Senior Trump officials, including FBI Director Kash Patel, ordered a halt to the investigation into Renee Nicole Good’s fatal shooting by a federal agent over concerns the conclusions would contradict President Donald Trump’s public claims about the incident, according to the New York Times.
In a report published Saturday morning, the Times cited several people with knowledge of the events who spoke on the condition of anonymity, saying Patel and several others did not want to produce a report that would go against the president’s claim Good “violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE Officer” who shot her last month in Minneapolis as she was driving her car.
This, according to the Times, preceded the Department of Justice (DOJ) presenting “alternative approaches” to investigating the case, much of which federal prosecutors in Minnesota viewed as legally dubious and potentially dangerous given the high tensions in the state at the time. Ultimately, half a dozen federal prosecutors, including U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota Joseph H. Thompson, decided to resign.
The FBI told Newsweek in an email statement on Saturday morning, “We do not have a comment to provide.”
Newsweek reached out to the DOJ by submission form and the Minnesota Department of Public Safety and Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension by email on Saturday morning outside of normal business hours for comment.
Why It Matters
Good, a 37-year-old mother from Minneapolis, was shot and killed by a federal officer during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation in the city last month. Federal officials, including the president, have asserted the ICE agent acted in self-defense when Good attempted to ram him with her vehicle. This account has been sharply disputed by local officials and witnesses.
Subsequent video of the incident only further fueled debate about what transpired, with many noting Good had said nothing inflammatory and had fully turned her wheel away from the agents before starting to drive off. She was shot at least three times, according to an autopsy.
The shooting prompted protests in the city and across the nation, and tensions in the state only increased following the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti just weeks later, also by federal agents and also caught on tape, which was shared across social media. Meanwhile, in Pretti’s case the administration also asserted a version of events that local officials and witnesses disputed.
What To Know
Thompson and his colleagues resigned from their positions in mid-January approximately a week after Good’s shooting, with reporting at the time indicating the prosecutors had disagreements over how to handle the investigation into the shooting.
Now, the Times has provided some details around the decision and disagreement, with anonymous sources saying it was due to orders from Washington.
One of the suggestions from the DOJ would have seen a prosecutor seek a new search warrant for Good’s vehicle but predicating the search on a criminal investigation into whether Good had assaulted the agent, Johnathan Ross. The DOJ later urged prosecutors to instead open an investigation into Good’s partner who was present at the time of the shooting about confronting immigration agents.
Thompson and other prosecutors viewed the suggestions as “legally dubious,” and ultimately he and five other federal prosecutors resigned rather than continue to participate, which left an already overburdened office shorthanded to deal with multiple major investigations, including the ongoing investigations into the assassination of Minnesota state lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, the fraud case which the White House used as the basis for widening its operations in Minnesota, and investigations into fentanyl trafficking.
In an interview with the Times, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the tumult is “potentially destroying all the progress that we have made, working together between local and federal law enforcement officials in a very coordinated way, to actually go after the worst of the worst.”
What People Are Saying
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, a Democrat, wrote on X last month: “Joe is a principled public servant who spent more than a decade achieving justice for Minnesotans. This is a huge loss for our state. It’s also the latest sign Trump is pushing nonpartisan career professionals out of the justice department, replacing them with his sycophants.”
Minnesota state Representative Kristin Robbins, a Republican, on X last month: “Our state has been blessed to have First US Attorney Joe Thompson leading the fraud prosecutions in Minnesota for the last 7 years! It is a tremendous loss that he is stepping down. Thank you for your service!”
President Donald Trump on Truth Social last week: “The Theft and Fraud in Minnesota is far greater than the 19 Billion Dollars originally projected. The Biden Administration knew this FRAUD was happening, and did absolutely nothing about it. “Scammer” Illhan Omar and her absolutely terrible friends from Somalia should all be in jail right now or, far worse, send them back to Somalia. “Governor” Waltz is either the most CORRUPT government official in history, or the most INCOMPETENT. Even a very low IQ person, of which there are many, should have known what was going on in Minnesota!!!”
What Happens Next
The DOJ said other agencies were investigating the circumstances surrounding Good’s death. Meanwhile, Minnesota is suing the Trump administration, calling for federal agents to leave the state.
Earlier this week, the Trump administration pulled 700 federal immigration agents from Minnesota. Tom Homan, Trump’s border czar, said at a Wednesday news conference the move was a result of “unprecedented collaboration” with local officials.
In a polarized era, the center is dismissed as bland. At Newsweek, ours is different: The Courageous Center—it’s not “both sides,” it’s sharp, challenging and alive with ideas. We follow facts, not factions. If that sounds like the kind of journalism you want to see thrive, we need you.
When you become a Newsweek Member, you support a mission to keep the center strong and vibrant. Members enjoy: Ad-free browsing, exclusive content and editor conversations. Help keep the center courageous. Join today.