Prosecute Renee Nicole Good’s Murderer

The Trump administration has assassinated another person. On Wednesday, ICE agents killed a woman, identified as Renee Nicole Good, 37, who was not engaged in any illegal activity.

The story unfolded early yesterday morning as ICE was apparently carrying out some sort of action not far from Good’s home. Her car was on the road, obstructing her somewhat, while community members and ICE agents shouted in every direction. In one video, an ICE agent can be seen getting out of a vehicle and attempting to open Good’s car door. She steps back briefly, then tries to walk away. Another ICE agent positioned in front of the vehicle then fired three shots at point-blank range at the car, killing Good.

Homeland Security Director Kristi Noem said Good was “involved in an act of domestic terrorism.” A DHS spokesperson said Good attempted to “weaponize his vehicle” and run over the ICE agents.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey immediately called DHS’s justifications for the killing “bullshit.” Again, there is video of the incident, and that video shows that, as usual, DHS and the Trump administration are lying. It shows a nonviolent encounter that turns deadly when an ICE agent discharges his gun in a car at an unarmed woman.

The Trump administration has committed numerous murders and has not been held accountable for any of them, but this time it should be different. That’s because this murder took place in Minnesota and there are state laws that prohibit the killing of non-violent people. These laws should apply even when the murderer is a federal agent.

Federal agents do not have immunity from state murder charges when they commit murder. Obviously, this tautology is a bit circular. That means Minneapolis authorities will first have to determine that a murder took place. I would say it shouldn’t be hard to do, based on the video, but I’m black so I know all too well how prosecutors can refuse to see a murder happening before their eyes if it’s a law enforcement officer committing the murder.

Good was a white lady, so I hope this allows people to see clearly what happened. She was trying to get away from ICE, not crush them. The officer was not threatened with deadly force, but he still fired three bullets into his car. It’s murder.

Assuming that Minneapolis prosecutors do indeed want to pursue a murder that occurred in broad daylight, on video, on their streets, the ICE officer’s federal agent status should provide him no relief. States can prosecute federal agents who violate state laws. According to the Supreme Court, only Trump has immunity to shoot someone in the street and get away with it. Everyone is supposed to be subject to the law.

An excellent article by Bryna Godar in Slate This reminds me that the most concrete example of this lack of immunity occurred after the Ruby Ridge fiasco in the 1990s. Back then, an FBI sniper shot and killed an unarmed woman while the feds were besieging a cabin in Ruby Ridge, Idaho. Then Attorney General Janet Reno declined to prosecute the sniper, but Idaho officials did. After a court battle, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the prosecution could move forward (although the charges were later dropped when Idaho’s district attorney left office). There are other, older cases where federal officials have been sued by the state.