At a Glance
- ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot Renee Nicole Good through her car window in Minneapolis on January 7
- Conservative media and top officials labeled the 37-year-old mother a domestic terrorist within hours
- Leaked cell-phone footage shows Good calmly saying “I’m not mad at you” before Ross opened fire
- Why it matters: The shooting and its aftermath highlight how quickly official narratives can override video evidence
Renee Nicole Good was a poet, mother of three, and wife. Within hours of her death, the government branded her a domestic terrorist. The speed of that transformation stunned even seasoned observers.
The Shooting
On January 7, ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot Good through her windshield in Minneapolis. A Minneapolis Fire Department report cited by The New York Times noted she appeared to have four gunshot wounds.
Hours later, Department of Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem accused Good of “weaponizing her vehicle.” President Donald Trump claimed the 37-year-old had “violently, willfully, and viciously ran over” the agent who killed her. Vice President JD Vance called her death “a tragedy of her own making.”
Bystander videos told a different story. They showed Good trying to drive away when the shots were fired. Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey called the self-defense narrative “bullshit.”
The Conservative Pile-On
Despite the video evidence, conservative media fell in line immediately. Matt Walsh of the Daily Wire declared Good “100 percent to blame” for her own death. Megyn Kelly said it “was her own doing.”
The verdict felt unanimous: She deserved it.
But the justifications went beyond her actions with the car. Much focused on Good’s identity as a queer woman. Walsh labeled her a “lesbian agitator.” Right-wing commentator Ian Miles Cheong, who has millions of followers, called her a “rug munching leftist.”
On Fox News, Jesse Watters noted that Good “leaves behind a lesbian partner” and highlighted that she had “pronouns in her bio,” seemingly referencing her Instagram profile.
The Relationship
Good was in a relationship with Becca Good. The couple had recently moved to Minneapolis looking “to make a better life” for themselves, according to a statement Becca released after her death. They left Kansas City, Missouri, for Canada following Trump’s 2024 election victory before heading back stateside, Xtra reported.
Some commentary referred to Becca as Good’s “so-called wife,” an apparent attempt to delegitimize their relationship.
President Trump repeatedly called Becca Good “Renee’s friend” while speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One. “The woman and her friend were highly disrespectful of law enforcement,” he said.
Leigh Finke, a Minnesota state legislator and the state’s first openly trans elected official, says this erasure sends a message. “All that they will portray it as is disrespectful lesbian women who are not obeying men in power.”
The Leaked Video
A couple days after Good was killed, footage that appears to be from Ross’ cell phone leaked to conservative Minnesota outlet Alpha News. It shows the moments before the shooting.
Good is behind the wheel and calmly tells the person filming, “I’m not mad at you.” Her partner, Becca, is outside the car, confronting Ross. Becca appears defiant and unafraid, telling the person behind the camera, “Go get yourself some lunch, big boy.”
As Good tries to drive away, Ross fires several shots. Then, just before Good’s car crashes, a voice is heard saying: “Fucking bitch.”
Whoever leaked that video could have edited the slur out. They didn’t. And judging by reactions from right-wing influencers, they didn’t need to.
The Media Response
Courtney Hagle, research director at Media Matters for America, has tracked the right-wing response to Good’s death. “There’s a real sense of disgust with women in the way that conservative media is talking about these kinds of protests,” she says. “They’re clearly very angry at the presence of women, and especially white women, liberal women.”
The video, as Hagle puts it, “confirmed for them that this is not a human being that they should care about.”
The coverage reveals how quickly labels like “domestic terrorist” can stick, even when video evidence contradicts the official story. Within hours, a mother of three became a national security threat in the eyes of top officials and media figures.
The speed and coordination of the response surprised observers. Within a single news cycle, Good’s identity as a queer woman became central to justifications for her death, rather than what actually happened in those final moments captured on camera.
Key Takeaways
- Video evidence shows Good trying to drive away, not attack
- Top officials labeled her a terrorist within hours despite this evidence
- Conservative media focused on her identity as a queer woman
- The leaked footage undermines the official self-defense narrative
