The killing of a woman in Minneapolis by ICE agents is sparking national outrage – especially among other women.
“What we saw today was a murder – and murders in cold blood need to be prosecuted,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York told members of the press Wednesday outside the Capitol in Washington, D.C., following reports that Renee Nicole Good was gunned down by an agent of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement while trying to drive past an ongoing operation.
Many pointed to bystanders’ videos that contradict Kristi Noem, the Homeland Security secretary, who claimed that Good was “stalking” officers and that the agent who shot her – as Good was driving away – was acting in self-defense.
Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota said that ICE agents’ actions were “unconscionable and reprehensible,” and resulted in the death of a “legal observer.”
“This administration has shown, yet again, that it does not care about the safety of Minnesotans. Instead of protecting our communities, they are unleashing violence – terrorizing neighborhoods, and now killing a civilian,” she said in an official statement. “This is not law enforcement. It is state violence.”
Some Congressional leaders have additionally called for Noem’s impeachment. In response to the shooting, Rep. Robin Kelly, a Democratic congresswoman from Illinois, referring to her as “an incompetent leader, a disgrace to our democracy” who should be removed from her post “for obstruction of justice, violation of public trust, and self-dealing.”
Republicans, however, have largely stayed in lockstep with party leaders’ telling of events, which cast Good as the aggressor.
During a press conference, Noem said that Good was attempting to harm ICE agents, labeling her acts as “domestic terrorism.” And President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that Good was “obviously a professional agitator” as well as “disorderly, obstructing and resisting” ICE agents, reinforcing the narrative that her shooting was self-defense on the agent’s part.
Good, a 37-year-old wife and mother – who was a U.S. citizen – is remembered by those who knew her as “an amazing human being.” Her mother, Donna Ganger, told the Minnesota Star-Tribune that “Renee was one of the kindest people I’ve ever known,” noting that “she was extremely compassionate,” and has “taken care of people all her life.” Ganger also wanted people to know that Good was “forgiving and affectionate.”
On her Instagram account, Good wryly described herself as a “poet and writer and wife and mom and sh*tty guitar strummer from Colorado” who was living life in Minneapolis with her wife and kid.
Other posts about her, shared following news of her death – such as from her alma mater, Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va. – affirmed her passion for writing, and additionally cited her love of movie marathons and “messy art.” ◼️
