Different people see the video of the unnamed ICE agent who shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Good differently. Some see it as murder. Others as an agent defending himself from her Honda Pilot, even though his weapon was drawn before the car may have brushed against him and he fired into the driver’s side of the SUV as she was turning to leave and presented no threat. Others still care nothing about such nuance, and stop at FAFO. Had she complied, she wouldn’t have been killed, unconcerned that death isn’t the punishment for noncompliance.
But the official reactions, starting with DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin, and moving to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, up to the president, reflect the Trump narrative that demonstrates no concern about facts or reality.
First came Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.
Today, ICE officers in Minneapolis were conducting targeted operations when rioters began blocking ICE officers and one of these violent rioters weaponized her vehicle, attempting to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them—an act of domestic terrorism.
An ICE officer, fearing for his life, the lives of his fellow law enforcement and the safety of the public, fired defensive shots.
He used his training and saved his own life and that of his fellow officers.
The alleged perpetrator was hit and is deceased. The ICE officers who were hurt are expected to make full recoveries.
This is the direct consequence of constant attacks and demonization of our officers by sanctuary politicians who fuel and encourage rampant assaults on our law enforcement. These men and women who are simply enforcing the law on the books are facing 1,300% increase in assaults against them and an 8,000% increase in death threats.
This is an evolving situation, and we will give the public more information as soon as it becomes available.
Then came Secretary Kristi Noem, dressed in her cowgirl outfit.
WATCH: Secretary Noem TSA Press Conference | LIVE in Brownsville, Texas https://t.co/c07QImzM7J
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) January 7, 2026
Then there was Noem, now dressed in black wearing her cop cap.
Today, in an act of domestic terrorism, an anti-ICE rioter weaponized her vehicle against law enforcement. Our officer relied on his training and saved his own life, as well as the lives of his fellow officers.
Sanctuary politicians have created an environment that encourages… pic.twitter.com/OGZUkdbr3R
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) January 8, 2026
Finally, President Trump took to the official presidential news outlet.
Not that it matters much, but J.D. Vance, in a fit of FOMO, did his best Odie impression.
I want every ICE officer to know that their president, vice president, and the entire administration stands behind them.
To the radicals assaulting them, doxxing them, and threatening them: congratulations, we’re going to work even harder to enforce the law.
— JD Vance (@JDVance) January 8, 2026
Putting aside the question of whether the shooting was justified or murder, the assertions by the DHS and the Trump administration reflect no concern for facts or reality. They are absurdly and obviously false, despite the fact that there are videos showing what occurred. The administration has forsaken any attempt to be factually credible, instead seeking to manufacture facially ridiculous narratives that will appeal only to the most die-hard MAGA believer.
It’s not the first time this has happened, and it has become almost a joke that Tricia McLaughlin and Kristi Noem will make any claim, no matter how false or absurd, to defend the conduct of ICE agents. The credulous will buy it because they desperately want to. Others will be left to shake their heads at the fact that DHS has no credibility and will make up any story that serves its purpose.
Had there not been video, it might be hard to appreciate whether Noem and McLaughlin were indulging in self-serving fantasy. Maybe there was some merit to their claims. Maybe not. But there is video, and it conclusively proves that they are willing liars for the cause. They don’t care. Trump doesn’t care, not that he ever did. And they hope you won’t care either. They want you to pick your side, right or wrong, and “stand with ICE,” even if it means murdering a United States citizen for no reason.
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“[D}eath isn’t the punishment for noncompliance.” Clearly, it is and not just in this instance. Does the name George Floyd ring a bell? Or Eric Garner?
The Trace is reporting that there have been fourteen shootings by ICE officers since the crackdown began. Whether these haven’t led to more deaths due to blind luck or poor marksmanship isn’t entirely clear.
That Noem, Trump, and others are willing to lie about what happened is sickitating and disgustifying.
Back before the first Bush administration, U.S. politicians used to own up when they were conclusively caught in a lie. However, from and after President Spook, there has been this alternate approach of simply doubling-down on the lie and insisting that it is not a lie. We have now reached the point where large numbers of followers of the proponent of a lie are willing to pretend (or perhaps even to believe) that the lie is not a lie. This has led to a political system that is increasingly operating in a fictional universe, out of touch with the mainstream citizens who live in the real universe.
[Ed. Note: You’ve been around here long enough to know better than to post a comment this insufferably stupid.]
