This article was updated on Friday, January 9th 2025, based on a better understanding of why Rene Nicole Good appears to have simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time. This update does not materially alter the original piece, but reflects the facts as they are now understood.
Once again, America is forced to look in the mirror and examine who it is as a society. A needless death at the hands of an immigration enforcement officer has exploded into a political war of words surrounding the actions of what appears to be a federal immigration enforcement militia member, clearly out of control.
I want to begin by noting that, as this inevitable political battle unfolds, Renee Good, 37, was a US citizen and resident of Minneapolis. She has left behind a partner, a six-year-old child, along with a 15-year-old daughter and a 12-year-old son from her first marriage. I have never met Renee, so it would be disingenuous for me to comment on who she was as a person. However, I will use her name frequently throughout this piece to reinforce that behind the flood of right-wing attacks on her character, Renee was, first and foremost, a mom, a partner and a daughter, NOT a domestic terrorist; that title belongs to her false accusers. Her former husband described her as a devoted Christian who took part in youth mission trips to Northern Ireland when she was younger.
There will be an empty chair at the dinner table this evening at Renee’s home. What set her apart from many others was her willingness to speak up for those being persecuted. She cared about the people in her community who were the targets of heavy-handed immigration enforcement.
Latest information indicates that Renee was NOT participating in the actions of those heard protesting in the audio of the footage; she was simply helping a neighbour. History, it appears, will record her as a woman in the wrong place at the wrong time. Her mother said, “[She] was one of the kindest people I’ve ever known,” adding, “loving, forgiving and affectionate.” Mary Radford, who lived next door to the family, told the Star Tribune:
“It’s a beautiful family. They have a son. He’s very sweet. He loves our dog. He always has to go run up and pet and play with her. They’re always outside playing. We’re gonna miss seeing them – forever.”
She was a writer and a poet, and on behalf of the fraternity of writers, may her memory be a blessing. My heart is broken for her family and friends, but I am confident that her name will be spoken of with respect and affection in years to come, as historians study these dark times. If you would like a more up-to-date picture of who Renee Nicole Good was, I recommend reading Richard Luscombe's piece in The Guardian from yesterday.
The war that this administration has declared on dissent will now serve its purpose, as once again, the right uses it to deflect questioning of their economic and foreign policy competence. The rhetoric being used by the President of the United States and his Secretary of Homeland Security is deliberately inflammatory and designed to elicit rage posts in order to control the narrative. The more outraged the left becomes, the more Trump is able to fire up his base in a retaliatory war that may end in yet more political violence; it’s an age-old playbook to introduce a political feedback loop.
The burning question is whether this will become another George Floyd moment, and I’m sure the days ahead will answer that question. The thing that concerns me most is the carefully crafted false narrative attempting to establish justification for the actions of a clearly reckless ICE operative. I have included footage from The Guardian as a point of reference for the commentary ahead.
To better understand the truth, we have to set aside the emotions that are currently clouding the situation and focus on the FACTS. In the rush to recruit more enforcement officers, DHS is simply lowering the bar on standards. In October last year, Senator Dick Durbin pointed out to Kristi Noem:
“The loosening of hiring standards and training requirements is unacceptable and will likely result in increased officer misconduct— similar to or worse than what occurred during a small surge in hiring U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in the early 2000s,”
He went on to add that it was:
“Exacerbating concerns, DHS has gutted offices responsible for overseeing ICE officers and ensuring accountability for use-of-force incidents.”
More than a third of recruits fail basic fitness tests, with many more failing the civics test. In a telling piece by Charles P. Pierce in Esquire on October 22nd 2025, the header reads:
ICE Is Hiring Literally Anybody, and It’s Terrifying
The opening paragraph reads:
Many recruits have criminal backgrounds or can’t pass open-book exams on officer conduct, yet they’re allowed to tear children from their beds at night.
Whatever happened to the statement “Nothing but the best people”? It’s well worth a read, the highlight for me was:
‘Staff members at ICE’s training academy in Brunswick, Georgia, recently discovered one recruit had previously been charged with strong-arm robbery and battery stemming from a domestic violence incident, the current DHS official said.’
This government is not interested in standards; it’s almost as if the only requirement is unquestioning loyalty, the ability to intimidate and instil fear, coupled with unwavering commitment to the mission, but above all, loyalty to Trump. I have no doubt that if the ICE officer who killed Renee Good is prosecuted and found guilty, Trump will pardon him. This is a closed-loop system, and unless you are a Trump loyalist, there is no room at the inn.
