Kill, smear, cover-up
On January 7, Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother and U.S. citizen, was fatally shot by ICE agent Jonathan Ross in Minneapolis. After her death, Good was subjected to a vicious smear campaign by the President, the Vice President, administration officials, and their allies.
The baseless attacks against Good are a coordinated, brazen and callous government propaganda effort. The goal is to convince Americans to believe an official narrative over objective evidence — including video of the incident.
It is an ongoing campaign to legitimize the homicide of an American based on misinformation.
Meanwhile, the FBI is blocking state law enforcement from conducting an independent investigation while selectively leaking information to partisan outlets. Minnesota officials are calling it a cover-up.
Trump: Good “violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE Officer”
In a January 7 post on Truth Social, Trump claimed that Good “violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE Officer.” This is objectively false. Videos taken by witnesses show that the first shot into Good’s vehicle occurred while Ross was standing in front of the vehicle as Good turned the wheel to avoid him. The second and third shots occurred while Ross was standing to the side of Good’s vehicle. There is no evidence that Good’s car even touched Ross, much less ran him over.
In the post, Trump claimed it was “hard to believe [Ross] is alive.” In a video, Ross stays on his feet throughout the incident and is seen walking toward Good’s car, which crashed, after the shooting. The Department of Homeland Security says Ross went to the hospital and was released, but there is no documentation of any specific injuries.
Trump repeated this claim to New York Times reporters that same day. “[Good] behaved horribly,” Trump claimed. “And then she ran him over. She didn’t try to run him over. She ran him over.” Trump then showed reporters a video he said supported his claims. When the reporters noted the video did not show Good running over Ross, Trump said it was a “terrible scene.”
In a January 8 press conference, Vice President J.D. Vance repeated Trump’s false claims. “Ramming an ICE officer with your car, that’s what justifies being shot,” Vance said.
Noem: Good engaged in an “act of domestic terrorism”
Hours after the incident, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem claimed that Good “attempt[ed] to kill or to cause bodily harm to agents,” which Noem described as an “act of domestic terrorism.” White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller also described the incident as “domestic terrorism“ on X.
Domestic terrorism is defined by law as a violent criminal act intended to “intimidate or coerce a civilian population” or “affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping.”
In this case, Good was driving home after taking her 6-year-old son to school. There is no evidence that she was attempting to hit Ross. She has no criminal record beyond a speeding ticket and no known links to any terrorist group.
Good’s last words were, “That’s fine dude. I’m not mad at you.”
Leavitt: Good was an “insurrectionist” and part of a “sinister left-wing movement”
On January 8, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed Good was part of “a large, sinister left-wing movement.” Leavitt also described Good as “a leftist insurrectionist who was purposefully and illegally obstructing law enforcement operations.”
Vance amplified these claims, contending Good was “brainwashed“ and a “victim of left-wing ideology.”
“We need to stand by and protect our Law Enforcement Officers from this Radical Left Movement of Violence and Hate!,” Trump added on Truth Social.
An insurrectionist is someone involved in a violent uprising against the government. Good was not associated with any violent or extremist group.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, Good was affiliated with ICE Watch, a loose coalition of citizens that alerts neighbors to ICE activity using whistles and messaging apps. This activity is legal and constitutionally protected. “We had whistles. They had guns,” Good’s wife, Becca Good, said in a statement.
“Covering up the killing of a U.S. citizen”
The known facts do not support the official federal government narrative of Renee Good’s killing. Now, in an unusual move, the federal government is excluding state law enforcement from the investigation.
Initially, the FBI and Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) agreed to conduct a joint investigation of Good’s death. This is standard procedure. But this agreement was quickly rescinded. The BCA says it has lost “access to the case materials, scene evidence [and] investigative interviews necessary to complete a thorough and independent investigation.” As a result, the BCA believes it will not be able to conduct a thorough investigation that will ensure “accountability and public confidence.”
Instead, the investigation will be led exclusively by the FBI, which is run by Kash Patel, one of Trump’s most partisan supporters. Patel wrote a series of children’s books that referred to Trump as a “king.”
“What are you hiding?” Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison asked. “I mean, if you feel that you’re — that the ICE agent operated within the law, then let there be an investigation so that that can be revealed.” Ellison said that the federal government was undermining “a fair, transparent investigation” by excluding state investigators. According to Ellison, the FBI investigation “will look simply like a whitewash… covering up… what could well be nefarious, bad activity.”
“Let’s call a spade a spade,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said. “Kristi Noem watched the videos and doesn’t want an impartial investigation because she knows her narrative about domestic terrorism is bullshit.”
After an officer-involved shooting, it is standard protocol for the officer and witnesses to remain on the scene to be interviewed. Further, nothing should be removed from the scene. But in this case a video shows “several agents, including the agent who opened fire, get in their vehicles and drive off, apparently altering the active crime scene.”
ICE policy requires “officers and agents… to activate body-worn cameras at the start of enforcement activities and to record throughout interactions.” But no body cam videos have been released.
Since the federal government has asserted control over the investigation, it has selectively leaked evidence to ideologically friendly publications. A 47-second video of the incident, for example, was shared with Alpha News, a right-wing outlet in Minnesota. It was then amplified by Vance. It was released by the DHS the next day.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced she was conducting her own investigation and urged the public to submit evidence directly to her office. Vance told reporters on January 8 that Ross has “absolute immunity” for Good’s killing. Moriarty said that is not true.
Moriarty revealed that federal law enforcement removed Good’s vehicle from the scene before state investigators could examine it. Good’s car is a key piece of evidence because it could help definitively establish if Ross was struck in any way.
Trying to paint a woman with no criminal record driving a Honda Pilot with plushies in the back of the vehicle as a "domestic terrorist" is so patently absurd it would be laughable if not for Renee Good's tragic murder. For those of us who haven't been paying attention or aren't members of specifically targeted communities, I hope this serves as a wake-up call. ICE can't be reformed into a beneficial arm of the government. It's rotten to the core and needs to be dismantled.
Noem and Patel need to be arrested an charged with being an accessory to murder for directing the cover-up.