BBC Interview: Why I Spoke Up on ICE, Deadly Force, and the Second Amendment

Katherine Schweit on BBC News discussing deadly force as a DePaul Law Professor and author of A Simple Guide to the Second Amendment

I went on BBC News to explain what the video from Minneapolis shows — and just as importantly, what the law requires when federal officers use deadly force. Speaking as a former senior FBI official and a law professor who teaches the Second Amendment, this is exactly the kind of question I would give my students: Was deadly force legally justified here?

Based on the publicly available video and federal standards governing use of force, I believe that question deserves serious scrutiny. Deadly force is lawful only when there is an imminent threat to life and no reasonable alternative. That legal threshold matters — for ICE, for DHS, and for public trust.

I wrote more about the legal standards and the footage itself here:
https://www.katherineschweit.com/stop-the-killing/i-am-speaking-up-on-deadly-force-the-facts-and-what-the-video-shows

You can also watch my full video analysis of the incident in this CTV News segment, which includes additional context from the reporting on the ground:
🔗 https://www.ctvnews.ca/video/2026/01/25/warning-former-fbi-agent-analyzes-fatal-minneapolis-ice-shooting-video/

Video has changed how the public understands violence. We saw that clearly after Uvalde, when footage fundamentally reshaped what Americans understood about law enforcement response and accountability:
🔗 https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/30/opinion/uvalde-school-shooting.html

That’s why accuracy matters. Video matters. And getting the law right matters, especially before conclusions harden and trust erodes.

I encourage you to watch the video, look closely at what it shows, and understand the legal standards that apply before drawing conclusions. Please consider subscribing to my no-junk emails.