01/11/2026
The killing of Renee Nicole Good has brought America to a crossroads -- a moment that distills into stark clarity two fundamentally incompatible visions of what this country is and what it should be.
On one side: accountability, the rule of law, the principle that no one -- not even a federal agent -- is above scrutiny when an American citizen, when any person, lies dead in the street.
On the other: thuggery, impunity, and an administration that has already declared the killer innocent and the victim guilty before any investigation has even begun.
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez drew this line yesterday when asked about Vice President Vance's defense of the ICE agent who shot Renee:
"I understand that Vice President Vance believes that shooting a young mother of three in the face three times is an acceptable America that he wants to live in, and I do not. That is a fundamental difference between Vice President Vance and I. I do not believe that the American people should be assassinated in the street."
This is the choice before us now.
From the moment Renee was killed, the Trump administration wasted no time defaming her. They have called her a "domestic terrorist," a "violent rioter," a "professional agitator." They have claimed she "violently, willfully, and viciously ran over" an officer who is visible on video walking away uninjured moments after shooting her.
And then there is JD Vance, who has been the most vile in his attacks. Blaming her for her own killing, he called Renee's death "a tragedy of her own making." He claimed she had been "brainwashed" by "left-wing ideology." He described her as a "deranged leftist." And in a moment that revealed the full moral bankruptcy of this administration, Vance declared that her killer -- the man who shot her in the head and called her a "f*cking b*tch" -- "deserves a debt of gratitude."
Let that sink in. Twenty-six seconds before Jonathan Ross fired a bullet into Renee's head, she had spoken to him calmly, even warmly: "That's fine, dude. I'm not mad at you."
His first words after killing her? "F*cking b*tch."
This is the man Vance says we owe a debt of gratitude to.
Vance then made the administration's intentions explicit: there would be no accountability. He declared that the officer is "protected by absolute immunity" and was "just doing his job" -- effectively announcing that the administration has already decided the outcome of any investigation before it has even begun. This assertion has been broadly debunked by legal experts.
Former Hennepin County Attorney Michael Freeman, who filed criminal charges against Derek Chauvin over the murder of George Floyd, told CNN bluntly: "The vice president is wrong. We have a rogue officer acting in a malicious way that killed a 37-year-old woman in cold blood. He had no reason to fear for his life. And I believe he will be prosecuted successfully in state court."
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, a former attorney general, was even more blunt: "JD Vance is profoundly and pathetically a weak human being, and he does whatever he thinks his boss wants him to do. We saw a tragic end of life in Minnesota, where children were left without a mom and a spouse was left without her partner. What we need right now is not idiotic gaslighting from the sitting vice president, but a thorough investigation. Vance should be ashamed of himself -- and he's not. And I think that speaks to the weakness of his character."
But the administration isn't just lying about the law -- they're actively obstructing justice. The FBI reversed course just hours after agreeing to a joint investigation with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), shutting out state investigators entirely and seizing sole control of all case materials, scene evidence, and witness interviews.
This is a striking departure from standard practice -- including the FBI's own policy, which states that state and local agencies are "not subordinate to the FBI" and that investigative resources are typically "pooled in a common effort."
Minnesota's U.S. senators, Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, have sent a joint letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi urging the DOJ to include the BCA in the investigation, writing: "The administration's decision raises serious questions about its objectivity, particularly after administration officials have made statements that conflict with the video and other evidence that has already become public."
If the administration truly believed their self-defense narrative would hold up to scrutiny, they would welcome independent validation. Instead, they are doing everything in their power to prevent it. Innocent people don't block investigations.
This is not about whether you agreed with Renee's choices that morning. It's not about whether you support ICE's mission or oppose it. It doesn't even matter who you believe was at fault.
It's about something more fundamental: when an American citizen is killed by a federal agent in an American street, there must be a fair, impartial, and transparent investigation. This is the foundation of accountability. This is the rule of law.
