Federal officials investigating Renee Good’s partner, sources say

WASHINGTON — Federal officials are investigating Renee Nicole Good’s partner to determine whether she may have obstructed a federal officer moments before he killed Good in Minneapolis, according to two people familiar with the investigation who spoke to NBC News.

The federal investigation into the shooting by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jonathan Ross is focusing more on Becca Good, including what officials said were her possible ties to militant groups, and less on Ross’s actions when he shot at Renee Good’s vehicle during an immigration raid last week, the sources said.

The fatal encounter sparked protests in Minneapolis and calls for accountability from immigration officials, whose tactics have led to at least 10 other shootings since September.

Antonio Romanucci, Becca Good’s attorney, said in a statement Saturday that “there has been no contact from the FBI or federal officials indicating that Becca Good is under investigation.”

The Justice Department is also investigating Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey over the theory that they conspired to obstruct federal immigration agents through their public statements, according to a senior law enforcement official and a person familiar with the matter.

Democratic officials have criticized ICE’s enforcement tactics and said in statements that the investigation was blatantly political. Frey said he would not be intimidated.

“The only person not under investigation for the shooting of Renee Good is the federal agent who shot her,” Walz said.

The Justice Department did not respond to a message seeking comment on Good and declined to comment on Walz and Frey.

FBI Director Kash Patel said in an article on X that agents were on the ground in Minneapolis “to quell violent rioters and investigate financing networks supporting criminal actors with multiple arrests already.”

The investigations follow a December memo from Attorney General Pam Bondi saying one of the Justice Department’s top priorities was countering “domestic terrorism,” including investigating groups with an “anti-fascist platform that justifies violence and any other means necessary to combat perceived ‘fascism.’

The memo, obtained by NBC News, proposes a list of possible laws under which investigators could seek to charge “culpable actors, such as certain Antifa-aligned extremists” who are inspired by “the types of extreme views on immigration, radical gender ideology and anti-American sentiment listed below, with a willingness to use violence against law-abiding citizens to further those beliefs.”

The investigation into Becca Good is focusing on the first law listed in Bondi’s memo, a section of the U.S. Code on “assaulting, resisting or obstructing federal officers,” the sources said.

Last week, President Donald Trump described Renee and Becca Good as “professional agitators.” He presented no evidence to support this claim. Moments after the shooting, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said what Renee Good did was “domestic terrorism.”

At the same time, the Justice Department has largely abandoned a previous focus on police accountability, closing so-called investigations into patterns or practices in departments accused of civil rights violations, including the Minneapolis Police Department after the killing of George Floyd.

The investigation into the shooting has sparked turmoil within the Justice Department, including the departure this week of six Minneapolis prosecutors who resigned over concerns. One of them, Joe Thompson, led a fraud investigation that was cited as one of the reasons immigration agents were sent to Minneapolis.

David Kelley, a former federal prosecutor in Minnesota but not among the six who resigned, said the resignations were “the darkest day for federal law enforcement in my 51 years of practicing law.”

“When dedicated public servants who have spent their lives prosecuting cases find it necessary to resign because they are asked to do things contrary to their conscience, it is a very sad day for justice in Minnesota,” Kelley told NBC News.

In video of the fatal encounter, cars can be heard honking, sirens wailing and protesters whistling. Ross is seen walking in front of the car to confront Renee Good. “It’s okay, man, I’m not mad at you,” Good is heard telling Ross. Another officer near the SUV told Good, a mother of three and a U.S. citizen, to get out of the car.

In the footage, Ross turns toward the front of the SUV as Becca Good appears to say, “Drive.” Good turns the wheel to her right, away from the officer, as she begins to drive. In Ross’ cellphone footage, he can then be heard yelling what sounds like “whoa” and shooting. Several shots can be heard in the video. A male voice is later heard saying, “f—–g bitch.” »

Assistant Attorney General Todd Blanche said this week that there is “currently no basis” for a Civil Rights Division criminal investigation into Ross. Federal officials have noted that internal investigations are underway within the Department of Homeland Security, but Minneapolis officials are concerned about the seriousness of such an investigation, particularly because Noem has previously said the officer was following his training.

“This vehicle was used to hit this police officer,” Noem said a day after the shooting. “It was used as a weapon, and the officer felt his life was in danger. It was used to perpetuate an act of violence, and this officer took steps to protect himself and his fellow law enforcement officers.”

Sam Trepel, a former attorney for the Civil Rights Division and now director of the Rule of Law Program at the United States United Democracy Center, said the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division normally would have played a role that could help ease community tensions through a thorough investigation into the ICE officer’s actions.

“You have to do a real, credible investigation,” she said. “I think the Civil Rights Division has a very long history, going back even before the creation of the division, of doing this work, and the idea that it is not protecting the rule of law is frightening and painful.”

Former Justice Department domestic terrorism official Thomas Brzozowski told NBC News that it was “extremely dangerous” for the Justice Department to use the term “domestic terrorism” “in a way that is not related to its statutory framework.”

But under the memo from Bondi and other authorities, Brzozowski said, authorities would have carte blanche to launch “a fairly broad investigation into those who were connected to the victim and her spouse, which would extend to individuals who may have provided training on how to engage in protest activities along these lines.”

The FBI’s domestic terrorism unit — decimated by the Trump administration following its role investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol — would normally approve a broader domestic terrorism investigation, according to a former FBI agent who worked on domestic terrorism investigations.

Local officials said the FBI excluded them from the investigation into the shooting.