‘Obey or Die’: Stephen Colbert Warns Trump Admin’s ICE Shooting ‘Spin’ Is ‘an Alarm Bell’

Stephen Colbert delivered a forceful rebuke of the shooting of a Minnesota woman by ICE, calling on citizens to “non-violently” let leaders hear their opposition to what he characterized as the Trump administration’s “obey or die” approach to power.

Opening The Late Show on Thursday, the comedian turned sharply political from the start as he reflected on a video that showed the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis.

“By now we’ve all seen the video,” he said. “I’m not going to play it again, but in it, as reported by the New York Times, Good appears to be turning away from a federal officer. And as reported by The Washington Post, the agent was able to move out of the way and fire at least two of the three shots from the side of the vehicle as it veered past him. It sure looks like a federal agent gunned down an American citizen without cause in front of witnesses on a city street.”

Rounding on the administration’s response to the shooting, arguing that the agent fired shots in self-defense after Good was attempting to “roll over” him, Colbert followed: “The administration is telling you that you didn’t see that. They’re saying you saw him respond to an act of domestic terrorism. They’re telling you to believe them and not your eyes.”

Colbert framed the episode as a warning sign for the country under President Donald Trump, arguing that the federal response revealed something dangerous.

“The message from this administration is clear: only they determine the truth, and when their forces come to your city, obey or die, and if you die, you clearly didn’t obey,” he said.

He continued: “This should be an alarm bell for the entire country, whether you live in a red state or a blue state, because if we let this go on, regardless of who your state voted for, one day you’ll have unaccountable armed government agents acting with impunity in your town.”

“So, peacefully, and non-violently, please let your leaders know you don’t want that,” he said, urging viewers to action.

Watch above via CBS.