George Orwell.
“The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears.”
Ah, but which party? There are two of them.
Americans own over 400 million firearms. Perhaps it is time they start asking themselves exactly for what purpose do they own them.
Many people seem incapable of having honest conversations about what happened even when there is video. Those inclined to hate Trump and what ICE is doing are convinced that the woman was just leaving the area, posed no harm, and that the ICE agent knew that and murdered her nonetheless. Those that support Trump not only credit that the woman was trying to intentionally kill the ICE agent, but many seem to relish in the fulfillment of this latest instance of their FAFO fantasies.
Trump is a terrible leader that will no doubt use this tragedy to sow further division rather than try to understand how this could have been avoided. It’s difficult to believe that he hasn’t been hoping for an event like this to permit him to further escalate tensions with State governments.
That said, there is another video that appears to show the woman hitting the officer. It’s too early to know what happened. And of course that doesn’t prevent Noem and McLaughlin from already being able to conclusively determine that this was an act of domestic terrorism. However, if the facts do bear out that the woman was driving at the officer and hit him, there is very little hope that those screaming this was murder will admit that it may have been a legal shoot. Even if that turns out to be the case, there are so many problems that led to this avoidable tragedy. But we are unlikely to solve them because too many of us are stuck in our camps and too few people are willing to engage honestly.
I’d like to know where that video is of Renee Good hitting anyone. I’ve seen multiple videos from multiple angles, including a forensic video analysis from the NY Times. She never so much as comes close to hitting anyone. One officer grabbed her car door. She was turning the vehicle away from him. The shooter is to the left about a foot away from the driver’s side front fender. She is making a hard right turn to flee. This was murder.
I don’t know for sure if there is a video such as you describe, but there are many, many videos at odds with that description. Have you seen this video? I I assume not since you didn’t indicate where it could be seen, but if you did could you pass along the information?
[Ed. Note: Sorry, but neither links nor videos (except for Howl) in comments are allowed.)
There is another, later video showing the officer, having walked down to where Renee Good’s car had crashed, walking back toward the other officers, signaling with raised hand making a circular motion (‘wrap it up’? ‘she’s gone’?) and making sure his face was concealed. No limp or any other indication of injury whatsoever. To him, that is.
I am from the old school where each shot is analyzed separately to see if that particular shot was necessary for defense of the officer or another person threatened with imminent bodily harm.
I have seen the grainy video that shows there may have been very incidental contact between the shooter and the fender as the shooter was leaning toward the fender as the car sped by turning right. The better videos show that the shooter was clear of the fleeing car with both feet planted a foot or more from the turning car’s fender before he fired the first and two subsequent shots. But none of the videos I saw rule out incidental contact as the car sped by and the shooter leaned toward the fender. What the videos do show is that even if there had been incidental contact, the officer was in no danger when he fired. He discharged his weapon after the fleeing car turned away from him, i.e., after any possible further incidental contact. Also, as Stephen A. Smith observed, the officer had plenty of non-lethal options to a stop or apprehend the fleeing driver such as shooting the tires or calling for an interception. The driver was not going to get away.
Viewed in the worst light. Nicole Good was deliberately interfering with government administration by blocking the ICE vehicles with her car, illegally parking in a traffic lane, deliberately blocking traffic, attempting to flee a traffic stop and resisting arrest, although “get the f–k out of the car” is not the equivalent of “you are under arrest” or “show me your license and registration” in the America I grew up in. Yes, some of the videos have sound.
BTW, I am not a fan of Stephen A. Smith. But his analysis of the options available to the shooter is correct. Lethal force was not justified.
“The credulous will buy it because they desperately want to.” I fear that we are experiencing an escalation/spiral/take your pick in the direction of ever-more unimaginable horrors. The dominant political power signals that co-existence with “the other” is intolerable. And how can we reach the rank and file of a personality cult in the social media age? There’s a daily, probably hourly dose of reprogramming involved.
On Jan. 7 (day before yesterday), less than four hours after the very first video of the shooting went public, you (yes you, Scott Greenfield) re-posted that video on X, and you typed the following sentence – “A murder was committed and the killer fled to avoid capture” – and you clicked ‘Post.’ A few hours later, you re-posted, without comment, the same video but this time containing a different X user’s commentary stating, “I put together this analysis. This constitutes homicide.” And you did all this less than 12 hours after the actual shooting itself. Remarkable.