Donald Trump and his supporters have been accused of distorting the narrative surrounding the tragic death of a Minneapolis shooting victim, labeling her as a “domestic terrorist.” However, newly released footage has cast doubt on this portrayal.
Renee Nicole Good, a mother of three, had dropped off her six-year-old son at school before encountering a group of ICE agents. She was fatally shot three times and crashed into a parked vehicle on Wednesday. Following the incident, Trump’s associates launched an offensive, alleging that the victim had used her vehicle as a weapon. JD Vance even described her death as a “tragedy of her own making,” aligning with a concerning trend within the Trump camp.
Despite efforts by the White House to support the ICE agent involved in the shooting, his own bodycam footage told a different story. The video, which surfaced on Friday via online platform Alpha News, showed the agent circling Ms. Good’s vehicle while recording her face and license plate with his phone.
In the footage, Ms. Good remained calm and polite, telling the officer, “That’s fine, dude. I’m not mad at you.” She then proceeded to move her car to allow other vehicles to pass while immigration officers continued their questioning.
The stark contrast between Ms. Good’s composed demeanor and the aggressive behavior of the ICE agents persisted as they demanded that she exit her vehicle. Subsequently, the bodycam footage captured the moment when Ms. Good turned her steering wheel away from the ICE agent, prompting him to exclaim “whoa” before firing three fatal shots.
In a shocking turn of events, the agent was heard using derogatory language towards the victim after shooting her as her car spiraled out of control and collided with a parked vehicle.
The release of this video has undermined the Trump camp’s attempts to downplay Ms. Good’s death and the ensuing protests in a city still reeling from previous tragedies. Outrage had previously erupted following the murder of George Floyd by a white police officer in Minneapolis in 2020.
Minnesota Lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark were tragically killed at their Minneapolis home in June, in what authorities deemed a “politically motivated” attack.
President Trump has a history of criticizing Democratic strongholds like Minneapolis, but the recent video evidence has refuted his and his allies’ claims. Despite statements from figures like JD Vance and the Vice President blaming the victim for her own death, the footage paints a different picture.
Ms. Good, an acclaimed poet from Colorado Springs, was described by her first-husband as a devout Christian who had participated in a youth mission in Northern Ireland. Her wife, Rebecca Good, paid a heartfelt tribute, calling her “pure love” and “pure joy.”
While efforts were made to defend the ICE agent involved in the shooting, the officer’s own footage has contradicted the official narrative. Loved ones remember Ms. Good as a compassionate and family-oriented Christian, a stark contrast to the attempts by some politicians to portray her death differently.