"Drive baby, drive, drive!" - the death of Renee Good

Renee Good, circa 2019 (Russell 2026).

"Drive baby, drive, drive!"

These words, as uttered by Rebecca Good, will haunt all those who hear them and see the result, namely, the death of her partner Renee Nicole Macklin Good, a 37 year old American woman, a Christian, poet, and mother of three, including 15 and 6 year old sons and a 12 year old daughter. The tragedy took place on Portland Avenue, Minneapolis, Minnesota, around 9.50 am on Wednesday, 7 January 2026. The words "Drive baby, drive, drive!" were uttered by Rebecca to Renee as the former stood by the passenger side door of their car about to get in, and upon seeing and hearing an ICE officer attempt to extract Renee from the driver's seat of their Honda Pilot SUV and arrest her. This was after the officer had ordered Renee to get out of the car so it could be removed from its obstructive position in the middle of Portland Road. As soon as she refused to obey this order, she technically created a felony. She would exacerbate this situation when she created a second felony by following Rebecca's instructions and attempting to escape from the scene, and a third by running into a federal ICE agent, later identified as Jon Ross.

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New York Post, 10 January 2026.

Contents

1. Events
2. Videos
3. Witnesses
4. The ICE arrest incident
5. Comments
6. References

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1. Train of events

As of the date of writing (11 January 2026) the present author had viewed all the then publically available videos and listened to both witness testimony and commentary by individuals on all sides of the political fence, including experts in the fields of policing and protesting. Having taken this information into account, it seemed clear at the time that the following took place:

1. Renee Good and her partner Rebecca Good were part of a local branch of the ICE Watch group operating out of a local school and whose role was to "monitor, track, interfere [with] and oppose ongoing immigration enforcement operations" by US Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) officers.
   
   Comment: These officers and individuals were basically police officers operating in the US federal jurisdiction and tasked with arresting illegal aliens and related criminals. In the immediate past, such operations had been carried out with little or no controversy. However, since the election of President Donald Trump campaigns had been implemented against ICE and its efforts to close the US borders and remove illegal aliens. These efforts were generally opposed by the Democrats and the Left in the United States. It is clear that whilst the Goods were free to protest against such actions by the Trump administration, no American citizen was free to interfere with them. The Goods and their associates - "our neighbours" - should not have been directly interfering in these ICE operations and impeding them. That was illegal. Yet this is what they were doing on the day, as can be seen from the video evidence. Other available videos reveal that this was a specific program being carried out across Minneapolis and the United States, being highly organised and with participants having received prior, though limited, training. It also seems clear that Renee Good was unaware of the dire legal situation she put herself in and which resulted in the loss of her life. Whether Rebecca Good was also oblivious is unclear.
   
   
2. Renee Good and her partner, after having dropped their child off at school, had tracked the path of an ICE operation and driven to a street where they parked their car in the middle of the road. Their aim in carrying out this action was to impede ICE officers.
   
   
3. Renee refused to obey the directions of the ICE officers, namely to "get out of the car" to enable the officers to remove it from blocking the road.
   
   
4. Rebecca encouraged Renee to flee from the scene when she shouted to her "Drive baby, drive, drive!"
   
   
5. Renee then drove the car straight at an ICE officer and hit him as she turned to go up the road. She clearly saw him, having previously spoken to him.
   
   
6. As the car headed in his direction, the officer Jon Ross yelled "Stop" and as he was hit he fired three shots at her - one through the front windscreen and another two through the side window, resulting in her death shortly thereafter. Comments: The three shots were fired almost simultaneously. Renee appeared to be looking directly at him as she drove forward and hit the accelerator.
   
   
7. As per standard operating procedure, the officer walked up to the crashed vehicle and ascertained the state of Renee. He then rang 911 for immediate medical support and was taken from the scene, as required, as it is not appropriate for an officer involved in a shooting to render assistance to the victim, unless there is nobody else available. Apparently there were fire brigade personal available nearby who initially dealt with Renee until the medical personnel arrived around 15 minutes later. The officer did not "flee the scene" as one media report stated.

New York Post, 9 January 2026.

