The family of Renee Good is taking its fight to federal court, nine months after she was fatally shot by an immigration officer in Minneapolis. The renee good lawsuit filings, announced Thursday by the family's attorney, accuse the officer and top federal officials of responsibility for her death.
According to multiple reports, the family filed two federal civil lawsuits alleging wrongful death and excessive force. Renee Good, 37, a mother of three, was shot in the driver's seat of her SUV during a January 7 encounter.
What The Renee Good Lawsuit Alleges
One lawsuit seeks to hold the United States liable under the Federal Tort Claims Act for the actions of federal agents, alleging wrongful death, battery, assault, false imprisonment, emotional distress, and negligence. The second suit names Jonathan Ross, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who shot Good, along with several federal officials.
Among those named are White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller and former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. The family's attorney, Antonio M. Romanucci, framed the filings as a step toward uncovering the truth behind what he called an unlawful use of deadly force.
According to reporting from the Associated Press and others, the suit against the United States seeks damages for Good's wrongful death and for what the family described as the suffering she endured in the final moments of her life, along with the lasting losses her death inflicted on her relatives. The second complaint, naming individual officials, reaches beyond the officer who fired to the leadership the family blames for putting agents in the city.
The Family Speaks Out
Good's brother, Brent Ganger, said the lawsuits are about accountability for his sister and for others.
"I stand here with fierce determination to do what is right for my sister, for her children, and for our country, and that is to insist on accountability. What happened to her on January 7th and what has happened to far too many people in the last year is not what America is about."
The Department of Homeland Security and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment, according to NBC News. A representative for Ross could not immediately be identified.
What Happened On January 7
The shooting occurred about a month after the Trump administration deployed 3,000 immigration agents to the Twin Cities in an effort officials dubbed Operation Metro Surge. The operation triggered large protests and significant pushback from state leaders before ending in February.
The encounter was captured on cellphone video. According to NBC News, the footage showed Good's partner, Becca Good, standing outside the SUV, while other officers told Good to get out of the car. In the video, Good is seen turning the steering wheel away from Ross and beginning to drive before multiple gunshots are heard and the SUV crashes into a parked car.
The operation that brought agents to Minnesota had become a flashpoint even before the shooting. Agents descended on the state after right-wing commentators drew attention to a fraud scandal, and their presence sparked demonstrations across the Twin Cities. For many residents, the sight of a large federal deployment in their neighborhoods was alarming on its own, and Good's death turned that unease into outrage.
Competing Accounts
The two sides describe the moment very differently. Trump administration figures, including the president and Noem, defended Ross's actions and claimed Good was an agitator who tried to run over the officer with her vehicle. Witnesses, however, told NBC News at the time that Ross did not appear to be in the direct path of the SUV.
Noem said Ross was treated at a hospital for injuries he sustained in the incident and was released soon after, and a DHS official previously said he sustained internal bleeding. Those competing narratives are now likely to be tested through the legal process.
A Broader Pattern Of Concern
The case did not unfold in isolation. Weeks after Good was killed, Customs and Border Protection agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse, in Minneapolis, a death that added to the scrutiny of federal immigration operations in the city.
For the family, the lawsuits are about more than money. Romanucci said he hopes they help uncover the full truth behind the use of deadly force and the decisions that led federal agents into the city in the first place.
Civil cases like this can take years to resolve, and the government typically contests claims brought under the Federal Tort Claims Act vigorously. Still, the filings put the events of January 7 on a formal legal footing, forcing a process of discovery that could surface records, communications, and testimony that have not yet been made public. For Good's three children and the rest of her family, that process is the path they have chosen toward answers.
The case has drawn national attention and strong reaction online. As the filings spread through outlets like the Associated Press, supporters of the family called for accountability while others defended the officers involved. The divide mirrors the broader national debate over immigration enforcement.
For now, the matter heads into the courts, where the competing accounts of January 7 will face legal scrutiny. TTL will continue to follow the case as it develops. More news coverage is on The Talk Lounge.
The case also sits at the center of a larger national reckoning over the scope and conduct of immigration enforcement. Deadly encounters involving federal agents have drawn intense scrutiny, and lawsuits like this one often become reference points in the broader debate over accountability and oversight. Whatever the courts ultimately decide, the family has made clear that their goal is to ensure the full story of what happened to Renee Good does not fade from public view.
Supporters have rallied around the family in the months since her death, holding vigils and keeping her name in the conversation. For them, the lawsuits represent a formal demand for answers that they feel have been slow to come, and a test of whether the legal system will hold powerful officials to account.
