On October 1, 2026, the Good family gathered outside a courthouse in Minneapolis to announce two federal complaints that target the United States government, a dozen named officials and ten unidentified agents. The lawsuits arise from the fatal shooting of Renee Good a 37-year-old poet and mother of three, who was killed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer Jonathan Ross during a January encounter that sparked nationwide protests.
Background of the January shooting
In January of the same year, Renee Good had just dropped her youngest child, then six years old, at school before stopping her burgundy SUV on a Minneapolis street to observe a nearby ICE operation. According to court filings, she and her partner Becca Good intended to “support and help their neighbors” by watching the officers. While the vehicle blocked traffic, officer Ross approached, and within seconds three gunshots were fired, striking Good multiple times. Video released by the family shows Ross walking around the car, the victims’ pleas, and the rapid discharge of his weapon. No medical aid was rendered on the scene, and a bystander who identified himself as a physician was allegedly rebuffed with the words, “I don’t care.”
Becca Good, who witnessed the shooting, later described her anguish in a public statement: “Every morning she’s my first thought” she said, adding that she now faces raising their three children—aged 15, 12 and 6—without their mother. The killing left the family with profound emotional trauma; the lawsuits claim that Becca suffers “intense emotional distress” from watching her partner die.
Wrongful-death lawsuit against the United States
The first complaint frames the incident as a clear violation of the Fourth Amendment and ICE policy. It alleges that Officer Ross used excessive force, shooting Good despite video evidence that contradicts agency claims she had weaponized her vehicle. The suit seeks monetary compensation for the pain and suffering endured by Good’s surviving children and for the mental anguish experienced by Becca Good, who was present at the moment of death. The complaint also names the United States as a defendant, asserting that the federal government bears responsibility for the actions of its agents.
Conspiracy lawsuit invoking the Ku Klux Klan Act
The second filing is more unusual. Citing the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 the plaintiffs argue that the shooting was the “predictable and intended product” of a coordinated federal campaign to intimidate Somali and Hispanic communities in Minnesota. The complaint lists senior Trump-era officials—including White House adviser Stephen Miller former Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem Border czar Tom Homan former ICE director Todd Lyons and former Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino—as conspirators who allegedly ordered or permitted the aggressive enforcement sweep known as “Operation Metro Surge.”
Attorney Ben Berkman of the Chicago-based firm Romanucci & Blandin explained that the case seeks accountability not just for the officer who fired the shots, but for every official who placed him on that street. “No mask, no badge and no title in the administration puts anyone above that law,” Berkman asserted. The filing also names ten unknown agents as “John Does,” noting that their identities remain concealed and that they were masked at the time of the shooting.
Political and legal reactions
The White House responded through spokesperson Lauren Bis, stating the administration will “vigorously defend these baseless civil lawsuits.” The Department of Homeland Security has not provided comment, and state officials in Minnesota have yet to release findings from their own reviews. A spokesperson for Hennepin County indicated that local authorities are still examining the evidence and will communicate transparently when a decision is reached.
Family members voiced frustration at the lack of criminal investigations. Brent Good, Renee’s brother, told reporters that the absence of any official accountability was “mind-blowing” and pledged that the suits would force the federal government to answer for the “deep damage done by ICE and others.” Their mother, Donna Gayer, and the siblings also testified before Congress during a hearing on federal shootings.
Since the shooting, a memorial bearing Good’s name remains at the site, attracting flowers and photographs from supporters. The family’s legal strategy aims to create a public record of the incident, compel the release of evidence, and potentially secure damages that could fund further advocacy. The use of the Ku Klux Klan Act signals a novel approach to holding high-level officials accountable for alleged civil-rights violations.
As the lawsuits move through the federal court system in Minnesota, the Good family hopes the actions will trigger broader scrutiny of immigration enforcement practices and offer at least some measure of justice for a mother whose life was cut short while simply trying to watch over her neighborhood.
