Renee Good's family sues US government and ICE officers over fatal Minneapolis shooting

The family of Renee Good, a US citizen fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis in January, filed two federal lawsuits on Thursday against the US government, the agent who fired the shots, and several top Trump administration officials. The lawsuits, brought by Good's partner Becca Good and her brother Brent Ganger, allege wrongful death, conspiracy, and violations of federal law, according to court documents and statements from the family's lawyers.

One lawsuit, filed against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act, accuses the government of battery, assault, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligence that caused Renee Good's death, according to the family's lawyer. It seeks damages for the "immense suffering Renee endured in the final moments of her life and for the profound and permanent losses that her death has inflicted upon her family," the complaint states, according to The Guardian.

The second lawsuit alleges a conspiracy to interfere with civil rights and names Jonathan Ross, the ICE officer who shot Good, along with White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, former Border Patrol commander-at-large Gregory Bovino, and Corey Lewandowski, President Trump's campaign manager, among others. The complaint describes Good's killing as "the predictable and intended product of the operation," a "carefully planned, co-ordinated effort between senior federal officials and private actors" targeting immigrant communities and their supporters, according to CBC News.

Good, a 37-year-old mother of three who had recently moved to Minneapolis from Kansas City, Missouri, was shot on January 7 during a traffic stop amid protests against the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. Bystander video shows Good in the driver's seat of a red SUV, honking repeatedly, while officers order her out. As she turns the wheel away, one officer fires into the windshield, then fires twice more at close range, fatally wounding her, according to an analysis by The Associated Press cited by CBC News. Federal officials at the time said the officer acted in self-defense and that Good had engaged in "an act of domestic terrorism."

Speaking publicly for the first time since the shooting, Becca Good told a news conference on Thursday: "The whole world had to watch as our entire universe was destroyed." She described the impact on their three children and said, "We were all robbed." Brent Ganger said "since her death no meaningful change has occurred" and "our family is waiting and we will wait no longer," according to the BBC.

“Our government has become a grave and mortal threat to its own citizens.”

: Antonio Romanucci, family lawyer, at Thursday's news conference, as reported by the BBC

The White House called the lawsuits "baseless" and said it would "vigorously defend" against them. Spokeswoman Lauren Bis said the deaths of Americans at the hands of illegal immigrants should merit "equal coverage" by news media. President Trump had initially blamed Good's own actions, saying she "violently, wilfully and viciously ran over the ICE officer," but weeks later called her death a "tragedy" and said agents are sometimes "going to make a mistake," according to the BBC.

Good's death and that of Alex Pretti, another US citizen killed by an immigration agent in Minneapolis two weeks later, sparked nationwide protests. At least 10 people have died in encounters with immigration officers during Trump's second term, according to the Associated Press. Following the outcry, hundreds of federal agents were withdrawn from Minneapolis and the official in charge of the operation, Greg Bovino, was removed from his post.