The case for self-defence on the part of the officer, and his likely fear that his colleague would be injured as, at the time, he had his arm in the vehicle and was attempting to extract Renee. Her actions in refusing the officer's directions to get out of the car meant that she was now under arrest, having committed a felony. Her additional action of seeking to leave the scene was the second felony. The third felony occurred when she used her vehicle to hit the ICE officer. For these actions she paid with her life. As Rebecca Good exclaimed on the site shortly thereafter, upon viewing the dead body of her partner in the car which had smashed into a nearby telegraph pole:

"I made her come down here. It's my fault .... I am responsible for this..." (Rebecca Good)

In a later statement, she said:

"On Wednesday, January 7th, we stopped to support our neighbours. We had whistles. They had guns." (Rebecca Good)

This was a tragedy which should never have happened. The women should not have been impeding the work of legitimate law enforcement ICE officers. They should not have sought to leave the scene after being directed to exit the car, and Renee should not have driven towards, and hit the ICE officer. Of course, this scenario is not how many people, both in the United States and around the world, see this event.

Rebecca Good is alleged to be a member of the National Lawyers Guild as she was wearing a hat, though this does not necessarily mean she was a lawyer or had legal training.

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.....a tragedy of her own making ... (US Vice-President JD Vance)

Videos

The actual events

A number of videos were taken of the event at the time, and interviews with witnesses, both on site and later on TV. They were released in piecemeal fashion over the days following and included the following surveillance or mobile phone video footage:

1. [Surveillance] Renee Good's car arrives on the scene. Rebecca Good hops out of the car. Vision taken from a grassy residential area on the front left side of the car. Portrait. Blurry image due to expansion from original.
2. [Surveillance] Close up view from above on events in Portland Street three minutes before the shooting, with the video ending just as the ICE car arrives to ask Renee to get out of the car. This reveals Renee using her horn whilst sitting in the middle of the road. You also see the first ICE vehicle arrive, park to the back and left of her, and the ICE officer who shot her get out of another car and begin to walk around it. Watermark: A@davidharrisjr (Instagram).
3. [Smartphone] View from the opposite side of Portland Road, behind Rebecca Good's car. The most well known video and the earliest release. Shows the complete event, from the ICE car pulling up to the left, the encounter between Renee Good and ICE officers, the escape and the shooting, with the car driving off to the right. Clear, good quality and sound, full landscape image.
4. [Surveillance] The car moving off and hitting the ICE officer, taken from a distance across the street in front of the car. Portrait, blown up and sped up image.
5. [Surveillance] Another distant view showing the car moving off, hitting the officer and careening on to hit a car and pole. Portrait, blown up image.
6. [Eugene Bentley smartphone] Rebecca Good sitting on the side of the road next to the car after having viewed Renee's body in the car and taking the dog out of the car. Portrait image, clear.
7. [Emily Heller smartphone] A person claiming to be a doctor asks to go and check Renee. Neighbour Emily Heller stands across the road from the smashed car, with the door open and Renee visible. She begins to verbally abuse an ICE officer. She is later interviewed on CNN.
8. [MS NOW TV] Television crew footage of paramedics working on Renee before placing her in the back of an ambulance.
9. [Smartphone] Paramedics carrying Renee's body around the corner 15 minutes after the shooting and attempting CPR.
10. [Emily Heller interview] A local neighbour commenting: I woke up to some commotion outside - some whistles going off. I came down stairs to see what was going on. I wasn't even dressed. There was a car - the Honda Pilot that's crashed over there now - there was a car blocking two lanes of Portland traffic. And ICE agents got out and they were saying "Get out of here, get out of here." She was - it looked like she was trying to turn around and the ICE agent was in front of her car and he pulled out a gun and put it right in - his mid-drift was on her bumper...."

These videos can be seen in the following YouTube, Instagram and TV presentations, arising from personal recordings, news channels or government sites.

* Surveillance Video Shows Moments Preceding Deadly ICE Shooting In Minneapolis, Minnesota, Forbes Breaking News, 8 January 2026, YouTube, duration: 0.48 minutes. Silent surveillance video from across the road, in front of the car, showing the whole shooting episode.

* Does this change your perspective about the Minnesota ICE shooting at all?, Washington Gun Club, 11 January 2026, YouTube, duration: 7.29 minutes. Includes analysis of three original videos, including the ICE agent's.

