Renee Good's brother slams ongoing ICE crackdown with emotional statement following her death
Callum Jones
Featured Image Credit: ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images
Luke Granger, the brother of Renee Nicole Good, has slammed the ongoing ICE crackdown taking place in Minneapolis following her death.
37-year-old Good was fatally shot by ICE agent Jonathan Ross last month after she dropped her young child at school for the day.
The Trump administration dubbed Good a 'domestic terrorist' and said the ICE agent acted in self-defense after fatally shooting the mother.
Video evidence has challenged the opinion of the administration, however, with members of Good's family on a mission to seek justice for their lost loved one.
Advert
Granger was speaking at a Capitol Hill hearing on federal agents' use of force on Tuesday (February 3), where he discussed the impact his loss has had on the family, as well as the ongoing actions of immigration officers.
"In the past weeks, our family took some consolation thinking that perhaps her death would bring about change in our country, and it has not," Granger told lawmakers.
"The completely surreal scenes taking place on the streets of Minneapolis are beyond explanation."
Since Good's death, Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, was fatally shot by a federal officer in Minneapolis as protests of ICE's continued presence in the city took place.
Granger continued: "This is not just a bad day or a rough week or isolated incidents; these encounters with federal agents are changing the community and changing many lives, including ours, forever.
"I still don't know how to explain to my four-year-old what these agents are doing when we pass by."
Brent Ganger, another sibling of Good, also spoke at the hearing and remembered his sister nearly a month on from her death.
"Renee had a way of showing up in the world that made you believe things were going to be okay, not because she ignored the hardship, but because she chose optimism anyway," he said.
"She chose to look for what was good, what was possible and what was worth loving. Nene loved fiercely, openly and without hesitation."
Brent went on to say that Renee 'believed tomorrow could be better than today'. Discussing her positive approach to life, he continued: "She believed that kindness mattered, and she lived that belief even when things were hard."
Senator Richard Blumenthal, one of the organizer's of the special public forum, added: "I hope to our colleagues on both sides of the aisle, I hope all of our colleagues will join in seeking the action that you just described that is so important, not just as a tribute to your sister, but as a way to prevent the kind of lawless brutality that caused her death, literally murder."
While question marks surrounding Good's death remain, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche previously said the FBI was 'not investigating' the shooting.
"The Department of Justice doesn’t just stand up and investigate because some congressman thinks we should, because some governor thinks that we should," Blance said.