Minnesota ICE killing: ‘This is how radicalised America has become’
MAGA claims 37-year-old mum Renee Nicole Good was shot dead by ICE agents after attempting to commit an act of domestic terror, but footage contradicts official accounts. Why would it serve Trump to use her death to sow distrust among Americans?
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In brief…
- Renee Nicole Good was shot dead by an ICE agent on a Minnesota street. Details of the incident shared by Trump and his administration are sharply contradicted by numerous videos of the killing on social media.
- The News Agents say that, as well as the killing itself, what’s remarkable about this incident is the speed with which conclusions have been reached on both sides.
- Donald Trump’s stance, claiming Good was acting violently towards officers before her death, may be an attempt to provoke national outrage and protests, which he can then claim responsibility for later stamping out.
What’s the story?
Kristi Noem, secretary of Homeland Security, says ICE agents in Minnesota shot and killed a woman in self-defence who attempted to run them down with her car in an act of domestic terrorism when their vehicles became stuck in snow.
This version of events has been supported by Donald Trump and JD Vance – who has referred to her as a “deranged leftist”.
The News Agents believe very little of Noem’s account appears to be true.
“No ICE officers were hurt. No one was run over,” says Jon Sopel.
“The remarkable thing was the speed with which people reached conclusions, not asked questions, about what had happened – who was to blame, who should be accountable.
“On both sides, there's been very little in the way of interrogation of what has happened.”
What is known about the Minnesota ICE shooting
Video footage shared widely on social media shows the killing of 37-year-old married mum of three Renee Nicole Good took place on a congested street in icy conditions, where she was shot in the face while trying to drive away.
Officers prevented a nearby medical professional from attending Good in her crashed vehicle, and her wife – who had also been in the car – distraught and sobbing on the ground in the moments that followed.
Donald Trump said Good attempted to "violently, wilfully and viciously" run down the ICE agent, adding that the officer is "recovering in hospital", and blamed the "radical left" for the incident, in a statement shared on Truth Social just hours after the incident.
The officer who fired two shots into Good's open window was seen walking confidently and unimpeded after the incident, while a fellow ICE agent patted him on the back following the killing.
ICE killing response shows how ‘radicalised’ America has become
It’s not just the shocking footage circulating online, seemingly contradicting the accounts of Republican officials – it’s the speed with which those people, including the President, were quick to point blame at the victim, and others on the left of politics.
“Even if Trump might have some reason to believe the radical left was to blame, it's entirely improper and inappropriate to be saying so at that stage,” Lewis Goodall says.
“The truth is, of course, that no one really cares what the truth is.
“For Trump and for federal government, this is an opportunity to politically vindicate their strategy of deploying ICE officers to American cities and the campaign of intimidation that they've been running.”
Reporting on Fox News highlighted Good’s sexuality, her work as a poet and the fact she had “pronouns in her bio”.
The implications in Jesse Watters’ broadcast, Jon says, was “grotesque”.
“This is how radicalised American media and politics is becoming,” Lewis adds.
“It's in every direction, but we see it absolutely crystallised there for all to see how dark it is.
“This is basically identifying the enemy within – certain characteristics that people have, and basically intimating that they have it coming.”
Jon, who lived in America for many years, says incidents almost identical to what was seen in Minneapolis are common across the US.
“Having looked at the video a number of times, it's hard to see how this officer felt his life was in danger, and that it was an act of self defense,” he says.
“From my time in America, there were endless instances of people being shot in their cars by police or federal officials, and the plea was always self defense, not knowing whether the victim might pull a gun.
“It is such a flimsy argument that is used so often to get a cop off.”
Does Trump want anger towards ICE to grow?
Other political leaders might take time in the aftermath of a live-streamed killing to attempt to diffuse political tensions – but not Trump.
His words – blaming Good, the left wing and calling on Americans to protect ICE agents – serve only to create more division among US society.
"Trump sees it as a political opportunity to cause unrest, potentially because it would serve his purposes to be seen to be cracking down on it," Lewis says.
Minneapolis is the same state George Floyd was murdered by police officer Derek Chauvin in 2020, which sparked the Black Lives Matter protests across the US, and the world – some of which involved looting and other minor crimes.
Some believe there could be protests in support of Good, and against ICE, in the coming days or weeks – and Lewis says this could play perfectly into Trump's love of "political theatre".
"What Trump is doing with ICE is using immigration enforcement as political theatre day after day, week after week," he says.
"That's not to say that everything they do will be bad – they will deport some people who shouldn't be there, and that is right, that's proper, that's got to happen, and it's a matter of legitimate public concern – but the way that they're doing it, we all know what it's about.
"It's about political theatre for MAGA and for Trump."