Arsonist targets Renee Good memorial as community demands justice
An arsonist attempted to set fire to Renee Good’s memorial (Adam Berry/Getty Images)
An arsonist set fire to a memorial dedicated to queer mother Renee Good, who was shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent last month.
Good, a 37-year-old mother, wife and US citizen, was killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota on 7 January just a few streets from her home by ICE officer Jonathan Ross.
Her death came after the Department of Homeland Security deployed an estimated 2,000 ICE agents and officers from Homeland Security Investigations to the Twin Cities area as part the Trump administration’s violent crackdown on immigration.
ICE’s deployment in Minnesota has been met with protests and condemnation from the local community, with residents having set up warning systems to alert others to ICE raids and regularly confronting ICE agents about their activities and demanding they leave the state.
Several videos shared online in the hours and days after Good was killed show Ross confronting her and her wife in their vehicle, before firing several shots at the car as it attempted drive off.
According to a post shared by the City of Minneapolis official social media account, police and firefighters responded to reports of a fire at Good’s memorial on Tuesday evening (17 February).
No one was injured but several items at the memorial were damaged due to the blaze.
“We will always prioritise giving our community space to grieve and heal,” a statement from the account reads, which was reposted by Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey.
“Everyone should respect the space around the memorial. We are working on next steps, including engaging the community to preserve the memorials at the Renee Good and Alex Pretti sites.”
Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse, was also fatally shot by an ICE officer two weeks after Good was.
Video footage of the damage caused by the fire, posted by photojournalist Ryan Vizzions, shows burn marks on part of the memorial, with the majority of it seemingly unaffected.
Vizzion’s footage also showed two gasoline canisters, which were likely used to spark the blaze.
Speaking to the Minnesota Star Tribune, Vizzions explained his van was parked near the memorial when the fire started.
“I looked out my windshield and I see orange,” he said. “My eyes lit up.”
Vizzions said he jumped out of his van when he realised what was happening, whilst nearby neighbours used two fire extinguishers to put out the blaze.
Wren Clinefelter, who lives near the memorial, told the outlet it was “very disheartening” for someone to try and burn it.
“We’ve been hypervigilant in our neighborhood and obviously everyone’s keeping an eye out all of the time,” Clinefelter said.
Condemning the arson, Minnesota Democrat Angie Craig wrote on X that both Good’s family and the local community “deserve the chance to mourn her”.
“This is unacceptable and we must hold anyone involved in this hateful incident accountable,” she wrote.
Minneapolis City Council member Jason Chavez, who represents the district where Good was killed, shared a photograph of the damage on Bluesky and labelled it “despicable”.
“I want to thank the neighbors and observers who helped extinguish the fire. I have reached out to the Minneapolis Fire Department and the Office of Community staff to work with the community to rectify any concerns,” Chavez wrote. “We’re still asking for justice for Renee Good and Alex Pretti.”
