Vance says death of Minnesota woman killed by ICE was ‘a tragedy of her own making’

Vice President JD Vance claimed Thursday that the woman fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis a day earlier was “brainwashed,” suggesting without evidence that she was linked to a “larger left-wing network.”

Vance, whose voice sometimes rose with anger as he answered questions in the White House briefing room, also chastised the media for their coverage of the incident while offering few details to support his version of events.

“I’m not happy that this woman lost her life,” he said of Renee Nicole Good, 37, who was fatally shot during a confrontation with ICE agents on Wednesday. President Donald Trump said Good “resisted” orders and “violently knocked down the ICE officer” during an immigration-related operation in the city. Authorities and an eyewitness disputed this version.

“I am not happy that this woman participated in a protest violating the law by interfering with law enforcement,” Vance added. “I think we can all agree that the best way to lower the temperature is to tell people to bring their concerns about immigration policy to the polls. Stop attacking and inciting violence against our law enforcement officers. That’s the best way to lower the temperature… We’re not going to give in to terrorism on this and that’s exactly what happened.”

Video of the incident went viral, with Trump, Vance and other high-ranking members of the administration saying the footage showed the shooting was justified. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat, called the claims “bull,” while Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz accused the administration of promoting “propaganda.”

Vance’s appearance in the briefing room Thursday was a rarity for the vice president, underscoring the administration’s eagerness to make him a point man on Minnesota. He joined White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt to discuss the administration’s response to the shooting and an ongoing fraud investigation involving alleged misuse of state welfare funds. Vance criticized Walz, his Democratic vice presidential opponent in 2024, while also announcing the creation of a new associate attorney general position to tackle fraud investigations in Minnesota and other states.

But Vance was particularly concerned about the shooting, criticizing questions about whether it was justified. The ICE officer who shot Good, he said, nearly died six months ago after being “dragged by a car” and requiring dozens of stitches in his leg.

“So you think maybe he’s a little sensitive about the idea of ​​someone hitting him with a car?” Vance said.

Vance also claimed that the media failed to explain that Good was “part of a larger left-wing network to attack, dox, assault and prevent our ICE agents from doing their jobs.”

“If the media wants to tell the truth,” he added, “they should tell the truth: A group of left-wing radicals have worked tirelessly, sometimes using domestic terror techniques, to try to stop the President of the United States from doing what the American people elected him to do, which is enforce our immigration laws. »

No evidence has been released linking Good to left-wing groups. When asked if he “anticipated a thorough investigation in drawing such conclusions,” Vance said some details were indisputable.

“You have a woman who was trying to obstruct a legitimate law enforcement operation. Nobody debates that,” he said. “You have a woman who pointed her car at a law enforcement officer and stepped on the accelerator. No one disputes that. I can believe that her death is a tragedy while recognizing that it is a tragedy of her own making and a tragedy of the far left that has brought together an entire movement – a crazed fringe – against our law enforcement officers.”

Vance added later during the briefing: “The reason this woman died is because she tried to hit someone with her car, and this guy acted in self-defense. That’s why she lost her life, and it’s a tragedy.”

Despite this, the vice president has at times vacillated between condemning Good and acknowledging that he did not know his precise motivations.

“You have to be brainwashed a little bit to get to that point where you’re willing to, not just protest, that’s fine – not protest peacefully, but throw your vehicle in front of legitimate law enforcement officers and drive your car at them. To get to that point, you have to be, I think, radicalized in a very, very sad way,” Vance said at one point, without offering proof that Good was “radicalized.”

But when asked if, after seeing the video, he had any doubt that Good acted deliberately to harm the officer, Vance conceded that point — to a point.

“Look, I don’t know what’s in a person’s heart or head, and obviously we’re not going to get a chance to ask this woman what was going on,” he said. “What I am sure of is that she violated the law. What I am sure of is that this officer had every reason to believe that he was in very serious danger of injury, if not life. What I am sure of is that she accelerated in a way that she hit the guy.”

Vance closed the briefing by speaking to reporters.

“I think it’s really irresponsible of you to go out there and imply or tell the American people that a guy who defended himself after being hit by an automobile is guilty of murder,” he said. “Be a little more careful. We’re going to talk about the need to lower the temperature, which I know the president wants to do, and I certainly want to do that. One of the ways to lower the temperature is to have a media that tells the truth. I encourage all of you to do that.”