Topline
New footage of the shooting of a Minneapolis woman was leaked Friday—and promoted by Vice President JD Vance—from the perspective of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who fatally shot the woman, though it will likely not quell ICE critics.
Key Facts
Video posted by Alpha News and broadcast by NBC News shows the federal officer walking around and recording the vehicle of the woman, who can be heard saying, “That’s fine dude, I’m not mad at you,” after realizing the agent was recording her (see video below).
The woman, Renee Good, is apparently told by an ICE agent to “step out of the fucking car”—it’s unclear if she hears the order—as she’s rotating her wheel to the right before driving forward, and is out of the frame when gunshots are heard.
Vice President JD Vance characterized the video in a tweet as showing that the agent’s “life was endangered and he fired in self defense.”
Good’s wife, Becca Good, reacted for the first time to the shooting in a statement Friday, saying “kindness radiated out of” the late 37-year-old mother of three, “who lived by an overarching belief: there is kindness in the world and we need to do everything we can to find it where it resides and nurture it where it needs to grow.”
Becca Good briefly commented on the federal agents in Minneapolis, saying “we stopped to support our neighbors. We had whistles. They had guns.”
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey held a press conference with state lawmakers Friday pushing for Minnesota’s nonpartisan Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to investigate Good’s killing, after the agency said Thursday it had “reluctantly withdrawn” from its joint investigation into the shooting after the FBI abruptly cut off access to interviews, evidence and other materials.
The mayor argued involving the bureau was necessary to ensure a “fair investigation,” calling it “deeply concerning” the Trump administration was already drawing conclusions about the shooting without conducting a full investigation and calling the administration’s claims about the event “very concerning.”
President Donald Trump accused a woman who took a video of the shooting and repeatedly yelled “shame” at ICE agents of “probably” being a “paid agitator,” making the claim without evidence before saying, “We will always be protecting ICE.”
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz issued a proclamation on Thursday night saying, “businesses, schools, and state offices in Minnesota shall observe a moment of silence at 10:00 am” to honor Good on Friday.
In an op-ed for The Times, Frey attacked the Trump administration’s accusations that Good was a domestic terrorist, writing: “I’ve watched multiple videos, from multiple perspectives — it seems clear that Ms. Good, a mother of three, was trying to leave the scene, not attack an agent.”
Walz’s office said in a Thursday statement the Minnesota National Guard will be “staged and ready to support local and state law enforcement in protecting critical infrastructure and maintaining public safety,” adding his office has “every reason to believe that peace will hold.”
Protesters have clashed with federal agents following Good’s death as demonstrations continued Friday in Minneapolis.
What Does The Ice Agent Video Show?
An associate of Good’s, presumably her wife Becca, is shown pressing the ICE agent in the video, telling agents to unmask themselves and saying, “that’s fine, U.S. citizen, former fucking veteran” as the federal officer records and moves past her. A dog is in the backseat of the vehicle as the agent continues recording. When Good is asked to exit her vehicle, Becca Good is shown trying to open the locked passenger side door before saying, “Drive, baby, drive,” to Renee Good. After the shooting occurs, someone can be heard saying “fucking bitch,” before the car continues down the street and crashes.
What Do We Know About The Protests?
According to CNN, one group of protestors have set up makeshift barriers near the street where the shooting took place. The barrier is made up of pieces of wood, chairs and other objects and includes a sign declaring the space as a “no ICE zone.” Aside from the twin cities areas, protests and demonstrations against ICE over Good’s killing broke out across several major cities across the country, including New York, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Boston, Sacramento, Atlanta, Austin, San Francisco, Louisville and several others. Citing government documents, the New York Times reported that the Trump administration is preparing to deploy at least 100 more federal agents to Minnesota, which Frey denounced Friday, calling it a “massive issue that [ICE] continue[s] to exert their presence in Minneapolis and beyond” and his government “want[s] them out.”
Fbi Cuts Law Enforcement’s Access To Shooting Investigation
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said it opened a joint investigation with the FBI after the shooting of the 37-year-old mother of three by an ICE agent on Wednesday, but said federal investigators “reversed course” later the same day. At a press conference on Thursday, Walz confirmed state investigators were cut off from the investigation, adding “it feels very, very difficult that we will get a fair outcome.” Speaking to CNN after the news broke, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said the end of the joint investigation was “deeply concerning” and “extremely disappointing,” later asking the administration “what are you afraid of an independent investigation for?” The withdrawal comes as local officials have publicly contradicted statements from the Trump administration.
Here’s What Jd Vance Said About Wednesday’s Shooting
At a White House press briefing on Thursday, Vice President JD Vance insisted Good was “trying to ram this guy with her car,” though video evidence widely reviewed by experts and media sources suggest otherwise. The vice president said the ICE agent was previously hit and dragged by a car during an operation within the last six months, which required him to get over 30 stitches, adding, “so you think maybe he’s a little bit sensitive about somebody ramming him with an automobile?” When pressed, Vance softened his tone a bit: “she accelerated in a way that she ran into the guy. I don’t know what was in her heart or what was in her head.”
Crucial Quote
“People in positions of power have already passed judgement. From the President to the Vice President, to Kristi Noem, have stood and told you things that are verifiably false, verifiably inaccurate,” Walz said at his press briefing on Thursday. Later he said that Noem was “judge, jury and executioner yesterday, that’s very, very difficult to think that they were going to be fair.”
Tangent
A moment of silence was observed for Good at the Minnesota Timberwolves game on Thursday evening. Before the game began, the Timberwolves coach said, “As we all know, our community has suffered yet another unspeakable tragedy. We want to just convey our condolences and heartfelt wishes and prayers and thoughts to the families and loved ones and all of those that are greatly affected by what happened.”
Chief Critic
Former Minnesota governor and professional wrestler Jesse Ventura blasted Trump, saying the U.S. is “a third world country now” (see video below).
What To Watch For
The Department of Homeland Security has not released the identity of the ICE agent responsible for the shooting. However, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune identified him as Jonathan Ross, citing a person familiar with the matter and details from court documents after he was injured while arresting a migrant in June.
Key Background
Good was shot and killed by an ICE agent in a residential neighborhood in Minneapolis on Wednesday. In the immediate aftermath of the shooting—as video of the incident went viral on all social platforms—the Trump administration moved quickly to condemn the victim as interfering with the ongoing massive Department of Homeland Security operation in Minnesota, which saw 2,000 agents deployed to the state in recent days, in what the agency has called its “largest operation ever.” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem called Good a “domestic terrorist,” while Trump told the New York Times “she behaved horribly.” But video of the shooting appears to show Good attempt to turn her car from the officer, but Trump still insisted “she ran him over. She didn’t try to run him over. She ran him over.” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey had earlier called claims of self-defense “bull——,” and Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty’s office said it was “pushing hard for a local investigation” in a statement on Wednesday. Vance accused the victim Thursday of “obstructing a lawful enforcement operation” in the Minneapolis neighborhood, and said the ICE agent acted in self defense after the woman drove toward him. The vice president said the shooting was a “tragedy,” but blamed the “radicals who teach people that immigration is the one type of law that rioters are allowed to interfere with.”
Who Was Renee Nicole Good? Woman Shot Dead By ICE Agent In Minneapolis (Forbes)
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