1. United States
2. Ohio
3. Letter

I am writing to demand an independent investigation into the January 7 killing of Renee Good by ICE agent Jonathan Ross in Minneapolis. The current handling of this case represents a dangerous departure from standard procedures for investigating shootings involving federal law enforcement agents. Renee Good was shot three times at close range while legally observing and filming ICE operations with her wife Becca. Eyewitnesses reported that multiple ICE agents approached their vehicle and shouted conflicting orders before Ross fired. Despite Trump administration claims that Good tried to run over the agent, detailed analysis of footage has not supported this accusation. Yet instead of investigating whether Ross used excessive force, the DOJ has focused on investigating the victims themselves. The investigation has been compromised from the start. FBI agent Tracee Mergen, acting supervisor of the Minneapolis field office Public Corruption Squad, resigned in protest after senior FBI officials pressured her to end the civil rights probe. The DOJ's Civil Rights Division under Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon announced it would not investigate the killing, leading four top officials in her office to resign. Six federal prosecutors in Minnesota also resigned after the DOJ made clear that Becca and Renee Good, not Ross, would be the focus of investigation. Federal prosecutors have blocked Minnesota state authorities from conducting their own probe. When agents drafted a search warrant for Good's car, aides to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche ordered them to redraft it to search for evidence of an attack on Ross. A federal judge rejected the warrant. This obstruction of justice cannot stand. Filming law enforcement is constitutionally protected activity. The mass resignations of career prosecutors and FBI agents demonstrate that this investigation violates basic standards of accountability. I urge you to publicly call for an independent investigation into Renee Good's death and to oppose any efforts to criminalize legal observation of law enforcement operations.