Renee Good’s family sues Trump officials and US government over fatal ICE shooting
A memorial for Renee Good (Adam Berry/Getty Images) (Getty Images)
The family of Renee Good, the US citizen who was fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Minneapolis in January, has filed two federal lawsuits against the US government, the agent involved and several current and former Trump administration officials.
Both the wrongful death and civil-rights conspiracy lawsuits were filed on Thursday (1 October) by Good’s partner, Becca Good, and her brother Brent Ganger.
At a news conference announcing the cases, Becca Good spoke publicly for the first time since the shooting, describing the loss of her partner and the impact on their children.
“Every morning, she is my first thought,” Becca said in a statement. “I think about how the kids are growing up without their mama, and how I will grow old without the love of my life.”
“But I also think about what she would have wanted after all of this,” she added.
What happened to Renee Good?
Good, 37, was shot on 7 January during a federal immigration enforcement operation in south Minneapolis known as Operation Metro Surge.
She and Becca had just dropped off their six-year-old child at school when they encountered federal immigration officers operating in their neighbourhood. According to accounts of the incident and video footage, Becca got out of their Honda Pilot and began recording as Good remained in the driver’s seat.
The footage shows Good repeatedly honking the vehicle’s horn before briefly reversing and turning the steering wheel as officers ordered her to get out of the car.
Becca can be heard telling Good to “drive” as the vehicle moved away.
Ross, who was standing near the front of the SUV, fired his weapon through the vehicle. He fired additional shots as the vehicle moved away, fatally striking Good. An analysis of bystander video by the Associated Press found that the footage contradicted aspects of the federal government’s initial account of the shooting.
Federal officials said at the time that Ross had acted in self-defence and alleged that Good had attempted to use her vehicle to harm or kill federal agents.
Officials, including then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, also described the incident as an act of domestic terrorism.
The Good family’s lawsuits dispute that account and argue that the use of deadly force was unjustified.
Good’s death was ruled a homicide by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office, with the cause listed as multiple gunshot wounds. A homicide ruling is a classification of the manner of death and does not itself determine whether a criminal act occurred.
Ross has not been criminally charged over Good’s death, and the shooting remains under investigation.
Family alleges government officials helped create the conditions for her death
The first lawsuit is brought under the Federal Tort Claims Act and names the US government as its sole defendant.
It alleges wrongful death and claims including battery, assault, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence. The lawsuit argues that federal agents used excessive force against Good and that their actions caused her death.
The second lawsuit takes aim at the broader federal operation in Minnesota.
It names Ross, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, former Homeland Security Secretary Noem, White House border czar Tom Homan, former Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino, former acting ICE director Todd Lyons and former Trump adviser Corey Lewandowski, as well as 10 unnamed federal agents.
The lawsuit alleges that Good’s death was the “predictable and intended product” of the administration’s immigration crackdown and accuses senior officials and federal agents of participating in what it describes as a coordinated effort targeting Somali and Hispanic communities in Minnesota.
The family’s lawyers are relying in part on the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, a Reconstruction-era law that provides a civil cause of action in certain circumstances involving conspiracies to deprive people of constitutional rights.
“Those in the highest rungs of power authorised armed, masked men to terrorise Minnesotans on the basis of their perceived race or national origin,” attorney Benjamin A. Berkman said in a statement. “To achieve that goal, they also sought to silence community members who refused to look away. Congress passed the Ku Klux Klan Act to hold accountable those who conspire to deny the equal protection of the laws.”
The claims in the lawsuit have not been proven in court.
Becca Good says she has faced threats
The family also alleges that statements made by senior Trump administration officials after the shooting contributed to threats against Becca.
According to the complaint, Becca was unable to remain in her home for more than a month following the shooting and subsequently hired security staff and installed additional security measures.
The lawsuit specifically points to officials’ early public statements blaming Renee for the shooting and characterising her actions as an attack on federal agents.
Trump later expressed sympathy for the family while continuing to argue that Good’s actions had contributed to the circumstances of her death.
In a January interview with CBS News, Trump said he believed Good was probably “a very solid, wonderful person” under normal circumstances, but added that “her actions were pretty tough”.
The White House has rejected the family’s allegations.
White House spokesperson Lauren Bis said the administration would “vigorously defend these baseless civil lawsuits”.
The White House also said that deaths of Americans caused by people it described as criminal undocumented immigrants deserved comparable media attention.
The Department of Homeland Security said the incident remains under active investigation and declined to comment further. The Justice Department has also declined to comment on the pending litigation.
Good’s mother, Donna Ganger, spoke about her daughter at a Capitol Hill forum on 22 September. She said she had voted for Trump and initially believed federal immigration agents had been deployed to protect US citizens.
“But far more than being a Republican, I am a Christian,” she said. “Jesus teaches us to forgive and I have, but what we are asking for is accountability.”
Good’s brother Brent also spoke at Thursday’s news conference announcing the lawsuits.
He said that he had previously considered himself one of the country’s “white moderates” and regretted that it had taken his sister’s death for him to recognise what he described as the vulnerability of ordinary Americans.
“We will not wait any longer. The time is absolutely now for accountability, for the deep damage done by ICE and others. We will not be quiet. We will not go away,” Granger said.
