“Renee sparkled. She literally sparkled,” said Becca Good in her first public statement to Minnesota Public Radio following the fatal shooting of her wife, Renee Good, in early January. “I mean, she didn’t wear glitter, but I swear she had sparkles coming out of her pores. All the time. You might think it was just my love talking but her family said the same thing. Renee was made of sunshine.”

Following the incident on Jan. 7, 2026, many new developments have surfaced. 

Good, an American citizen, was a wife and a mother to three children. She was shot by ICE agent Jonothan Ross after ICE agents approached her car and attempted to open the driver’s side door. According to the widely viewed video angles, Good reversed her vehicle and turned the wheels before putting it in drive to move away from the agents. 

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said that Good was attempting to “weaponize her vehicle” to run over agent Ross. Ross quickly drew his gun and fired three shots, killing her instantly. 

In the days following the incident, the Justice Department made the decision to neglect the expectation of a civil rights investigation regarding the shooting. In place of the standard examination of the officer or agent’s actions, they chose to investigate Good’s widow, Becca Good. 

The Justice department attributed the incident to Good’s alleged involvement in various activist groups monitoring and protesting the current immigration enforcement and ICE’s presence in Minneapolis. They then made it clear they planned to investigate Becca Good’s involvement in the shooting due to her alleged taunting and obstruction of the ICE agents.

This decision prompted six prosecutors to resign from their position in one day. On Jan. 13, Acting U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Joseph H. Thompson submitted his resignation, as well as Harry Jacobs, Melinda Williams, Thomas Calhoun-Lopez, Ruth Schneider and Tom Hollenhurst.

These six individuals said that their decision was due to the “intrusive” desires of the Justice Department to further examine Becca Good’s character in addition to the department’s supposed lack of transparency and morality.

“Instead of negotiating with us, Congress has just gone ahead and tried to subpoena — tried to hold us in contempt,” said Williams.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey made a statement applauding the individuals who resigned. He claims the prosecutors are justified in their decision and that they are “heroes.”

“These prosecutors are heroes, and the people pushing to prosecute Renee’s widow are monsters,” Frey wrote on X.

Noem, however, disagreed with Frey. She said Good engaged in an “act of domestic terrorism” by attacking officers and attempting to run them over with her vehicle, claiming that the agent was entirely justified. 

In agreement with Noem, well-known sports commentator with ESPN, Stephen A. Smith shared his perspective. He said that the agent “from a lawful perspective” was “completely justified” in shooting Good due to her behavior and alleged actions. 

People all over the country are in an uproar over the death of Renee Good and the events following. Thousands of citizens have criticized the way agent Ross handled the situation, accusing him of acting irresponsibly and abusing his power.

Doug Kelley, a former assistant U.S. attorney for seven years in Minnesota, claims that the resignations symbolize the “darkest day” for the rule of law that he has seen in his career. 

In response to a statement against Good, accusing her of provoking the conflict by attempting to run Ross over, Frey said “Having seen the video myself, I want to tell everybody directly: that is bulls***. This was an agent recklessly using power that resulted in somebody dying.”

As of Jan. 23, 2026, The Hennepin County Medical Examiner ruled Good’s death a homicide. The ruling of a homicide indicates a death caused by another person either through legal, justified, or accidental actions, and does not automatically imply criminal intent or guilt.

Good is one of eight deaths that have been reported due to incidents involving ICE agents since the start of 2026. Among these is Alex Pretti, an American citizen and an intensive care nurse for the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, who was shot roughly 10 times by an ICE agent in late January. 

Moreover, at least 32 individuals died while in ICE custody in 2025.  These detention centers have resulted in the highest fatality number of its kind since 2004. 

In the statement following the death of her wife, Becca Good referenced the shooting very minimally, primarily focusing on her wife as a person instead. 

In her statement, Good said, “We had whistles. They had guns.”