FBI Probes Activist Ties in Fatal ICE Shooting

Federal investigators probing the fatal ICE shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis are expanding their focus beyond the officer who pulled the trigger to her possible links with local immigration activists. People familiar with the inquiry tell the New York Times it now includes scrutiny of Good's involvement in neighborhood efforts to monitor ICE operations. They add it appears increasingly doubtful the agent, identified as Jonathan Ross, will face criminal charges. Federal officials have barred local authorities from reviewing key evidence while they examine Ross' actions. The Justice Department's civil rights division has not opened an excessive-force case and is not expected to do so, according to a federal law enforcement official.

The broadened scope dovetails with a Trump administration strategy that portrays opponents of its immigration crackdown as dangerous extremists. President Trump has called Good and her wife, Becca, "professional agitators" and labeled Good "very violent" and "very radical," without offering evidence. Vice President JD Vance went further, calling her actions "classic terrorism," while Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Good had "weaponized" her vehicle and that Ross "defended his life." A Times video analysis, however, suggested Good was likely trying to drive away from officers rather than hit them.

Former FBI special agent Robert D'Amico says it's problematic for officials to claim the shooting is "justified before the facts are in," per the BBC. Thomas E. Brzozowski, former domestic terrorism counsel at the Justice Department, says it's premature to brand the incident terrorism and that the term risks becoming "little more than a political cudgel," per the Times. His concern is heightened by a recent memo from Attorney General Pam Bondi that broadens the department's working definition of domestic terrorism to include conduct such as obstructing or doxxing law enforcement and lists causes often associated with left-wing activism, including opposition to immigration enforcement. Some fear that guidance could bring a shift toward targeting nonviolent protesters and criminalizing constitutionally protected political dissent.