Renee Good was murdered because she was white.
Bear with me for a moment before I explain that statement.
There is still a good deal of confusion and unknowns about the sequence of events that put her onto a Minneapolis street where she was shot three times by an ICE agent named Jonathan Ross on January 7th, 2026.
But the videos made available do show three armed and masked ICE agents rapidly moving toward her vehicle that is parked in a road, with one agent telling her to move, while another ordered her to “get out of the fucking car” as he pulled at the door handle.
Seconds later, as she turns her wheels to the right to drive away, Ross shoots one time into her windshield as she starts to leave, while she is telling the agent to the left of her vehicle that she’s not angry. Then as the car continues to move, Ross shoots twice more into the open driver-side window when there is no threat.
The car continues down the street before it crashes into a parked vehicle.
By some accounts, a nearby doctor offered to assist her, but was refused by the ICE agents who claimed they had their own medical assistance on the way. That ‘assistance’ took 15 minutes and still required the agents to carry her body by her arms and legs to the ambulance that couldn’t get around their parked vehicles.
The Federal response to this has been to claim she was a ‘domestic terrorist’ and put the investigation into the hands of the FBI, and prevent any investigation by state and local law enforcement.
Based on the apparent violations of the DHS’ own directives for law enforcement and the videos, Ross should be charged with second-degree murder, and the other agents who prevented immediate medical aid (if that report is proven) should be charged as accomplices after the fact.
I note it’s been said that Ross was dragged by a vehicle in a previous incident and that may have caused his response.
Well, was there an evaluation done of his continued suitability as an enforcement agent in interactions with the general public? And in this, as in most ICE encounters, where is the supervisor to ensure correct, non-escalatory, and safe behaviors (e.g., as in ‘officer safety’ requirements not to stand in front of a moving vehicle)?
Back to my main point.
Renee Good and her partner. who was standing outside the vehicle taunting the ICE agents, did not understand that they could be killed when the pickup truck abruptly stopped and the masked armed men moved aggressively toward them.
They assumed there was no danger as they were a couple of young white moms who were only exercising their right to free speech, and to observe and question the actions of a federal agency.
A black person would not have made that mistake.
A Hispanic person would not have made that mistake.
A native American would not have made that mistake.
Even a white person who had previous confrontations with police would not have made that mistake.
All of them would have understood they could be killed just because they were there.
Here is the ugly truth.
Most white people have assumed that – because they obey the law; in many cases, like and respect the police; and believe in the rights they are told they have – they have nothing to worry about.
They are tragically mistaken.
As I mentioned above, other racial groups – particularly our black citizens – have long understood the reality of the United States: living in economically depressed areas with little to no prospects to ‘live the American dream’; suffering under a legal system that had a different set of sentencing guidelines for them; occupied by police forces that use brutality and violence as tactics; and subject to murder for simply being black.
Add to that, the U.S. is a late-stage empire that has waged continuous war for over two decades on other nations – conducting attacks, bombing, invasions, and special military operations in at least 85 countries – the majority of which have non-white populations (being enemies – or just ‘collateral damage’).
Now, the wars of empire have come home to all of us.
US administrations have become increasingly intolerant of any resistance to their goals and the plans of empire – and that’s true of both Democratic and Republican presidents. Trump’s second term is only different by excessive actions – not basic principles. They are ready and inclined to use crushing power to stifle any resistance.
(As only one example: the journalist Dave Lindorff reported that Occupy Wall Street was crushed in 2011 by the U.S. Justice Department on orders of Obama; capitalism was not allowed to be questioned).
Police training has increasingly been conducted over this same multi-decade period by private companies composed of former military special operators – who emphasize aggression and intimidation while out on ‘patrol’ in perceived hostile areas.
Additionally, during this same period Israel has conducted training for U.S police agencies in crowd control, surveillance, and use of force.
The U.S. now has militarized police forces that have little tolerance of any resistance to their orders. And in Trump’s case, he has ordered out National Guard troops and U.S. Marines into cities to ensure compliance.
We are to the point, that any protest – no matter how peaceful – means taking your life into your hands. You can be shot or killed just for being there as you are now the ‘enemy’.
And that should scare the Hell out of everyone.
Even if you’re white.
Postscript (1/28/26)
I was thinking about this post after the murder of Alex Pretti – another victim of the masked goons of ICE. Once again. he was immediately labelled a ‘domestic terrorist’ by the Trump regime. But the videos, taken by citizens, leave no doubt he was murdered, such that even Republicans in Congress can’t defend it and are scurrying out to distance themselves from the administration.
One has to hope that there’s enough critical mass across the political spectrum to have legitimate investigations that lead to indictments, prosecutions, and jail time for the murders of both Renee and Alex.
