The city of Minneapolis had been preparing for a surge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents as Donald Trump's blitz on Democratic strongholds rolled out across the country.
Operation Metro Surge began in the city in December, but escalated a few days ago with an influx of federal agents to Minneapolis neighbourhoods.
Like in Los Angeles and Washington DC, ordinary citizens and local organisers have formed networks of those who want ICE gone and who are willing to help.
They patrol the streets too, warning neighbourhoods of incoming ICE raids, documenting what happens and sometimes offering legal advice to those targeted.
Now, a US citizen has been fatally shot by an ICE agent, and according to a local council member and the area's congressional representative, that person was one of the legal observers, who usually operate in a volunteer capacity.
Renee Nicole Good, 37, has been identified as the victim.
Local councillor and an organiser of these civilian resistance networks Jason Chavez said Ms Good was "out in our community because of the care and love" for immigrant neighbours.
"We have a variety of community responders on the ground watching ICE agents, helping families with rent, food, watching our neighbourhoods, making sure that we can keep our neighbourhoods safe and make sure that immigration enforcement isn't splitting our families apart," he told local media.
"Making sure that they can alert and blow a whistle whenever ICE is near so their neighbours know what is happening."
Minneapolis is a sanctuary city, which means the local authorities do little to enforce federal immigration laws. Los Angeles, New York and Chicago are also sanctuary cities.
Local media is reporting that for nearly a year, migrant rights and neighbourhood advocates and activists across the Twin Cities, as Minneapolis and the neighbouring St Paul are known, have been preparing to mobilise in the event of an immigration enforcement surge.
From places of worship to caravan parks, these organisers have set up very active online networks.
They reportedly scan licence plates to identify possible federal vehicles, and hand out whistles to sound a warning of any enforcement presence.
They are connected in chat groups, have code names and two-way radios and use their own cars. Some have legal training, others volunteer their time, effort and smartphones to document what they see in case it might be of legal significance down the line.
In blue cities, when federal agents sent by Donald Trump's administration are on the streets, there will very likely be someone from one of these networks around the corner, too.
In August, the ABC spent an evening inside one of these networks in operation in and around Washington DC as National Guard troops and federal agents patrolled the city.
'We are trying to get there as quickly as possible'
With her car and her phone, Anna, who asked for her real name not to be used, was dedicating several weeknights to patrol the streets of Washington DC, just as National Troops and several federal agencies were.
She worked as a full-time teacher outside the nation's capital during the day, then made her way into the city come nightfall.
"Sometimes maybe 2 hours will go by and nothing will happen and we're just sitting around and we're watching and we're waiting and then sometimes we will realise 40, 50 … police officers are being called to the scene of a simple fight," she told the ABC in August when Washington DC was the focus of Donald Trump's crackdown.
"And we're wondering why so many cops are being called to one area.
"So we're basically just trying to go around and get footage and ask questions about everything that's happening because it all feels very performative.
"It feels that this is all supposed to be a big display of a show of force even for things that normally would be a much smaller situation or offence, so we're just trying to get that on film and ask questions and do our due diligence."
In August, the ABC witnessed Anna and others as they received tip-offs about where law enforcement was suspected to be active that night. In a convoy, they'd travel to that location and start filming.
She said, "details and context are incredibly important".
"We need to be vigilant about what the story actually is. We are trying to get there as quickly as possible to see exactly what happened," she said.
"It's a community and we're all giving pieces of detail, that are all part of the big puzzle that's being put together that makes it more informative for the entire public. We're all trying to piece the picture together," she said.
"We're all trying to help and make it so we know what's going on in our city and our communities."
In Minneapolis, there are competing narratives about what happened in the lead-up to the death of Ms Good.
Donald Trump claims the victim was a "professional agitator". Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, said in a post on X that the ICE officer began firing after a "violent rioter".
Some of the other claims coming from federal authorities include that the victim tried to run over ICE agents and that the officers acted defensively.
But with so many people present at the scene of the enforcement activity, there are several videos of the incident taken from multiple angles that will allow the world and any potential investigators to see and judge the shooting for themselves.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has been scathing, saying: "They're already trying to spin this as an action of self-defence… having seen the video myself, I want to tell everybody directly — that is bullshit."
The fatal shooting happened just blocks from where an officer of the Minneapolis Police Department murdered black man George Floyd in May 2020.
Observing ICE actions 'not a crime'
Local councillor Chavez had been putting a call-out on his Facebook page for several days ahead of the shooting, asking community members to join the observer networks.
Since the shooting, he has posted several times saying: "Observing the federal government's actions at 34th and Portland is not a crime, and even if it were, it would not be punishable by death."
"The deceased should be with us today, but because these masked agents believe they are above the law, [the victim was] murdered for exercising their rights.
"The residents putting their personal safety on the line to observe ICE agents and their activities are keeping us safe. They're documenting the government's criminal activities, driving our friends and family to work or school, and they're providing mutual aid."
Democratic congressional representative for Minnesota Ilhan Omar said: "For weeks, ICE's so-called 'Operation Metro Surge' has spread fear, chaos and violence across our state."
"ICE's actions today were unconscionable and reprehensible. I am beyond outraged that their reckless, callous actions led to the killing of a legal observer in Minneapolis," she said.
Just two days ago, the White House issued an update on Operation Metro Surge, saying: "The streets of Minneapolis are safer today thanks to the hard work of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and their federal partners."
