Donald Trump lies show White House is terrified — rightly — of this victim’s simple humanity

An ambulance was getting ready to leave with a woman who had been shot by an ICE agent in Minneapolis. Her name was Renee Nicole Good, and that matters. It should be the first thing anyone says about this case.

Renee was 37 years old. She was a mother, a wife, a poet, and a deeply religious Christian. Her own mother, Donna Ganger, told local reporters that Renee and her partner were not taking part in any protests that day. They were simply there.

Her mother described her as one of the kindest people she had ever known. Renee spent her life caring for others. She was gentle, compassionate, forgiving, and loving. She was the kind of person who showed up for people, who helped when help was needed. She was, by every account, an extraordinary human being.

Renee was also a widow. Her husband, a military veteran, died in 2023 when he was just 36. Together they had a son who is now six years old. On the day she was killed, Renee was with her partner when an ICE agent shot her in the face. After she was shot, help was delayed long enough that she bled to death.

A video taken moments later shows Renee’s partner sitting on the ground in the snow, holding their dog. Blood is visible nearby. Through sobs, she can be heard saying, “They killed my wife. I don’t know what to do.” She also says they have a six-year-old child at school. Another witness says they were recording what was happening when Renee was shot in the head.

One of Renee’s former teachers, Kent Wascom, who is now a professor, shared a public tribute. He said he once held Renee’s baby. He described her as kind, talented, and hardworking. She was a working-class mother who pushed herself through school despite difficult circumstances. He said that politicians who helped enable her death would not have survived the struggles she endured. His grief and anger were unmistakable.

Renee’s humanity needs to be front and center, because almost immediately after she was killed, government officials began trying to erase it.

The Secretary of Homeland Security claimed Renee was an “agitator” and accused her of using her car as a weapon in an act of “domestic terrorism.” She said the ICE officer acted in self-defense. The Vice President echoed this narrative and blamed Renee directly, saying people should not interfere with law enforcement or try to run officers over.

The president went even further on social media. He described Renee as disorderly and claimed she violently ran over the officer. He said the officer was lucky to be alive and was recovering in the hospital.

None of that is true.

There is video of the shooting, and what officials are saying does not match what actually happened. Renee was not acting violently. She was not trying to run anyone over. The officer does not appear injured at all. After shooting Renee three times, the officer checked on her briefly, then calmly walked back to his own vehicle and drove away.

Independent investigators and visual analysis teams from respected organizations have reviewed the footage. They all found the same thing: the officer was not in the path of Renee’s vehicle when he fired. He was not about to be hit. These findings directly contradict the statements made by top government officials.

There is another detail that matters. Renee was clearly steering around the officer. Because of that, he had time to move into position, crouch down, aim with both arms extended, and fire. He shot once through the windshield and twice through the driver’s side window.

What Renee did was an act of fear and self-preservation. What the officer did was not self-defense. It was an act of terror.

The gap between what happened and what the government says happened is so large that authorities appear determined to control the investigation. Initially, the FBI said it would work jointly with the state’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Then it reversed course and cut the state agency out entirely, denying it access to evidence, materials, and interviews needed for an independent investigation.

It is hard not to see this as an attempt to protect those in power from accountability.

The message being pushed is dangerous: that ICE can label anyone a criminal, act as judge and executioner, and face no consequences. Renee was a white, blonde mother of a six-year-old. She had stuffed animals on her dashboard. Her partner cried in the snow beside her body. If this can happen to her, it can happen to anyone.

Erasing the truth is not new. Five years earlier, the same political movement worked tirelessly to erase the reality of the January 6 insurrection. Despite overwhelming evidence, lies and disinformation succeeded in blurring what happened.

There is a direct line between that moment and this one. Between a government willing to excuse violence in its name and a system that allows armed agents to act with impunity. This time, the violence did not come from a mob, but from official forces backed by the state.

People may believe that the video evidence is too clear to ignore, that justice will surely come. Many believed that before. History shows how easily truth can be buried when power decides it must be.

After Renee was killed, community members created a small memorial. They wrote messages in chalk and lit candles. An ICE officer was filmed kicking part of the memorial aside and mocking a bystander who was upset by the disrespect.

It was not enough that Renee was killed. The scene was abandoned. Medical help was blocked. Lies were told to protect the shooter. Even her memory was treated with contempt.

That is why her name matters. Renee Nicole Good was a real person. She loved, she was loved, and she mattered. Those in power fear her humanity because it exposes the real cost of authoritarianism. It shows what happens when lawlessness flows from the top down and when a society allows cruelty to replace accountability.