Washington (United States) (AFP) – The family of Renee Good, an unarmed US citizen shot dead by an immigration agent during a sweeping federal crackdown, sued President Donald Trump’s administration on Thursday, alleging wrongful death and civil rights violations. Good, 37, was killed in Minneapolis on January 7 when an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent fired three shots into her car during Operation Metro Surge, the administration’s mass deployment in Minnesota.
Her family filed two lawsuits in federal court. One names the United States and seeks damages under the Federal Tort Claims Act, alleging wrongful death, negligence, and other misconduct. The second lawsuit names the killer, Jonathan Ross, along with senior Trump administration officials including then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller. Both Trump officials baselessly accused Good of terrorism, with Noem falsely claiming in a press conference that the victim had “attempted to run a law enforcement officer over.”
The second lawsuit alleges a conspiracy to violate civil rights under provisions of the 1871 Ku Klux Klan Act, arguing that the immigration operation deliberately targeted Somali and Hispanic communities and sought to intimidate people who protested or monitored federal agents. “Renee’s death was not an accident,” lawyers for the family said, calling it the “predictable result” of policies that encouraged aggressive confrontations. The Trump administration has defended its immigration crackdown and the conduct of its officers, maintaining that Ross’s use of deadly force was justified.
Video of the shooting showed Good calmly speaking to officers from inside her vehicle shortly before she tried to drive away. The family’s lawsuit says she was unarmed, suspected of no crime, and steering away from Ross when he fired. Good’s killing triggered protests in Minneapolis and intensified scrutiny of the administration’s deportation campaign. Two weeks later, federal immigration agents fatally shot another US citizen, intensive-care nurse Alex Pretti, during a confrontation in the city.
Good’s death also prompted turmoil inside the Justice Department after federal prosecutors in Minneapolis were prevented from investigating the agents involved, with several resigning in protest. It has not charged any agent in connection with either killing, although Minnesota authorities are investigating both for possible violations of state law.
“What happened to us should never happen to any family. No child should grow up without a parent because of it. No one should lose their sister or their daughter. No one should have to live without their soulmate,” Good’s wife Becca Good said. “Accountability — real accountability — is the only way to make sure that no other family has to go through what we have.”
© 2024 AFP
