing.

     Good’s death, one of several tied to immigration enforcement this year, has sparked protests across the country and reignited debate over the power and accountability of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

     In Montana, that reaction was immediate. Demonstrations drew hundreds of people in cities like Bozeman and Missoula, where protesters criticized federal immigration policies and called for change. According to Montana Free Press, some of those protests reached into the thousands.

     And in Great Falls, the response took shape on a bridge.

Voices on the Bridge

     On a freezing afternoon at the end of January, a small group of protesters stood on the Central Avenue West bridge, holding signs above passing traffic. Some drivers honked in support. Others responded with anger.

     But for those standing in the cold, the protest was never just about the reactions. It was about something they believe is much bigger, which is democracy itself.

     For Mark Frisbie, a local public defender and C.M. Russell High School graduate, showing up isn’t optional. It’s part of his duty.

     “I’m out here supporting democracy and the rule of law, and I’m telling people that ICE is killing people,” Frisbie said, holding a sign that read: “ICE Kills People.”

     Frisbie framed his presence not as protest, but as responsibility.

     “It’s not protesting. It’s protecting democracy, and I’m a defender,” he said.

     As an attorney, he said his concerns center on what he sees as the destruction towards fundamental rights, particularly protections against unlawful searches and arrests. Those rights, he said, go beyond modern law.

     “They don’t just come from the Constitution, they also come from the Magna Carta,” he said. “These are human rights we’re born with.”

     His activism had always been strong, but increased a lot after Good’s death, which he sees as part of a broader pattern of force tied to immigration enforcement nationwide.

     “Renae took bullets, so I probably shouldn’t even be here complaining about being cold,” he said.

     Across the country, Good’s killing has remained under scrutiny, with conflicting accounts and continued calls for accountability.

     For Frisbie, those unresolved questions are exactly why he continues to show up. He and his wife now stand on the bridge several times a week, joining a group that has slowly grown. When they first began, he said, reactions from drivers were often hostile.

     “I think that the opinions have slowly been changing,” he said. “There’s been less aggression and more support.”

     Being a local protester comes with its challenges, but Frisbie continues to see the light in improvement and has noticed the change over time as actions with ICE have become more extreme. 

     “There’s only a few people on this bridge,” he said. “But there’s gonna be more and more.”

     Frisbie said the issue feels especially urgent for younger generations.

     “If I was your age, I’d be scared, even terrified,” he said. “It’s your rights, your future, your right to think.”

     The future is what lies ahead for the high school generation, and the reason for the fight is for those generations’ futures and will determine the state of the country that they’ll be living in, he said.

     “You guys should be thinking, ‘What do I want?’”

     Not everyone on the bridge chose to share their name, but their reasons for being there were no less deliberate.

     One local protester, who declined to be identified, said he has spent more than a year demonstrating there logging over 100 hours holding signs and engaging with the public.

     “I’ve been coming onto the bridge for a year,” he said. “I’ve probably been out here over 100 hours.”

     On Jan. 30, he held a sign referencing a historical turning point of the rise of Adolf Hitler in 1933. He said his signs are designed not just to be seen, but to make people think, including messages: “ICE Out for Good” and “Silence in the Face of Tyranny.”

     “People were silent in Germany, when they should have been speaking up,” he said.

     For him, that history carries a warning.

     “Because people were silent, it led to the power he eventually had.”

     This protester, who previously worked in government, said he has always believed in speaking out when something conflicts with his values, and he hopes to be an example for younger generations with his messages and actions. 

     “It’s important to be on the bridge because it’s important to stand up,” he said. At the same time, he believes strongly that disagreement itself is not the problem.

     “It’s always important to allow others to disagree with you, but disagree with you civilly,” he said.

     Like Frisbie, he reflected on the weight of the moment for younger people.

     “I feel for the younger people,” he said. “To me it’s so unfair that you’re still finding yourselves, and to have this burden put on you is terrible.”

     He compared today’s climate to his own youth during the Vietnam War, when he said he spoke out even before the Pentagon Papers exposed government actions.

     Looking back, he believes most people eventually reach a breaking point where they need to take that step and make a stand for their beliefs.

     “Everyone finally has a moment where they reach a brink where they need to stand up,” he said.

     Though the January protest has passed, the issues surrounding it have not.

What has Happened Since?

     In the weeks since, Montana has continued to see large-scale public response tied to immigration enforcement. Reporting from Montana Free Press shows that protests following Good’s death drew thousands in Bozeman and more than 1,000 people in Missoula.

     The issue has also moved beyond protests and into policy debates. According to Montana Free Press, cities across the state, including Great Falls, have faced growing public pressure over whether local law enforcement should cooperate with ICE. Community members in Great Falls have spoken at public meetings, pushing leaders to take clearer positions, while state officials have emphasized existing laws requiring cooperation with federal agencies.

     This ongoing tension reflects a broader divide playing out across Montana, where immigration enforcement which at first was seen as a distant federal issue has become a local conversation, even in Great Falls.

     At the national level, continued reporting from outlets like The Guardian found that at least eight people had already died in ICE custody or encounters with federal agents by late January 2026, following a record 32 deaths in 2025. Cases in 2026 include Renée Good and Alex Pretti, both killed in disputed shootings in Minneapolis, as well as detainees such as Emmanuel Damas and Alberto Gutiérrez-Reyes, whose deaths raised concerns after they were denied medical care, reinforcing concerns that the issue remains ongoing rather than isolated. 

     Together, those developments show that what happened on a cold bridge in Great Falls was not an insignificant moment, but part of a larger and ongoing picture, one that is still unfolding both in Montana and across the country.