Family of Renee Good sues federal government, Trump officials over killing

The family of Renee Good filed a pair of lawsuits against the federal government and top Trump administration officials Thursday morning, seeking compensation and a trial to determine the liability of several federal officials in Good’s killing.

Good was shot and killed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jonathan Ross on Jan. 7 as she and her wife, Becca Good, protested the agents’ presence in their south Minneapolis neighborhood. 

Ross has not been charged with a crime in Good’s killing, though local and federal law enforcement officials say they are still investigating the shooting. 

Attorneys for Good’s family called the lawsuits “historic” and framed it as an opportunity to hold the Trump administration accountable for abuses committed during Operation Metro Surge and beyond. 

“Our government is killing our citizens without any legal justification,” said Antonio Romanucci of the Chicago-based law firm Romanucci & Blandin, which is representing Good’s family alongside Minnesota attorney Kevin Riach. Romanucci was co-counsel for the estate of George Floyd. 

Good’s brother, Brent Ganger, and Becca Good are the lead plaintiffs in the two lawsuits. One was filed under the Federal Tort Claims Act, which provides for the compensation of people abused by federal employees, and names the U.S. government as the sole defendant. 

The second complaint relies on a novel legal theory based on the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, which outlaws conspiracies to deprive people of their constitutional rights. Good’s family argues that Operation Metro Surge was one such conspiracy targeted at Somali and Hispanic people. The lawsuit names several individual defendants, including Ross, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, former Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino and more.

Becca Good made her first public appearance Thursday morning at a press conference announcing the lawsuits. 

“Renee and I believed in something simple: that being good can change the world,” Becca Good said. “And she believed every person deserves love and compassion, care and dignity.”

Becca Good appeared alongside Ganger, Renee Good’s parents and other members of their family, who held each other and wiped away tears as Becca Good spoke.

Activists and immigrants have filed similar claims under the FTCA.

The FTCA provides the “clearest path to accountability” for federal agents, said Sarah Raisch, an attorney with Romanucci & Blandin, though Romanucci said federal law doesn’t provide adequate paths to justice for people abused by federal agents.