Protesters gather throughout Long Island to denounce ICE following Renee Good shooting

Outcry over the fatal shooting of a woman by a federal immigration officer in Minneapolis Wednesday reverberated across the nation and Long Island, where protesters gathered Saturday at sites from Port Washington to Shirley.

The demonstrators denounced what they view as increasingly authoritarian tactics by the Trump administration and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Saturday's protests followed similar rallies and vigils on Long Island Thursday and Friday.

A chorus of honking car horns and chants — "Love, not hate, that's what makes America great," among them — filled the chilled air over Huntington early Saturday afternoon.

Dozens took to the four corners of the intersection of Route 110 and West Jericho Turnpike, waving their hands at passing motorists, many of whom beeped their horns.

Dr. Eve Meltzer Krief, a Huntington-based pediatrician, said she had been organizing and attending rallies for the better part of a decade, but this felt different.

"Something to me in the past week feels like it's shifted, in particular after the fatal shooting of Renee Good," said Meltzer Krief, 56.

Good, 37, of Minneapolis, was fatally shot blocks from her home in an incident that quickly became a flash point across the nation. Trump administration officials defended the officer's action, saying he feared for his safety when Good accelerated her vehicle, while local officials in Minneapolis denounced the use of deadly force, calling it unjustified.

The killing came as the Trump administration began what it calls its biggest-ever immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota. 

Thousands of people marched in Minneapolis on Saturday, as Minnesota leaders urged demonstrators to remain peaceful. It was one of hundreds of protests planned in towns and cities across the country over the weekend.

In Huntington, Carol Dewey, 67, a retired IT professional, said she's been "outraged" since Trump first took office.

"And now, with no guardrails, we are definitely falling off the cliff," she said.

Watching the news and reading the papers, Dewey said she often feels isolated in many ways — but not when she attends a protest such as Saturday's.

"I feel my community when I come to these," Dewey said. "I feel energized, and I feel like I'm not alone."

In a statement to Newsday, Suffolk GOP Chairman Jesse Garcia criticized Democrats and liberal elected officials of inflaming tensions "by demonizing federal officers and encouraging hostility toward those enforcing the law."

He said the officer in Minnesota "acted to defend his life."

"As Americans, we respect the constitutional right to peaceful protest," he said. "That right, however, ends the moment violence begins." 

As another rally in Port Jefferson Station ended, a woman's voice called out among a group of about 150 protesters: "Rest in peace, Renee."

The protesters stood at the corner of Route 112 and Route 347, where organizer Donna Cody said they wanted to pay their respects to Good and continue to stand up against an administration that she described as a "criminal organization."

"There's nobody else that's going to stop it," said Cody, of Holbrook. "Our politicians aren't doing anything."

She said she thinks of her four grandchildren when she's protesting.

"First we cried and now we're angry," she said.

Amy Saitta, of Rocky Point, said she while she's unsure of what change, if any, will come from the protests, she was determined to keep going. 

"We're not going to stop," she said. "I do believe that we the people have an incredible voice."

Saitta, 67, said protesters will return to the same location during the late afternoon in a week. She said the message they hope to get across is: "We are Americans. We love our country."