Outrage erupted across the US after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent fatally shot a woman in Minneapolis, with critics accusing the government of portraying the victim as a “domestic terrorist” despite video footage showing what many say contradicts official claims about the threat she posed.
Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old US citizen and mother of three, was killed by the agent during a federal operation in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Videos filmed by bystanders and shared on social media show an officer approaching Good’s vehicle, demanding she open the door and grabbing the handle. As the car began to move forward, a second ICE agent standing in front of the vehicle dashed to the side of the vehicle, drew his weapon, and fired at least two shots at close range through the side window.
The Trump administration stated that the officer believed there was an imminent threat, a claim many eyewitnesses and bystanders dispute.
Videos of the shooting spread rapidly across social media, igniting outrage among Americans who say the footage shows a clear violation and the killing of an unarmed civilian.
“A woman is expected to remain completely calm as armed white supremacist thugs try to forcibly open her car door but an ICE agent is allowed to panic and shoot someone in the head three times from a foot away because he ‘felt threatened’,” a social media user posted on X.
I feel like I’m going crazy. If you’re shooting bullets INTO THE SIDE WINDOW OF A CAR, you are not about to be run over and you know you are not about to be run over. You are not afraid for your life. You aren’t. That did not happen. Stop insulting people’s intelligence.
— Caitlin Johnstone (@caitoz) January 8, 2026
Differing accounts
Video interviews with bystanders further fuelled outrage, with witnesses saying they saw no clear threat and describing the shooting as an unjustified use of lethal force.
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“I’m pretty right-leaning, but seeing this, this is not how we’re supposed to be doing things in America,” one bystander said in an interview with local media.
Another eyewitness told CNN that she heard officers screaming “Move, move, move” before Good began driving away, leading to the fatal shooting.
Others pointed to footage that appears to show agents celebrating after the shooting and purportedly preventing medical personnel from reaching Good in the immediate aftermath.
“They murdered her and then celebrated on camera with her blood still drying on the airbag,” journalist Briahna Joy Gray said in a X post, responding to a video of the ICE agents on the scene congratulating one another.
HOLY SHIT. This is worse.
ICE DENIED ON SCENE MEDICAL CARE TO THIS WOMAN WHILE SHE BLED OUT.
THE ICE AGENT SAYS “I DON’T CARE” WHEN A BYSTANDER IDS AS MEDICAL AND WANTS TO HELP. https://t.co/uogUy2gd0J
— Don Winslow (@donwinslow) January 7, 2026
“So was it also self-defense to block the physician from getting near her?” another social media user posted.
Critics also pointed to the speed with which government officials and right-wing figures moved to portray Good as a “domestic terrorist”.
One social media user on X wrote: “They shot her in the face as masked men shouted contradictory orders at her. She died amongst the stuffed toys of her children. Now they burn her name and memory in the pyre of their lies by framing her as a trained domestic terrorist. This is what they will do to any of us.
“It’s great to know if a federal agent shoots you in the face the entire government will publicly slander you as a domestic terrorist before ambulances even arrive,” another post on X reads.
Many also warned that what happened to Good could happen to anyone.
They will justify the killing of immigrants, they will justify the killing of Americans, and they will justify the killing of moms, children, and fathers. They will justify the killing of you.
— David Griscom (@DavidGriscom) January 7, 2026
This led many to circulate a quote from George Orwell’s novel 1984: “The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”
Another social media user posted that it was “amazing” how the two sides of the political spectrum could watch the same video and “come to the exact opposite conclusion”.
‘Dividing line’
Many say the incident has become a defining and polarising moment in American public life, with some commentators describing it as a “dividing line” in how citizens view state violence and accountability.
“This is a dividing line for Americans,” one post on X reads. “If you think a 37 year old citizen mom legal observer deserves a bullet to the head from some masked Federal gestapo you are just beyond the pale, I don’t recognize you as a good faith actor, someone whose opinion is worth a damn.”
Multiple politicians have spoken out following the fatal shooting, with several renewing calls to abolish ICE.
Minnesota state representative Ilhan Omar stated on X that ICE “does not care about the safety of Minnesotans” and that it must be held accountable with a “full, comprehensive investigation legal action against the agency”.
Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib also called for accountability, ending her statement on X with “Abolish ICE now”.
The mayor of Minneapolis had even stronger words for the agency, telling them to “get the fuck out of Minneapolis”.
ICE, get the fuck out of Minneapolis. pic.twitter.com/1gfFC0Le6Q
— Mayor Jacob Frey (@MayorFrey) January 7, 2026
Across social media, many users compared the actions of ICE and the US government to tactics associated with Israel and its army.
“We are witnessing the full Israelification of the United States,” one social media user posted alongside US President Donald Trump’s statement on X, where he repeated the “self-defence” claim.
Journalist Jasper Nathaniel responded on X to a statement from Homeland Security, which claims that Good “weaponized her vehicle” and committed an act of “domestic terrorism”, with Nathaniel saying, “Indistinguishable from IDF language”, meaning the Israeli army.
“This is straight out of Israel’s playbook”
My brother in Allah, America wrote the damn playbook. America is both the playbook’s primary and corresponding author. You flip to the endnotes and it’s all references from the history of American violence. This is purely homegrown.
— kev joon (@never_oppressed) January 8, 2026
However, many social media users pushed back on those comparisons, arguing that the history of state violence in the US long predates the creation of Israel.
“I wish we’d stop saying this – this is the United States, this is American violence,” journalist Sana Saeed posted on X. “This is violence that many Americans (and non-Americans within these borders) have experienced before in the name of security, defense of borders, defense of white domination.”
“The Israeli model of violence is an American one, a European one – it is not pathological *as a model*, even if expressions of it and how it is discussed are,” Saeed continued. “The Israeli violence that shocks us, every single day, is only possible because of the permission, arms and impunity given to Israel by the United States and Europe.”
The moment has also refocused attention on ICE’s sweeping enforcement under the Trump administration, where more than 1,000 people are being arrested daily.
If they can do this to a U.S. citizen in broad daylight, what do you think is happening behind the walls of detention centers?
— Jamie Bonkiewicz (@JamieBonkiewicz) January 7, 2026
Amidst the continued online reaction, many have emphasised the importance of remembering Good while keeping her family in mind.
“The woman shot in Minnesota was Renee Nicole Good. She was 37 and had a 6 year old son. Her son’s dad had also passed away, he’ll now be an orphan,” one social media user posted on X. “Even if you think she did something wrong, it wasn’t worth killing her for. We have to have a higher bar for taking someone’s life.”
Another post on X reads: “Just saw a video of the ICE murder victim’s wife sobbing on the ground with their dog next to the car. The news cycle will move on, but please let us not forget about Renee Good, who was murdered in broad daylight by soulless cowards, and who was clearly so deeply loved.”
