Donald Trump and his supporters spent several days distorting the tragic incident in Minneapolis, portraying the victim as a “domestic terrorist.” However, new footage has raised doubts about this narrative.
Renee Nicole Good, a mother of three, had just dropped off her six-year-old son at school when she encountered a group of ICE agents. She was fatally shot three times and collided with a parked vehicle on Wednesday. Following the heartbreaking incident, Trump’s allies launched an offensive, labeling Good as someone who “weaponized her vehicle.” JD Vance went as far as calling her death a “tragedy of her own making,” a sentiment becoming increasingly common among Trump’s followers.
Despite efforts from the White House to defend the ICE agent involved in the shooting, his own bodycam footage told a different story. The video, released by online platform Alpha News, showed the agent circling Good’s vehicle while recording her face and license plate with his phone.
In a calm and polite manner, Good responded to the officer saying, “That’s fine, dude. I’m not mad at you.” Subsequently, the footage captured her moving her car to allow other vehicles to pass while the immigration officers continued interrogating her.
The contrast between Good’s composed final words to the officer and the aggressive behavior of the ICE agents persisted as they demanded her to exit the vehicle forcefully. Moments later, the bodycam footage revealed Good turning her steering wheel to the right, away from the ICE agent and not towards him. This critical perspective was followed by the agent exclaiming “whoa” before firing three chilling gunshots that startled onlookers.
In a final disrespectful act towards the woman he had just shot, the agent was heard insulting her as her vehicle spiraled out of control and crashed into a parked car.
This video has shattered two days’ worth of claims by Trump’s camp, which sought to downplay Good’s death and the ensuing protests in a city still reeling from past tragedies. Outrage erupted globally after the murder of George Floyd by a white police officer in Minneapolis in 2020.
Minnesota Legislator Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark were killed in a politically motivated attack at their Minneapolis residence in June. Trump has frequently targeted Democratic strongholds like Minneapolis with verbal assaults, but the video evidence now speaks louder than his rhetoric.
During a press conference on Wednesday, JD Vance criticized the media coverage of the incident and persistently alleged that Good intentionally aimed her vehicle at the ICE agent. He stated, “You have a woman who aimed her car at a law enforcement officer and pressed on the accelerator.” Trump, defending the ICE agent, later commented, “She behaved horribly, and then she ran him over.”
Originally from Colorado Springs, Good was a renowned poet. Her first husband, who spoke anonymously to the media, described her as a devoted Christian who had engaged in youth missions in Northern Ireland. Rebecca Good, her wife, paid an emotional tribute, calling her “pure love,” “pure joy,” and “pure sunshine.”
While authorities sought to support the ICE agent involved in the shooting, his own footage contradicted their claims. Good’s loved ones portrayed her as a caring and family-oriented Christian, a stark contrast to the attempts by many MAGA politicians to portray themselves similarly while downplaying the tragic death of a young mother.