Renee Good’s family sues US government and immigration officials

Renee Good’s partner and brother filed two federal lawsuits on October 1 against the US government and immigration officials over the January killing of the 37-year-old in Minneapolis by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jonathan Ross. The cases allege wrongful death and a conspiracy to interfere with civil rights.¹²³⁴

Two separate legal cases

In the first case, the family is pursuing compensation from the US government through the Federal Tort Claims Act, a law allowing some claims involving harm resulting from federal employees’ negligence. The Minnesota wrongful-death claim cites negligence and alleged acts of assault, battery, unlawful confinement and deliberate conduct causing severe emotional distress. The family is seeking compensation for Good’s suffering and its own losses.¹²⁵⁶

The second case alleges that senior federal officials and immigration agents conspired to interfere with civil rights. According to the Guardian, those identified in the court papers include Ross, ex-Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem, presidential deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller and Gregory Bovino, previously the Border Patrol’s commander-at-large. The Straits Times reported that the claim was brought under the 1871 Ku Klux Klan Act.¹²⁴⁶

Allegations about the federal operation

The family’s lawyers contend that Operation Metro Surge used overstated fraud allegations to justify sending thousands of masked federal agents into Minneapolis. They allege that the operation deliberately focused on Somali and Hispanic communities, sought to intimidate protesters or people monitoring officers, and encouraged agents to provoke confrontations without expecting consequences for using force.³⁵⁶

The first lawsuit describes the operation as creating conditions in which government-backed violence could occur, according to the BBC. The filings further allege that officials authorised extreme and unconstitutional force against people exercising rights of assembly, speech and dissent. These are allegations in the civil cases, not established findings.¹²³

Conflicting accounts of the shooting

Federal officials have said Ross acted in self-defence and characterised Good’s conduct as “an act of domestic terrorism”. Immigration authorities said she had attempted to kill or injure agents, while Noem claimed Good tried to run over an officer. Relatives and eyewitnesses rejected the claim that Good intended to harm the officers.¹²⁴⁵

Accounts cited by the Guardian and The Straits Times describe video showing Good speaking calmly with officers and steering away as she tried to leave. According to the relatives’ legal complaint, Good had no weapon and was under no criminal suspicion at the time Ross opened fire. The Straits Times reported that Ross fired three shots into Good’s vehicle; Becca Good was nearby and saw her partner die.¹⁶

Political and institutional consequences

Good’s death led to protests, which intensified after federal agents also killed Minneapolis intensive-care nurse Alex Pretti later in January. The Straits Times reported that no agent had been charged in either killing and that Minnesota authorities were examining both deaths for possible violations of state law.²⁵⁶

The Guardian reported that at least 10 prosecutors resigned after the shootings and that the president withdrew agents from Minnesota amid the backlash. The BBC said hundreds of federal agents were removed from Minneapolis. The Guardian also reported that Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche saw no basis for a civil-rights investigation, while the Justice Department examined Becca Good’s relationship with protest groups.¹²⁶