THE shocking fatal shooting of a US citizen by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent has sparked a political firestorm over whether the federal agent should face criminal charges.
Tensions remain high in Minneapolis after the death of Renee Nicole Good, who was shot and killed by an ICE officer a short distance north from where the highly politicized killing of George Floyd took place in 2020.
President Donald Trump and several of his Cabinet members, including Vice President JD Vance and US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, have defended the federal agent’s actions as self-defense.
Trump argued Good, 37, allegedly used her vehicle to “viciously” run over the ICE officer, while Noem claimed the victim “weaponized her vehicle.”
“The woman driving the car was a very disorderly, obstructing and resisting, who then violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE officer, who seems to have shot her in self defense,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
Democrats have slammed the administration’s conclusions, arguing the video does not appear to show Good trying to injure the officers.
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The FBI has since taken over the investigation and has blocked state officials from gaining access to the case material, including scene evidence.
Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor, who is not involved in the investigation, told The U.S. Sun that it’s unlikely federal prosecutors will file charges against the ICE officer.
“The DOJ will not prosecute the ICE agent in today’s political climate,” Rahmani said.
“Regardless of what the FBI concludes, charging decisions are made by prosecutors. I can’t see [Pam] Bondi charging when President Trump, Vice President Vance, and DHS Secretary Noem have already come to the agent’s defense.”
Eric Faddis, a criminal defense attorney based in Colorado, agreed with Rahmani’s sentiment, arguing that the “political climate of the day” suggests if the ICE officer would be charged, it would be at state court.
TWIN CITY HORROR
The jaw-dropping shooting occurred after Good, who was in the driver’s seat of her maroon-colored Honda SUV, seemingly used her vehicle to block ICE agents from conducting an immigration crackdown in the Powderhorn neighborhood.
Various videos shared online by bystanders show federal agents approach Good’s vehicle, with one overheard yelling, “Get out of the f**king car.”
One officer is seen yanking on the driver’s door handle and attempting to open the door through an open window.
The camera angle showed a second agent stationed near the front of the driver’s side as Good proceeds to reverse her car a few inches.
Moments later, the footage appeared to show Good step on the accelerator as she touched the second ICE agent with her car in an attempt to drive away from the scene.
The unnamed federal officer then fired three shots through the windshield, striking Good.
After being struck by gunfire, Good’s Honda proceeds to crash into a parked car on the street.
Good, a mother of three, was rushed to Hennepin County Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.
The ICE officer, who fired the deadly shots, was treated at the hospital for minor injuries and has since been released.
What we know so far…
- Renee Nicole Good, 37, was fatally shot by an ICE officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Wednesday morning
- Videos taken by bystanders captured the moment the agent fired three shots at the driver after he was struck by her car
- The Department of Homeland Security says the woman was trying to charge in the path of officers, and said it was an act of “domestic terrorism”
- Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey hit back at the DHS’s reasoning and called the statement “bulls**t”
- Trump insisted the ICE agent was acting in self-defense, and said the shooting video is a “horrible thing to watch”
- All schools in Minneapolis were shut for the rest of the week as fiery protests erupted on Thursday morning
Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, slammed the Department of Justice’s decision to deny state officials from jointly investigating the case with the FBI.
Walz argued that the move will make it “very difficult” to get a “fair outcome.”
“It feels very, very difficult that we will get a fair outcome,” the Minnesota governor said of the DOJ’s decision.
“And I say that only because 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.
“They have determined the character of a 37-year-old mom that they didn’t even know.”
‘CHARGES AGAINST ICE OFFICER’
But despite the move by the DOJ to block state officials from probing the case, Rahmani, the former federal prosecutor, said the door is not entirely shut for Minnesota representatives to file charges against the ICE officer.
“The state an still conduct its own independent investigation,” Rahmani told The U.S. Sun.
“They can convene a grand jury, subpoena witnesses and evidence, obtain and execute search warrants, etc.
“They are dual sovereigns, so the federal government can’t prevent them from doing this.”
Rahmani said that if state prosecutors decide to indict the federal agent they would likely charge him with “second (malice) or third-degree murder or manslaughter under Minnesota law.”
Faddis, the Colorado-based criminal attorney, agreed, adding, “A state court can charge anybody for whom they believe there’s probable cause that they’ committed a violation of state law.”
“Certainly, an unlawful killing, if prosecutors deem it as such, could result in state charges against the ICE officer for some level of homicide.
“My guess, if they did proceed with charges, it would probably be something along the lines of second-degree murder instead of first, or even a lesser variety of homicide.”
When asked based on the video evidence circulating on social media, if Good could have faced charges if she had survived, both attorneys agreed the victim committed several offenses.
Faddis said, if authorities conducted Good used her vehicle as a weapon, she could have been charged with “vehicular assault, simple assault, also potentially face charges for eluding an officer or obstructing law enforcement activity.”
Rahmani added, “Had she survived, Good could have been charged with obstruction or assault.”
However, Rahmani said he expects Good’s family to file a civil lawsuit.
“Agents can use deadly force only when they or others are at imminent risk of death or serious bodily injury,” he said, adding, “They can’t shoot someone to make an arrest or simply because they are fleeing.”
