'Don't Hide': Minnesota Officials Demand Access to Probe of ICE Killing

Top Minnesota officials are demanding that the Trump administration stop their efforts to "hide" evidence in the probe of an immigration agent's killing of 37-year-old mother Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis earlier this week, which has been met with outrage in the community and demonstrations across the country.

After initially saying that it was cooperating with local law enforcement to investigate the killing, the FBI said Thursday that it assumed sole responsibility for the probe, which the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) said left them without access to evidence needed to carry out a full investigation.

At a press conference on Friday, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who demanded after the shooting that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) "get the fuck out of Minneapolis," said that the Trump administration and Attorney General Pam Bondi's Department of Justice were seeking to commandeer the investigation because they "have already come to a conclusion" that the ICE officer who shot Good, identified Thursday as Johnathan Ross, should not face criminal charges.

The federal government has claimed that Ross acted in self-defense, shooting Good as she attempted to ram him with her car. But video evidence contradicts this version of events, showing her attempting to avoid hitting the agent, and that he fired the fatal shots into her window from the car's side.

Members of the administration have justified Good's killing repeatedly with attacks on her character. Within hours of the shooting, President Donald Trump referred to Good, without a shred of evidence, as a "professional agitator" who "violently, willfully, and viciously ran over” Ross. The video shows that Ross actually walked away from the incident unscathed.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem later described Good as a "domestic terrorist," while Vice President JD Vance degraded her as a "far-left... lunatic."

"From the very beginning, they're calling the victim a domestic terrorist. They're calling the actions of the agent involved some form of defensive posture," Frey said. "We know that they've already determined much of the investigation."

"If you've got nothing to hide from, then don't hide from it," he added. "Include local experts in the process. We've got nothing to hide from here. All we want in Minneapolis is justice and the truth."

Jason Chavez, a member of the Minneapolis City Council representing the area where Good was shot, noted that contrary to the administration's claim that Good attempted to run over agents, she could be heard shouting "I'm pulling out" before her car was surrounded.

"The video that we have all seen... does not match the false narrative from the federal government," said Chavez, who described Good as "a mother, a wife, and a beloved community member, not a domestic terrorist."

Noem has asserted that Minnesota officials "don't have any jurisdiction in this investigation," while Vance has dubiously claimed that federal agents have "absolute immunity" from prosecution.

Minnesota's Democratic attorney general, Keith Ellison, however, argued on Friday that, given the nature of the incident, the state should be in charge of the investigation.

"This is clearly a homicide. And because of that, the states, traditionally, historically, have had priority and jurisdiction over these kinds of matters," Ellison said in an interview with Democracy Now! "It’s certainly the right thing for local authorities, state authorities, to be intimately involved in conducting this investigation."

"My thought is: What are you hiding?" he continued. "I mean, if you feel that the ICE agent operated within the law, then let there be an investigation so that that can be revealed."

Legal experts have said that Minnesota can investigate and prosecute Ross. Bryna Godar, a staff attorney at the State Democracy Research Initiative, wrote in a piece for Slate on Wednesday:

Contrary to recent assertions from some federal officials, states can prosecute federal officers for violating state criminal laws, and there is precedent for that.

Although federal officers do have immunity in some circumstances, that protection applies only if their actions were authorized under federal law and “necessary and proper” in fulfilling federal duties. When federal officers violate federal law or act unreasonably when carrying out their duties, they can face state charges.

States have a long history of prosecuting federal officials for allegedly using excessive force on the job. And when federal courts agree that the force may not have been legally justified, they have allowed the state prosecution to proceed.

Good was shot shortly after the Trump administration deployed around 2,000 federal agents to Minneapolis. On the day of the shooting, agents were also filmed pepper-spraying students during a raid at a Minneapolis high school, leading it and other schools in the area to cancel classes for the remainder of the week.

"We need a couple things here," said Democratic Gov. Tim Walz. "We need Minnesota to carry out this investigation, to make sure that the professionals at the BCA and that local law enforcement, who’s in charge of law enforcement, make sure we do the investigation, and then to pull back this unnecessary surge."

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who has been floated as a possible successor after Walz announced earlier this week that he would not seek a third term as governor, joined Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) to send a letter to Bondi, calling on her to cooperate with state authorities.

The US senators said the administration’s decision to freeze out state law enforcement "raises serious questions about its objectivity, particularly after administration officials have made statements that conflict with the video and other evidence that has already become public."