On January 7, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed Renee Nicole Good, a mother of three on her way to work. This tragic incident became the center of national outrage and controversy. The tragedy happened just minutes after Good had taken her six-year-old son to school. Harmeet Dhillon, Trump’s assistant attorney general for civil rights, made the call not to investigate the shooting. This decision has triggered tremendous public outrage and resulted in several high-level resignations from the U.S. Justice Department.
As many of you know, in Minneapolis, a nightmare came true. Good attempted to drive her truck past Ross. Ross fired three rounds, hitting Good in the face each time. Video evidence of Brooks’ confrontation during the arrest has led many to question if it was appropriate for officers to shoot him. Good’s purported connections to activist organizations that have been protesting ICE raids and enforcement actions have been a major focus in that still-ongoing investigation.
Even officials from the normally unflappable Trump administration have been stung by the incident. On background, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem and Senator JD Vance have spread false claims that imply Good participated in domestic terrorism. Vance dared to assert that she was a cog in a “broader leftwing network.” He claimed this coalition was trying to foil the nascent Trump administration’s enforcement of immigration laws.
Local officials in Minneapolis have expressed their distress at the administration’s quick, unilateral decision that Good’s character was unsuitable. Mayor Jacob Frey criticized the rush to judgment, stating, “They’re calling the victim a domestic terrorist. They’re calling the actions of the agent involved as some form of defensive posture. We know that they’ve already determined much of the investigation.”
Kristen Clarke, who heads the civil rights division under the Biden administration, emphasized the seriousness of investigating these events. “Investigating officials to determine if they broke the law, defied policy, failed to de-escalate, and resorted to deadly force without basis is one of the civil rights division’s most solemn duties,” she said. Clarke highlighted that prosecutors in this division have historically been known as experts at prosecuting this type of sensitive cases.
In a surprising turn of events, at least four leaders from the division’s criminal investigations section have resigned following the decision not to pursue an inquiry into Good’s killing. This exodus has been cause for great concern about the integrity, independence and trajectory of this civil rights division under this leadership. In response to a question, a representative from the Department of Justice confirmed that the leaders had volunteered for an early retirement program. Usually, they don’t discuss ongoing personnel investigations, but this detail of the incident in Minnesota is unequivocal.
“I don’t think it’s an overstatement to see this as the end of the division as we’ve known it.” – Civil rights division attorney
As the FBI continues to investigate, we know that like Good, many others have been targeted for their alleged affiliations with activist organizations. Many see this line of inquiry as a red herring, a shift in focus from the genuine concern—the events that led to her death. According to critics, calling her a domestic terrorist minimizes the seriousness of what Ross did. This framing further dilutes the call for accountability.
As tensions rise, Donald Trump weighed in on the situation by questioning public safety in Minnesota, stating, “Do the people of Minnesota really want to live in a community where there are thousands of … deadly criminals too dangerous to even mention.” Such rhetoric has nobly polarized opinions on an already contentious topic.
Despite growing evidence to the contrary, local officials are still fighting federal claims of Good’s character and benevolence. The Minneapolis community has rejoiced and rallied around Good’s family in this devastating time. They are heartbroken by her loss and desperately trying to get answers surrounding her tragic death.