On January 7, 2026, federal ICE agents were in the thick of the Trump administration's massive immigration enforcement push in Minneapolis—over 2,000 agents deployed to root out illegal immigrants and fraud. In a southside residential neighborhood on Portland Avenue, one of their unmarked vehicles got stuck in the snow while wrapping up operations. As agents worked to free it, protesters gathered, blocking roads and creating chaos.
That's when Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen and local resident, drove her maroon Honda Pilot SUV right into the scene. She stopped the vehicle perpendicular to the road, deliberately blocking the agents' path. Good let civilian cars pass but refused to move when a federal vehicle with flashing lights approached. This wasn't accidental—she was impeding a lawful federal operation amid the protests. Good allowed civilian vehicles to pass but refused to move for the federal vehicle with flashing lights. This wasn’t accidental; it was obstruction of a federal investigation.
The Confrontation Turns Fatal
Agents approached Good's SUV and ordered her to exit—one yelling commands while trying to open the door and reaching inside. Good reversed a short distance, then shifted into drive and accelerated forward toward the agent positioned in front of her vehicle.
In that moment, facing a multi-ton SUV bearing down on him, the agent fired three defensive shots through the windshield. The vehicle struck the agent (who was hospitalized and released), then crashed into parked cars and a light pole. Good was fatally wounded.
Mainstream Spin vs. Reality
Mainstream outlets and local Democrats rushed to dispute this. Mayor Jacob Frey called self-defense claims "bullshit" and demanded ICE leave. Governor Tim Walz labeled it "preventable." Protests followed, with vigils and clashes.
Good's actions—blocking agents, defying orders, driving toward one on hazardous roads—created the crisis. At minimum, reckless endangerment; at worst, assault with a deadly weapon. The agent neutralized a legitimate threat, saving lives.
Bystander videos show the sequence, but ignore Good's obstruction, refusal, and forward drive on ice toward the agent, dismissing the threat undermines law enforcement, and, thereby, the law itself.
The Clear Truth
Good's actions—blocking agents, defying orders, driving toward one on hazardous roads—created the crisis. At minimum, reckless endangerment; at worst, assault with a deadly weapon. The agent neutralized a legitimate threat, saving lives.
The officers enforcing immigration laws amid such resistance should be supported, not vilified by sources with a clear agenda.
This was justified force against unlawful obstruction and danger.
Vehicles Are Deadly Weapons
In law enforcement and legal terms, vehicles are classified as deadly weapons; therefore, Good was not only refusing to follow lawful commands, but she was doing so while operating a deadly weapon, and lethal force was not only justified, but explicitly authorized, according to the 1989 Supreme Court ruling of Graham v. Connor.
Renee Nicole Good’s death was unnecessary, but it was legally justified.
On January 7, 2026, federal ICE agents were in the thick of the Trump administration's massive immigration enforcement push in Minneapolis—over 2,000 agents deployed to root out illegal immigrants and fraud. In a southside residential neighborhood on Portland Avenue, one of their unmarked vehicles got stuck in the snow while wrapping up operations. As agents worked to free it, protesters gathered, blocking roads and creating chaos.
