ICE Shooting in Minneapolis and Trump's Insurrection Act Threat

On January 7, 2026, at 9:38 a.m., ICE agent JRJonathan Ross—a 43-year-old veteran with 11 years at DHS—fatally shot RNRenee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen, writer, and mother, in south Minneapolis. Eyewitness EHEmily Heller stated Ross stepped in front of Good's slow-moving SUV and fired three shots through her windshield and side window, killing her. Good had just dropped her six-year-old son at school before the shooting. The incident occurred during the largest immigration enforcement operation in U.S. history, with roughly 3,000 federal agents deployed to Minneapolis—a force five times larger than the city's 600-officer police department. This deployment included over 2,000 ICE officers and agents plus hundreds of Border Patrol personnel.

Within hours of the shooting, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem labeled Good's actions 'domestic terrorism' and claimed she 'weaponized her vehicle' to attack the agent—a designation made before any investigation. 🦆Minnesota Attorney General KEKeith Ellison called this 'an abuse of the term,' and legal experts told PolitiFact there was no public evidence Good's conduct could be prosecuted under federal terrorism statutes. The designation was 'entirely pejorative and prejudicial,' experts said. Good had no criminal record, and her ex-husband stated she wasn't an activist and he hadn't known her to participate in protests. Multiple eyewitness videos corroborated Heller's account that Good was attempting to leave when Ross fired.

The investigation collapsed into federal-state warfare over evidence and jurisdiction. On January 8, the 🦆Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension disclosed that the FBI had revoked their access to evidence, reversing an earlier agreement for a joint investigation. The BCA withdrew after determining that without 'complete access to the evidence, witnesses and information collected,' they could not meet 'the investigative standards that Minnesota law and the public demands.' Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the DOJ believed there was no basis for a criminal investigation into Ross's actions. At least six federal prosecutors in Minnesota resigned in protest after receiving pressure from DOJ leadership in Minneapolis and 🌲Washington to investigate Good's ties to activist groups and her widow—despite such activity being First Amendment-protected speech.

State prosecutors face steep jurisdictional obstacles in pursuing criminal charges. 🦆Minnesota has authority to prosecute crimes committed in the state, but federal agents can invoke Supremacy Clause immunity by claiming they acted within their official duties. Federal courts must determine whether the agent was performing federal duties and whether those actions were reasonable. Legal scholars note federal officers lose immunity only if they 'acted beyond the scope of their duties, violated federal law, or behaved in an egregious or unwarranted manner.' Historical precedent exists: a 9th Circuit ruling allowed 🥔Idaho to prosecute an FBI sniper for involuntary manslaughter in the Ruby Ridge case after finding 'material questions of fact' about whether deadly force was reasonable. If convicted on state charges, Ross could not receive a presidential pardon, as pardon power applies only to federal offenses.

President Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act on January 15, writing on Truth Social: 'If the corrupt politicians of 🦆Minnesota don't obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT.' The 1807 law grants presidents authority to deploy military forces domestically, providing the primary exception to the Posse Comitatus Act which bars military domestic law enforcement. Sections 252-253 allow presidents to deploy troops without state consent; Section 251 requires a state request. No president has invoked the Act without state request since 1965. Courts can review deployments for bad faith or lawless action under Sterling v. Constantin (1932).

On January 14, federal officers shot a second person—Venezuelan national Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis—in the leg during what DHS described as a traffic stop where he allegedly 'violently assaulted' an officer. DHS claimed two men attacked the officer with a snow shovel and broom handle. That night, federal officers wearing gas masks and helmets fired tear gas into a crowd of protesters near the shooting site. Protesters responded by throwing rocks and shooting fireworks. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara reported 30 arrests after protesters allegedly blocked roadways and damaged property at a hotel. By this point, DHS reported making over 2,400 arrests in 🦆Minnesota since early December, including what ICE Director Tom Homan described as 'murderers and child rapists.'

Community resistance networks mobilized rapidly through existing infrastructure. The Immigrant Defense Network—an umbrella of about 100 immigrant, labor, legal, faith, and community organizations—trained approximately 2,500 Minnesotans to respond to ICE actions as legal observers. Thousands more signed up for Monarca network trainings, which filled to capacity through January. These observers, many multilingual, received toll-free phone and texting options to document federal activity 24/7. Block watches and neighborhood chat groups from the 2020 George Floyd uprising morphed into large-scale ICE tracking networks. Mutual aid efforts included the 🦆Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee's food card fundraiser, while Defend612 coordinated hyperlocal support including rides, grocery runs, and ICE-watch shifts. The movement secretly transported immigrant children to school and delivered meals to families in hiding.