The Defiance Is Steadily Building, in Increasingly Unlikely Places

It’s not just Minneapolis’ awesome neighbors, who have continued to turn out in epic numbers to defend citizens and non-citizens against violence from ICE and other immigration agents, following the murder of Renée Nicole Good last week. Over the past two days, we have seen renewed defiance, even from USJ Justice Department officials, who have rebelled against the Trump administration’s handling of the investigation into Good’s murder.

On Monday, four lawyers in the Justice Department’s civil rights division resigned because their unit was not involved in the putative investigation. The division normally plays a leading role in law enforcement shootings. On Tuesday, a surprising six attorneys from the U.S. attorney’s office in Minnesota also resigned because they had been tasked with investigating the political affiliations of Good’s wife, Becca, and not the actions of murderer Jonathan Ross, according to The New York Times. I’m sorry, I don’t use “allegedly” to change murder, because I’ve seen all the videos, even the one the administration thought exonerated Ross – simply because it showed Becca Good as a protesting lesbian and Renee Good as not afraid of ICE.

“It’s okay, man. I’m not mad at you,” she told Ross. These were his last words.

The DOJ thought this proved she deserved to die?

Good’s calmness appears to have angered Ross, who reportedly called him a “fucking bitch” after shooting him. I say “allegedly” about this because we’re not sure he said it, but the words were captured on his own cell phone video after the murder. I don’t know.

Joseph Thompson, second in command in the U.S. Attorney’s Office overseeing the social services fraud investigation that first sent federal officials to Minnesota, resigned Tuesday, The New York Times reported. At first, the articles said that only three lawyers had resigned; later it turned out that there were six of them. Thompson resigned because he opposed the idea of ​​investigating Becca Good’s background, instead of investigating Ross’ illegal use of force. He was also unhappy that the DOJ excluded Minnesota law enforcement, which would normally be involved in such investigations.

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said Thompson’s departure jeopardized the fraud cases he was investigating. “When you lose the leader responsible for the fraud cases, it tells you that this isn’t really about prosecuting fraud,” O’Hara said.

We’ve seen Justice Department lawyers step down before this year. When Trump got corruption charges against former New York Mayor Eric Adams dismissed, lawyers in the Southern District of New York, even some conservatives, backed down. But a lot of lawyers who just left have had to deal with a lot of bad decisions.

Something about Renee Good’s murder strikes them as worse.

The New York Times reported Monday evening, in a story with huge gaps, that investigators were turning their attention to Renee Good’s alleged ties to anti-ICE groups. Fine, but the story showed no connection. Trump, the newspaper reported, described Good and his wife as “professional agitators” and promised that an investigation would “find out who is paying for this.” Trump has presented no evidence to support his claims, and the Times neither does history.

He noted that puppy killer Kristi Noem had called Good a “domestic terrorist” but acknowledged she produced no evidence. Still, the headline – “FBI investigation into ICE shooting examines victim’s possible ties to activist groups” – lent credibility to this non-article.

THE Times Tuesday’s story presented more of the truth, reporting the absence of any evidence that Renee Good, or his wife Becca, had anti-ICE ties. But as usual, the Times and the mainstream media are not up to this exhausting situation.

Ethnic cleansing czar Stephen Miller remains unmoved by challenge from Minneapolis residents or Justice Department employees. Last night on Fox, then on X, he issued even darker warnings to protesters:

To All ICE Agents: You have federal immunity in the line of duty. Anyone who puts their hands on you, tries to stop you, or tries to hinder you is committing a crime. You have immunity to carry out your duties, and no one – no city official, no state representative, no illegal alien, no left-wing agitator or domestic insurrectionist – can prevent you from fulfilling your legal obligations and duties. The Justice Department has made clear that if officials cross this line and engage in a criminal conspiracy against the United States or ICE agents, then they will be brought to justice.