The U.S. Department of Justice will not open a criminal civil rights investigation into the fatal shooting of Renee Good by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer in Minneapolis, according to a department official.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement, “There is currently no basis for a criminal civil rights investigation.” Blanche did not provide further explanation. The statement was first shared with CNN.
Good was shot by ICE officer Jonathan Ross during an enforcement operation. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem described the incident as “domestic terrorism.” Vice President JD Vance said Ross acted in “self-defense.”
Multiple prosecutors in the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division have resigned in response to the department’s handling of the case.
Former Civil Rights Division head Kristen Clarke said, “Historically the federal government has played an important role by being a neutral and impartial agency committing its resources to conducting a full and fair investigation, and the public loses out when that doesn’t happen.”
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson was among those who resigned Tuesday. The New York Times reported that at least four others stepped down, including Harry Jacobs, Melinda Williams, and Thomas Calhoun-Lopez.
