Renee Good's family files lawsuit against US, ICE officials
The family of Renee Good has filed a lawsuit against the United States and top Trump administration officials after an ICE agent fatally shot her in Minneapolis. Two civil suits seek damages for her death during Operation Metro Surge and accuse federal actors of a coordinated enforcement campaign.
Key Takeaways
- Good's relatives filed two civil lawsuits in Minnesota federal court over her January 2026 killing by ICE agent Jonathan Ross.
- One suit names the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act; the other names Ross, other agents, and Trump officials including Stephen Miller, Tom Homan, Kristi Noem, and Greg Bovino.
- Attorneys say they waited six months after filing FTCA notice letters and received no government response.
- Federal officials called the shooting justified; bystander video and witnesses disputed that account.
Court records filed Thursday show the family of Renee Good, a mother of three, is pursuing civil accountability after her death in south Minneapolis on January 7 during the Department of Homeland Security's Operation Metro Surge.
Law firms Romanucci & Blandin and Riach Law represent the family. Partner Becca Good, who was at the scene, and brother Brent Ganger joined a news conference announcing the lawsuit filings.
What do the lawsuits claim, and whom do they name?
One case names the United States as the sole defendant under the Federal Tort Claims Act, which allows suits for death allegedly caused by federal employees acting within their duties. It seeks unspecified compensatory damages for Good's partner and family for her suffering and their permanent losses.
The second suit names Ross, ten John Doe federal agents, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, border czar Tom Homan, former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and Greg Bovino, who led the Minneapolis immigration enforcement surge.
That filing alleges Operation Metro Surge was a planned effort to interfere with civil rights of Somali and Hispanic Minnesotans and to silence neighbors who documented the campaign. Family attorneys say Ross's shots were "the predictable and intended product of the operation." The suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages.
How did Renee Good's killing unfold in Minneapolis?
According to reporting on video from Ross and bystanders, Good had just dropped her 6-year-old son at school when she encountered ICE agents near East 34th Street and Portland Avenue. Her burgundy SUV sat perpendicular on a snowy street for several minutes.
Video shows another officer ordering Good out of the car. She reversed, then moved forward as Ross cried "whoa" and three shots rang out shortly after 9:30 a.m. Bystander footage indicated Ross fired into the windshield, then at close range through the open driver's window while standing out of the vehicle's path, CNN reported.
DHS said Good "weaponized her vehicle" to run over an officer. A neighborhood witness told MPR News she "posed absolutely no threat." No criminal charges have been filed. In July, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said the Justice Department had given state investigators materials on Good's case and the later killing of Alex Pretti.
Why does this lawsuit matter beyond Minneapolis?
Becca Good said living without Renee is "like trying to live without the sun," and that accountability is needed so no other family endures the same loss. Brent Ganger said no meaningful change has followed and that deaths of Americans by government agents "should not be a partisan issue."
Attorney Antonio Romanucci said the government is "killing our citizens without any legal justification," after receiving no FTCA reply. As digital video keeps reshaping public scrutiny of enforcement actions, follow related coverage in our Future Tech & AI Wonders hub.
CNN said it sought comment from the White House, DHS, Bovino, and numbers listed for Noem. MPR News said messages to Justice and Homeland Security were not immediately returned.