By VIRA Broadcasting | October 2, 2026 | Minneapolis, Minn.
The family of Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother of three who was fatally shot by an ICE officer in Minneapolis in January, filed two federal lawsuits Thursday, accusing Trump administration officials of a conspiracy to deprive Minnesota’s Somali and Hispanic communities of equal protection — invoking the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, a Reconstruction-era civil rights statute.
The lawsuits were filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota by Good’s brother, Brent Ganger, acting as trustee for her next of kin — including her three children — and by her partner, Becca Good, who witnessed the killing and has been diagnosed with PTSD, according to USA Today.
The first suit, brought against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act, alleges wrongful death, battery, assault, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligence, per USA Today and the AFP.
The second suit names ICE officer Jonathan Ross, who fired the shots, and — in their individual capacities — senior administration figures including Stephen Miller, former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, border czar Tom Homan, Corey Lewandowski, then-acting ICE director Todd Lyons, former Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino, and 10 unidentified agents, USA Today reported.
The centerpiece of the 149-page complaint is an unusual claim under the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, alleging officials conspired to use the immigration crackdown known as Operation Metro Surge to deprive Minnesota’s Somali and Hispanic residents of equal protection under the law and to intimidate people who filmed the operation or warned neighbors about it, according to USA Today.
The complaint alleges Good was unarmed and suspected of no crime, and was slowly turning her SUV away when Ross fired three times — once through the windshield and twice through the driver’s-side window — after stepping out of the vehicle’s path, a move the complaint says violated Department of Homeland Security policy on firing at moving vehicles, per USA Today.
An independent autopsy commissioned by the family found three gunshot paths — one through her left forearm, one through her right chest, and one through her left temple, exiting the other side of her head, USA Today reported. The Hennepin County medical examiner classified her death a homicide.
The complaint further alleges that after the shooting, federal agents did not render medical aid to Good and turned away a bystander physician who tried to help, according to USA Today.
White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis said the administration would “vigorously defend these baseless civil lawsuits,” USA Today reported. The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment.
The family has retained the civil rights firm Romanucci & Blandin, which also represented George Floyd’s family. Good’s brothers testified before Congress about the shooting in February, per USA Today.
Good’s killing — and the later fatal shooting of 37-year-old VA nurse Alex Pretti by Border Patrol agents — sparked widespread protests in Minneapolis, according to USA Today and other outlets.
Sources: The Wall Street Journal; USA Today; AFP via the Dubai Telegraph; The Washington Examiner.
Featured image: Associated Press photograph (AP 26008037165655) via TMJ4 News / E.W. Scripps — candlelight vigil held by the Minneapolis community for Renee Good after the January shooting. All rights reserved by the original publisher.