If you’re looking for a more detailed piece on the dire levels of training, you can read this piece by Alex Woodward in the Independent from October 2025.
Although it appears Renee was not part of the protests taking place at the time, be very clear, it is NOT a criminal offence to protest or take direct action; this is a lawful exercise of First Amendment rights, which Republicans claim to hold close to their hearts (until they don’t). She was NOT blocking the highway, it appears her vehicle was in that position because she was turning her car around to do a u-turn, as indicated by her being seen to be waving past ICE vehicles prior to the deadly actions which followed.
The victim was a white 37-year-old US Citizen had no criminal record or outstanding warrants. It’s important to note that the ICE officer who approached the vehicle and attempted to open the door was aggressive from the moment he exited his vehicle. He shouted, “Get out of the car,” and immediately raised his voice in a very aggressive manner, to shout ‘Get out of the fucking car’ before attempting to open the door. There was absolutely no attempt to de-escalate the situation whatsoever.
Renee’s reaction could in no way be described as combative despite being faced with aggression from an ICE officer wearing a mask attempting to gain access to her vehicle. I think it is safe to say that an understandable ‘fight-or-flight’ response kicked in at this point. No doubt Renee had seen many examples of innocent people being dragged from their cars by ICE in similar circumstances. It is totally reasonable to assume that she feared for her safety.
The final minute of her life is the most critical for us to focus on, because this is the moments when truth left the building for the President of the United States and Kristi Noem. I have now viewed the video from various angles multiple times, The production facilities I have, enable me to sharpen the footage and analyse it frame by frame. Both the angle in the video above and the one being pushed by right-wing talking heads, lead me to exactly the same conclusion. Let’s begin by examining the false narrative created to defend the officer's actions.
We can clearly dismiss that the protesters were rioters and Renee was it appears not even part of the protests anyway; While protesters themselves were loud and passionate in their vocal objections to what the ICE officers were doing, as is their right under the Constitution. You might say they were rude and abusive, but that is not a crime. The vehicle involved was not blocking the ICE vehicles, as evidenced by the fact that other vehicles passed during the incident. The most egregious claim made was that “one of these violent rioters weaponised her vehicle, attempting to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them.” This is a total fabrication of events as the footage clearly shows.
Firstly, Renee was not it appears part of the protest and she certainly did NOT attempt to run over the ICE officer; had she done so, she would simply have driven forward.
She reversed her vehicle with the reverse lock on to position herself to turn right.
After reversing, she turned the steering hard right I assume with the specific intention of avoiding the ICE officer in front of he car.
Only then did she engage drive and move forward in an attempt to flee, one assumes fearful of her safety.
If you examine the position of the officer who fired the fatal shot, you will note that he slightly advances with enough time to take up a firing position. He appears not to be in the turning arc of the vehicle in which Renee had locked the steering hard right in order to ESCAPE. Obviously, the ballistics report will form a key element in this case. But it is pretty evident that the first shot went through the windshield very close to the left-hand stantion, indicating that the vehicle was turning hard right. Looking at the footage, I suspect that the first bullet took an upward trajectory, hence the reported facial injuries.
The officer clearly made a conscious decision to fire his weapon rather than move out of the path of the front-left side of the vehicle, deciding instead to take up a firing stance. Even after taking that position, the vehicle made no significant contact with him, and he can be seen in footage of the immediate aftermath walking unassisted, suffering no apparent mobility issues. I have no idea if the officer had military training, but his actions appear to indicate that might be the case. He fired three shots in short succession, two of which were almost point-blank range through the open driver’s side window. There is no doubt in my mind that these were kill shots, which is deeply disturbing and totally indefensible. I suspect that Renee was killed, almost instantly.
Trump’s false claims that Renee “violently, willfully and viciously ran over the ICE Officer” is a total fabrication and one that was subsequently repeated nonstop by right-wing media and across social media platforms in a desperate attempt to seize the narrative. This tragic loss to her community is an indictment of an administration intent on creating a society that reflects its special warped sense of morality. A society in which it appears dissent is punishable by summary execution.
What is truly sickening about the events of that day is that she was shot in the head THREE times at short range in contravention of DHS Use of Force Policy in which the guiding principle is described as follows:
All DHS personnel have been entrusted with a critical mission: safeguarding the American people, our homeland, and our values. In keeping with this mission, respect for human life and the communities we serve shall continue to guide DHS LEOs in the performance of their duties.
