Instead of investigating the federal officer who shot and killed an American mother of three, the Trump administration is investigating… her grieving widow.
Federal officials are focusing their probe into the fatal Minneapolis ICE shooting on Becca Good, the partner of Renee Nicole Good, to determine whether she “impeded a federal officer” moments before the killing, according to NBC News.
Never mind that ICE reportedly blocked help from getting to Good even though she still had a pulse. The investigation is instead reportedly examining Becca Good’s “possible ties to activist groups” rather than scrutinizing the actions of ICE officer Jonathan Ross, who fired into Renee Good’s vehicle during an immigration operation.
Not to mention ICE agents have been caught using illegal tactics in at least 40 other instances.
THE DETAILS: As Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz put it bluntly: “The only person not being investigated for the shooting of Renee Good is the federal agent who shot her.”
The investigation into Becca Good centers on a statute about “assaulting, resisting, or impeding federal officers”—the first law listed in Attorney General Pam Bondi’s recent memo on combating “domestic terrorism,” which specifically targets groups with “anti-fascist platforms” and “radical gender ideology.”
President Trump, without evidence, called Renee and Becca Good “professional agitators.” He’s promised a “day of reckoning” after the shooting.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem labeled what Renee Good did as “domestic terrorism” moments after the shooting. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche declared there was “currently no basis” to investigate the officer who pulled the trigger.
Good’ family has hired the same law firm that secured $27 million for George Floyd’s family.
BUT BUT BUT: Video from the encounter shows Renee Good telling Ross, “That’s fine, dude, I’m not mad at you.” When officers demanded she exit the car, Becca Good appears to say “Drive.” Renee Good then turned her steering wheel away from the officer and began to drive. Ross fired multiple shots. A male voice is later heard saying: “f—–g bitch.”
Noem defended the shooting, claiming “this vehicle was used to hit this officer” and “was used as a weapon.” Six federal prosecutors in Minneapolis have resigned over their concerns about the investigation.
ZOOM OUT: The Justice Department isn’t just targeting Becca Good. They’re also investigating Gov. Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey under the theory that their public statements criticizing ICE’s tactics somehow “conspired to impede” federal agents. Meanwhile, the department has abandoned its pattern-or-practice investigations into police departments accused of civil rights violations—including Minneapolis PD after George Floyd’s murder.
Thomas Brzozowski, the Justice Department’s former domestic terrorism czar, called it “super dangerous” to use the term “domestic terrorism” in a way that’s “untethered from its statutory framework.” Under Bondi’s memo, he warned, authorities would have “carte blanche” to launch “a fairly sprawling investigation” of anyone connected to the victim.
WHY IT MATTERS: Even conservative critics are balking. Kyle Seraphin, a former FBI agent who was deeply critical of the January 6 investigation, called labeling Good a “domestic terrorist” awful. “We don’t have to agree politically to say that a mother not being able to raise her child is bad,” he told NBC News.
David Kelley, a former federal prosecutor with 51 years of experience, called the prosecutor resignations “the darkest day for federal law enforcement” in his career. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty is now collecting evidence independently, setting up a public portal for video submissions. “We want community members to feel as though there is documentation and perhaps accountability,” she said.
The message from the Trump administration couldn’t be clearer: shoot an American citizen, face no consequences. Witness it? You’re the criminal now.