Hundreds of flowers and unique pieces of art will be on display at Renee Goode’s memorial site in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Saturday, February 14, 2026.
Alex Corman | Minnesota Star Tribune | Getty Images
The family of Renee Goode filed a lawsuit Thursday against the U.S. government and multiple immigration agents, alleging wrongful death, conspiracy and other violations in the killing of the 37-year-old woman by immigration agents during a federal raid in Minneapolis.
The two lawsuits were filed by Good’s partner, Becca Good, and Renee’s brother, Brent Ganger.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the lawsuit.
A police officer shot Good as she tried to drive her car away from him.
On January 7, Renee Good, a mother of three, was shot and killed as protests against migrant raids spread across the city. Becca Good said her partner stopped on the street to assist a neighbor during the immigration operation.
Bystander video shows Renee Good blocking part of the road, sitting in the driver’s seat of a red SUV and repeatedly honking the horn.
Two immigration officers step out of the truck with their faces covered, and one orders Good to exit the vehicle. She backed away slightly, then turned the wheel when the officer again told her to get out of the car.
At about the same time, Becca Good was standing in the street yelling, “Drive, baby, drive!”
One of the officers standing in front of the car drew a weapon and fired a shot into the windshield. He stumbled backwards as the car turned away from him. The officer got close to the open driver’s side window and fired two more shots, killing Renee Good, according to video analysis by The Associated Press and other sources.
Federal officials at the time said the officers acted in self-defense and that Good had engaged in “an act of domestic terrorism.”
Federal agents stand up after an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Nicole Goode and then a civilian’s car was struck by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 12, 2026. January 12, 2026.
Tim Evans Reuter
Lawsuit alleges wrongful death and conspiracy
The lawsuit against the United States seeks damages for Good’s wrongful death and “the immeasurable suffering that Renee endured in the final moments of her life, and the significant and permanent loss that her death inflicted on her family,” according to a news release filed by Ganger and Good’s attorneys.
The lawsuit also alleges that he “intentionally caused emotional distress and negligently caused emotional distress” to Becca Good.
A family lawyer said Becca and Renee Good were not legally married, but called each other wife. They had recently moved to Minneapolis from Kansas City, Missouri. Request a bench trial.
The other lawsuit alleges conspiracy to obstruct civil rights and seeks a jury trial.
The firing by Jonathan Ross, the immigration officer who killed Goode, was “the product of a predictable and deliberate operation,” the suit says, describing it as “a carefully planned and coordinated effort between federal officials and private actors to target two ethnic communities, Somali Minnesotans and Hispanic Minnesotans, for invasion and abduction, and to silence neighbors and allies of the targeted communities through intimidation, arrest, and violence.” We have documented and warned about that campaign,” according to a news release.
The complaint also alleges that “federal agencies and individuals and private entities cooperated in operations with discriminatory intent, racially targeted tracking and seizures, and each defendant’s participation in the conspiracy, regardless of legal status.”
In addition to Ross, the lawsuit also names White House chief of staff Stephen Miller as a defendant. former Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem; Gregory Bovino, former commander in chief of the U.S. Border Patrol; President Donald Trump’s campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and others.
The killing of Mr. Good and another American, Alex Preti, in Minneapolis just weeks later sparked outrage across the country and calls for curbs on immigration enforcement. At least 10 people died in encounters with immigration officials during President Donald Trump’s second term.
On her social media accounts, Renee Good described herself as a “poet, writer, wife, and mother.” On Pinterest, her profile photo shows her smiling and holding her young child, alongside posts about tattoos, hairstyles, and home decor.
“She had a way of making you feel special and loved, and I didn’t even understand that until I lost her,” Renee Good’s mother, Donna Ganger, told The Associated Press in an interview shortly after her death.
“While we have tried to overcome our own enormous losses, we are also devastated by how many lives have been destroyed during these darkest days,” Becca Good said in a news release Thursday. “Many other families are facing the loss of a loved one. The pain of this moment goes far beyond our family for everyone who had to witness it. What happened to us should never happen to any family.”
