FBI agent looking into Renee Good ICE shooting resigns after being 'pressured to drop investigation'
An FBI agent said to be looking into the death of Renee Nicole Goode has resigned, according to reports.
Good was fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Minneapolis on January 7. The agent has since been identified as Jonathan Ross.
The mother-of-three had dropped her six-year-old child off at school with her wife, Becca Good, when they noticed ICE raids in their neighborhood.
Good's family's attorney stated the married couple stopped 'to observe, with the intention of supporting and helping their neighbors'. However, after an altercation with an ICE agent, it ended in tragedy.
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The Trump administration initially declared Good a 'domestic terrorist', though footage of the incident challenged this narrative as it appeared to show Good attempting to drive away from the scene as Ross shot her three times.
Now, an FBI agent is said to have resigned after working with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to investigate the shooting, as first reported by the New York Times.
The outlet added that the investigation into Ross was standard with incidents of this nature.
The Hill reports that agent Tracee Mergen quit as a supervisor in the FBI's investigation after being 'pressured' from bureau leadership in Washington.
CNN, citing two sources close to the matter, said that Mergen was ordered to reclassify her investigation into Ross as an investigation into an assault on an officer.
"It is FBI policy not to comment on personnel matters," the FBI said in a statement to the outlet.
UNILAD has contacted the FBI for further comment.
NBC News reports that 'at least six prosecutors' in Minnesota have resigned amid concerns of a lack of investigation regarding Good's death.
Meanwhile, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed last week that the department was 'not investigating' the fatal 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," said Blanche, the former personal lawyer for Trump.
"We investigate when it’s appropriate to investigate and that is not the case here. We are not going to bow to pressure from the media, bow to pressure from politicians, and do something that we never do – not under this administration, not under the last administration. So no, we are not investigating."
On Thursday (January 22), Minnesota's investigations agency claimed the attorney office had prevented it from being involved in the investigation into Goode's death.
Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans said: "The investigation would now be led solely by the FBI, and the BCA would no longer have access to the case materials, scene evidence or investigative interviews necessary to complete a thorough and independent investigation."
It comes as the Medical Examiner formally ruled Good's death as a homicide.
Good's family attorney, Anthonio Romanucci, issued the following statement following Friday's (January 23) ruling: "We are aware of the release of basic information by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner acknowledging the death of Renee Good as a Homicide.
"We are still waiting for their full report and hope that they communicate with Renee’s family and share their report before releasing any further information to the public.”
Callum Jones