What the Trump administration has offered instead is governance through thuggery. Foregone conclusions about guilt and innocence. A rush to smear a dead woman's reputation while celebrating the man who killed her. An assertion that federal agents have "absolute immunity" to kill citizens without consequence.
These are not the actions of an administration committed to justice. These are the actions of an administration committed to impunity -- telling Americans, in plain terms: you cannot question us.
Flooding the streets of Minneapolis with over 2,000 agents. Terrorizing neighborhoods. Harassing immigrants and U.S. citizens alike. Using ICE as a political weapon to punish states and governors Trump doesn't like. These are the actions of authoritarians.
The lines between these two visions of America have never been clearer. And there is no standing on the sidelines.
You either stand with the rule of law, with accountability, with everything that has made America a beacon for 250 years. Or you stand with those who believe a "debt of gratitude" is owed to a man who took a woman's life through a series of reckless decisions and callous indifference to human life.
Watch the video. As Renee begins to move her car, she turns her steering wheel to the right -- away from Ross, not toward him. She was trying to go around him. She was trying to get away.
Ross chose to escalate. He chose to position himself in front of a car. And most damningly, he chose to fire at a woman who was driving away from him.
And even if you believe Renee made the wrong choice by driving away -- even if you think she should have sat there while aggressive masked men screamed at her and grabbed at her door -- disobeying an order is not a capital offense. There is no crime in America for which the punishment is summary ex*****on by a federal agent. Not fleeing. Not "impeding." Not failing to comply fast enough with screamed commands.
Failing to comply is not a death sentence in America. It must never become one.
For all Americans who are horrified not only by Renee's death but by the callous, inhumane response to it -- by the administration's immediate efforts to shut down accountability and block genuine investigation -- this is the moment to act.
Call your representatives. Demand that Congress -- particularly Republicans who have spent a year acceding to Trump's every demand -- demonstrate it is still an independent body. Join the protests happening in cities across the country this weekend.
Renee Nicole Good was not an activist by nature. She was a mother who had just dropped her six-year-old son off at school and was on her way home. She stopped to bear witness, to hold accountable the ICE agents operating in her neighborhood -- an action fully protected by the Constitution.
As her wife, Becca Good, wrote in a statement: "On Wednesday, January 7th, we stopped to support our neighbors. We had whistles. They had guns."
Renee's voice has been silenced. Yours has not.
Stand up for an America of law, not thuggery. Of accountability, not impunity. Of decency and compassion, not cruelty celebrated as strength.
Over 1,000 protests demanding justice for Renee are being held across the country this weekend -- to find one in your area, visit https://tinyurl.com/yeyffdp8
Demand they support a fair and impartial investigation into Renee's killing -- and cosponsor the articles of impeachment being filed against Kristi Noem.
To join with others in your community who stand for democracy, you can find an Indivisible group in your area at https://indivisible.org/groups
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To view the new video from Ross' cellphone, visit https://www.facebook.com/reel/1459236089323487
For a comprehensive compilation of the many witness videos taken of the scene before, during, and after Renee's killing that offers a clear and definitive analysis of how events unfolded, visit https://www.nytimes.com/.../minneapolis-ice-shooting...
For the CBS expert video analysis: https://www.cbsnews.com/.../ice-shooting-minneapolis.../
To read more about how the Trump administration is blocking Minnesota officials from investigating Renee's murder, visit https://www.nytimes.com/.../minnesota-ice-shooting-news...
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For books for children and teens about the importance of standing up for truth, decency, and justice, even in dark times, visit our blog post, "Dissent Is Patriotic: 50 Books About Women Who Fought for Change," at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=14364
For books for tweens and teens about girls living under real-life authoritarian regimes throughout history that will help them appreciate how precious democracy truly is, visit our blog post "The Fragility of Freedom: Mighty Girl Books About Life Under Authoritarianism" at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=32426
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