A Minneapolis woman was shot and killed by an ICE agent, what happens now? Your questions answered
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On Wednesday morning, Renee Good was shot and killed by a federal ICE agent, later identified as Jonathan Ross, in Minneapolis.
We asked MPR News readers what questions they have about the fatal shooting. Here’s what they wanted to know.
Is there any information on the ICE agent? Did they have body camera footage?
NPR has confirmed Jonathan Ross is the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who shot and killed a woman in Minneapolis Wednesday. Ross has more than 10 years of experience as an ICE deportation officer and was selected for the special response team.
While the Department of Homeland Security has not released Ross’ name, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said earlier that the agent who killed Renee Good had been in a situation months earlier where was dragged by a car during an enforcement operation.
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In a press conference on Thursday, Vice President JD Vance said the agent has done a “very, very important job for the United States of America” and “has been injured because of it,” referencing his injury the previous incident.
In the video of the shooting, Ross can be seen holding a phone that is recording video. The policy on ICE agents wearing body cameras changed under the Trump administration. In November, a federal judge in Chicago ordered agents operating there to wear cameras unless exempted by agency policy. Currently, it is unknown if Ross was wearing one.
Why is the FBI investigating now and not the BCA in Minnesota?
In a statement Thursday, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said the FBI reversed course and that the federal agency would be the sole investigative unit. Initially, authorities on Wednesday said the BCA would be working jointly with the FBI on the investigation.
The BCA said it no longer has access to the case materials, scene evidence or investigative interviews necessary to complete a thorough and independent investigation.
“Without complete access to the evidence, witnesses and information collected, we cannot meet the investigative standards that Minnesota law and the public demands,” the BCA added.
Later in the morning at a press conference, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the BCA did not have jurisdiction and had not been cut out of the investigation.
Read more here.
What has the federal government said about the killing?
At the White House Thursday, Vice President JD Vance further staked out the Trump administration’s position that the ICE agent who shot and killed a woman in south Minneapolis Wednesday acted within his authority to defend himself from a vehicle moving toward him.
Vance took an unyielding stance on the federal government’s exclusive role in the investigation, criticizing Walz and seemingly dismissing his request to let Minnesota investigators rejoin the probe.
“The precedent here is very simple. You have a federal law enforcement official engaging in federal law enforcement action. That's a federal issue. That guy is protected by absolute immunity. He was doing his job,” Vance said.
The vice president said he won’t let “Tim Walz and a bunch of radicals in Minneapolis” pursue a case and “make this guy’s life miserable because he was doing the job he was asked to do.”
He called Good’s death a “tragedy of her own making” and said the agent had previously been involved in a similar run-in months ago that resulted in the agent needing 33 stitches after being dragged.
Read more here.
Can the local government do more to protect Minnesotans?
Gov. Tim Walz signed a formal executive order on Thursday that will ready Minnesota National Guard soldiers to provide assistance to local law enforcement if they're needed. This is not a formal callup just yet.
Walz told reporters that he and others had been warning that the heightened ICE operations in the Twin Cities were a danger to public safety. “Today, that recklessness cost someone their life,” he said, adding that it was "predictable and avoidable.”
On Thursday, Walz said the state has not yet considered law enforcement escorts for students, citing a question he got from someone referencing the situations with the Little Rock Nine and Ruby Bridges where Army officers and U.S. Marshals escorted the students who were the first to desegregate schools in the South in the ‘50s and ‘60s. Walz says it is an option that the state is “going to have to explore.”
He told reporters that local communities and schools being able to make those decisions in could lead to stronger outcomes, something they learned during COVID.
“We are deeply concerned with that,” Walz said.
How can I get involved in protesting in the Twin Cities? What can people do to help?
Protests are planned around the Twin Cities on Thursday and more are expected to pop up locally and nationally through the weekend. On Thursday evening, there is protest at 5:30 p.m. at Lake Street and Chicago Avenue in Minneapolis. More are planned around the Twin Cities and the country through the weekend including River Falls, Wis., Baton Rouge, La., Sioux City, Iowa, Washington D.C. and more.
How can we trust what the media is saying right now?
Like in any breaking news situation, it is important to get your information from trusted and reputable sources. At MPR News, the newsroom is working around the clock in editorial discussions, planning meetings and more to decide what our coverage plans look like. We are consulting experts on the subject and fact checking what they, and officials, are saying.
It is important for us to be accurate and ethical in our reporting. We do this by meeting readers and listeners where they are and providing up to date information on the radio, online and on social media.
During high-stress events, oftentimes things are posted on social media that aren’t always correct. If you come across disinformation or misinformation online, it is good to check with your trusted local news source (whether that is MPR news or others) if it is true.
Why isn’t there more information about Renee Good or her family and partner?
Renee Good recently moved from Kansas City, Mo., to Minneapolis. Her family has hired a lawyer and has decided not to talk to the media until they are ready. MPR News is working on the ground in her neighborhood to speak with people who may have known her.
According to the Associated Press, she was a U.S. citizen who was born in Colorado. She studied creative writing at Old Dominion University in Virginia and had three children.
Do legal observers have any protections?
To share more about Minnesotans’ rights while observing immigration actions and ICE agents, Erika Zurawski, co-founder of the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee and paralegal, joined Cathy Wurzer on Morning Edition in December.
Zurawski said that if you are a U.S. citizen observer and you are detained by ICE, ICE has no authority over you. ICE agents, under the law, are allowed to temporarily detain someone until they’re able to verify immigration status.
“But just remember that you have the right to document and observe ICE officers. They can be recorded, Zurawski said.
She suggested that if you do get arrested, confirm that you are a U.S. citizen and say nothing else.
“Call a lawyer, call the National Lawyers Guild hotline, and we will figure out how to get you out,” Zurawski said.
Zurawski reminded people that if you are an observer or wrongfully detained citizen taken by ICE, the most important thing is to keep yourself safe.
Hear more here.
MPR News journalists Brian Bakst, Cathy Wurzer, Gracie Stockton, Lukas Levin and NPR journalist Ximena Bustillo contributed to this report.
