Renee Nicole Good was many things — a wife, mother, poet, singer, devoted Christian, and "extremely compassionate" human being — but she was not a "domestic terrorist."
The 37-year-old was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent Wednesday morning in Minneapolis, Minnesota, sending shockwaves across the nation. The incident occurred after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) deployed roughly 2,000 federal agents in the state as part of an aggressive crackdown on supposed fraud.
The DHS has said that “rioters began blocking ICE officers” during what it called “targeted operations" near East 34th Street and Portland Avenue. The department alleged that Good “weaponized” her vehicle by attempting to run over agents, labeling her actions as "domestic terrorism" and those of the officers as "self defense," but multiple eyewitness accounts and video footage from the incident contradict this.
Related: Shocking video shows ICE agent fatally shooting woman in south Minneapolis
The footage shows Good was attempting to leave the scene by turning right when an agent approached her vehicle from the side and opened fire into her driver's seat window. The vehicle then accelerated, crashing into a nearby light post, with the officer who was seen firing the shots then walking away from the wreckage.
Good's extrajudicial killing has been condemned by LGBTQ+ lawmakers and activists, as well as Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who have called for a thorough investigation and for ICE to withdraw its agents from the state. Meanwhile, a GoFundMe for Good's wife and children reached over $600,000 in the 24 hours since her death.
While Donald Trump fallaciously calls her a "professional agitator," Good's loved ones are mourning a "loving, forgiving, and affectionate" mother of three who loved writing and was not particularly politically active. Here's everything we know about Good so far.
Renee Good had a wife and three children
Good had three children — a 15-year-old and 12-year-old from her first marriage, and a 6-year-old from her second marriage to Timmy Ray Macklin Jr., who died in 2023 at age 36. She was returning from dropping her youngest off at school when ICE agents shot and killed her, Good's first ex-husband told The Associated Press.
The identity of her current partner has not yet been confirmed, but video circulating on social media shows a distraught woman mourning Good at the scene of her killing, referring to her as her wife. A person wearing the same outfit as the woman can be seen in another video leaning over a bloodied body in the driver’s seat of the SUV.
“They killed my wife. I don’t know what to do. We stopped to videotape, and they shot her in the head," the woman says through sobs in the footage, with a damaged SUV visible in the distance behind her. “We have a 6-year-old at school. We’re new here."
Good was a U.S. citizen born in Colorado, but previously lived with her wife in Kansas City, Missouri before moving to Minnesota last year. She previously worked as a dental assistant and at a credit union, her ex-husband said, but had recently become a stay-at-home mom.
Renee Good was a poet with a passion for singing
Good described herself in her Instagram bio, which featured an LGBTQ+ Pride flag, as a “poet and writer and wife and mom and shitty guitar strummer from Colorado; experiencing Minneapolis, MN.”
Good's ex-husband that she was a devoted Christian who had taken part in mission trips to Northern Ireland in her youth and participated in a choir during high school. Her love of singing would lead her to study vocal performance in college, though writing was her ultimate passion.
Good graduated in December 2020 from Old Dominion University in Virginia with a degree in English, and won an award the same year for one of her works. She also hosted a podcast with her second husband before his death.
“This is yet another clear example that fear and violence have sadly become commonplace in our nation," ODU President Brian O. Hemphill said in a statement. "Indeed, this tragedy reflects the deep strain being felt in countless communities across our nation. As citizens, it is our duty and right to call upon leaders and officials to restore civility in all facets of our lives, especially at the hands of those who are entrusted to protect and serve.”
"May Renee’s life be a reminder of what unites us: freedom, love, and peace," he continued. "My hope is for compassion, healing, and reflection at a time that is becoming one of the darkest and most uncertain periods in our nation’s history.”
Renee Good was not a domestic terrorist
While the DHS has labeled Good's actions as "domestic terrorism," multiple videos from the incident contradict their claims. Testimonies from Good's loved ones also dispute that she was an activist, let alone a terrorist.
Good was a creative at heart, according to her ex-husband, not someone who was politically active. He said that she had not participated in a protest in all the years that he had known her, and did not have a criminal record beyond a parking ticket.
Good's mother shared the same characterization of her daughter. Donna Ganger told The Star Tribune that Good was “not part of anything like that at all,” referring to ongoing protests against ICE, and that she would never act so violently.
“Renee was one of the kindest people I’ve ever known,” she said. “She was extremely compassionate. She’s taken care of people all her life. She was loving, forgiving, and affectionate. She was an amazing human being.”
