Federal authorities are not expected to file criminal charges against the ICE agent who shot and killed Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, a decision that’s fueling outrage, protests, and a deeper argument about how much legal protection federal officers effectively have when deadly force is caught on video.
Good, 37, a mother of three, was killed on January 7, 2026, during a confrontation involving federal immigration agents in a residential area of Minneapolis. Early accounts of the shooting spread quickly because multiple bystanders recorded the encounter. In one widely shared clip, Good can be heard speaking to the agent just moments before the shots are fired, telling him, “I’m not mad at you,” a line that has become central to how many people interpret the scene. (People.com)
The agent who fired the shots has been identified in reporting as Jonathan Ross, 43, described as a longtime federal officer with specialized firearms training and assignments connected to federal task forces. (People.com)
What’s now driving the public reaction isn’t only the shooting itself, but the direction the legal aftermath appears to be taking.
According to reporting, the Justice Department has declined to pursue a criminal civil-rights investigation into Good’s death. That decision matters because federal civil-rights prosecutions are one of the main pathways the federal government uses to charge law enforcement officers for on-duty killings. (Fox News) If DOJ doesn’t bring a case, the remaining plausible route for criminal prosecution shifts to Minnesota state authorities—an option that exists, but comes with serious legal and practical hurdles when the person involved is a federal officer acting under federal authority.
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