DOJ's Blanche says agent was forced to defend himself

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Was ICE Officer Jonathan Ross justified in fatally shooting Renée Good?

On January 7, 2026, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Jonathan Ross fatally shot Renée Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen, during a federal immigration operation in south Minneapolis. Good, a poet and writer with an English degree from Old Dominion University who had recently relocated to Minneapolis with her wife and children, was in her SUV near East 34th Street and Portland Avenue when agents approached. Ross fired three shots as Good's vehicle turned away from him; she drove several blocks before crashing and was pronounced dead. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said Good had used her vehicle as a weapon against agents and that Ross fired in self-defense. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz disputed that account, saying video of the encounter showed no threat to the agent and calling the self-defense narrative false. The FBI removed the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension from the joint investigation the day after the shooting. The Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division declined to open its own investigation; Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the department was not investigating because circulating video already showed the officer being attacked by the vehicle. As of September 2026, no public charges had been filed against Ross.