I’d suggest this was a fail straight out of the gate.
“DHS LEOs are prohibited from discharging firearms solely to disable moving vehicles”
The right are hiding behind this section:
2. A DHS LEO may use deadly force only when the LEO has a reasonable belief that the subject of such force poses an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury to the LEO or to another person.7
a. Fleeing Subjects: Deadly force shall not be used solely to prevent the escape of a fleeing subject. However, deadly force is authorized to prevent the escape of a fleeing subject where the LEO has a reasonable belief that the subject poses a significant threat of death or serious physical harm to the LEO or others and such force is necessary to prevent escape.
Discharge of Firearms:
General Guidelines
a. Discharging a firearm against a person constitutes the use of deadly force and shall be done only with the intent of preventing or stopping the threatening behavior that justifies the use of deadly force.
Moving Vehicles, Vessels, Aircraft, or other Conveyances
DHS LEOs are prohibited from discharging firearms at the operator of a moving vehicle, vessel, aircraft, or other conveyance unless the use of deadly force against the operator is justified under the standards articulated elsewhere in this policy. 9 Before using deadly force under these circumstances, the LEO must take into consideration the hazards that may be posed to law enforcement and innocent bystanders by an out-ofcontrol conveyance.
Feel free to read the full DHS Use of Force Policy. One thing that stands out in this guidance is the inbuilt ambiguity. The inference here is that the law enforcement officer(LEO) appears to under the rules become the sole arbiter of risk. Speaking to this, law enforcement officers have always been given a get out of jail free card in terms of longstanding ‘qualified immunity’, it has long been a barrier to justice in the killing of black men in police stops. It is sadly a cultural disease endemic in law enforcement.
It’s pretty evident that JD Vance yesterday implied that the officer who shot Renee Nicole Good, Jonathan Ross, will be provided with in his words ‘absolute immunity’. The government is already hard at work to ensure that that they have their thumb on the scales of justice in this case. They have decided that they are judge jury and literally executioner in this case.
The final point I would make is in terms of ICE’s failure of their duty of care. Having shot the victim at point blank range with at least two of the shots through the open driver’s side window, a physician on scene was denied access to render critical medical assistance. This was a morally despicable act that must form part of the evidence in this case, not that it appears it will matter.
Stephen Miller’s quota system of deportees is a path drenched in the blood of the innocent and the voiceless. The objective is to terrify the immigrant population, and anyone who gets in the way of his ‘final solution’ is liable to face fatal consequences. This applies regardless of who you are, the colour of your skin or your citizenship. You are either with these tyrants or against them. Opposing them is becoming increasingly life limiting for an increasing number of Americans, and that is exactly the message they want to send to YOU.
No doubt protests will now follow, just as they did after the death of George Floyd, which took place just a few blocks away in 2020. This was the moment that brought me to US politics. Below is the first short film I ever made, inspired by the tragedy of that infamous day. Not only has it become, a historical note for me, but also a mark of my commitment to this cause we share. I believe in the people of America, I believe in their compassion, empathy and sense of moral decency. I believe that even through these darkest of times, together we can light a path to a better tomorrow
I’m reminded that we have come full circle, but the racism, the hate and the political division remain an indelible stain on the conscience of American society. I’m very mindful that the coming days may see a similar uprising to what we saw in 2020. We stand once again on the precipice of moral civil war at a time when a convicted criminal president is setting fire to the world order, in defiance of International law. I would simply say to anyone who feels the need to take to the streets to voice their rejection of this brutal act. Please take care, because if the administration decides to use it as an opportunity to tighten its grip on power, things could get very ugly very quickly. You are all in my thoughts today.
Martin
We must continue to protest against the vile regime. Renee Good was murdered in cold blood . We are living
in a time of monsters . We are not them. ✌️💪
I agree, and PLEASE our government officials need to STOP sitting on your hands (so to speak) and actually do their jobs to stop this insanity. If they don’t, I fear a huge revolt is coming. More lives lost, country even more divided, and potentially the country revolting. 🤢
Those in Congress and Senate have blood on their hands too for allowing this crap to go on for so long. For allowing nothing to be done to stop the illegal act of a demented, deranged, pervert, criminal in office …destroying our country and freedoms.
ICE will not stop killing & being an even bigger threat to us all.
PLEASE start doing an impeachment of ALL those involved who are working to destroy our nation. OR… charge them with TREASON!