* Shocking Footage From ICE Agent’s Own Phone Shows Confrontation and Shooting of Renee Good, New York Post, 10 January 2026, YouTube, duration: 2.19 minutes. Shows the ICE agent's mobile footage, plus footage of Renee dropping Rebecca off and then parking in the middle of the road, next to a stuck ICE vehicle.

* Eyewitness video shows Minneapolis victim's grieving wife, Reuters, 8 January 2026, YouTube, duration: 0.15 minutes. Includes a brief interview with a crying and distraught Rebecca Good. The video was recorded by a man - perhaps the resident of the house next to where the car crashed, possibly Eugene Bentley who was subsequently interviewed by MS NOW - and provides some commentary, then asks Rebecca some questions. It is difficult to transcribe what Rebecca says as she is crying and obviously distraught, after having looked in the car and seen what state Renee was in after being shot in the head and upper body. Transcript:

Man: ... Hey there's blood. They don't, they don't. She was in the car with her, bro. Or she tried to, or she tried to save her, or something. Somebody. Somebody.

Man (walks down and talks to Rebecca): Hey, was you riding with her?

Rebecca (crying): ....... [unable to transcribe what is said - perhaps something along the lines of "being there at all was a terrible mistake...."]

.... They killed my wife. I don't know what to do. We stopped to videotape and they shot her in the head. We have a six-year-old at school.

Man: Did you call any of your peoples yet?

Rebecca: We are new here. I don't have any ..... [end of published recording]

* US Immigration Agent Fatally Shoots 37-Year-Old Renee Nicole Good In Minneapolis, CNBC-TV18, 8 January 2026, YouTube, duration: 3.48 minutes. Shows paramedics working on Renee following the shooting and crash.

* MS NOW, "The officer shouldn't have shot the gun" : Eyewitness described officer shooting leaving a woman dead, MS NOW, 8 January 2026, YouTube, duration: 8.49 minutes. Interview with one of the neighbours - Eugene Bentley - describing what he saw.

*  Witness to ICE agents [Emily Heller]: "You shot her in the fucking face", CNN, 8 January 2026, YouTube, duration: 9.37 minutes.

Commentary and analysis

* Does New Video Support Self-Defense Claim in Fatal ICE Shooting? | Renee Good and Jon Ross Analysis, Dr Ross Grande, 11 January 2026, YouTube, duration: 13.10 minutes. A breakdown of the event. Biased as it does not include or address all the significant available information.

* Freitas, Nick, My perspective on the Minneapolis ICE shooting, Nick Freitas, 11 January 2026, YouTube, duration: 12.33 minutes.

* Renee Good's wife says ICE shooting was her fault. Media silent, Timecast IRL, 10 January 2026, YouTube, duration: 14.47 minutes. A critical analysis of the ICE Watch movement and the fate of Renee Good.

* New video proves woman struck ICE agent, activist says "Come at us", Timecast IRL, 10 January 2026, YouTube, duration: 133.13 minutes. 

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3. Witnesses

* Eugene Bentley - a local resident who lived on the side of the road near where the car crashed. He recorded on his phone his encounter with Rebecca Good, and later gave a fulsome live video on site interview interview to MS NOW.

* Rebecca Good - took a video of the incident as it occurred Subsequently made a short comment in writing on the event.

* David J. Harris Jr. - a local neighbour who recorded an extensive pre-incident video of events along Portland Street in the 9 minutes leading up to the shooting.

* Trevor Heitkamp - takes video of the event from the side of the road, behind the car.

* Emily Heller - local resident who lived across the road from the shooting and saw it all happen. Gave an interview on site shortly thereafter, and later more expansive on CNN. The audio on her original smartphone video is heated and takes place looking across the road toward the smashed car, with a view through the open right door of Renee slumped over the blood-soaked airbag.

* Jon Ross - the ICE agent who shot Renee Good. His mobile phone video was released to reveal the events around the shooting.

* Two unidentified ICE officers - they attempted to arrest Renee Good when she refused to get out of the car and subsequently drove off.

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4. The ICE arrest incident

On 10 January the Megyn Kelly show released video footage from Renee Good's mobile phone of her attendance at an ICE arrest incident. In that footage she is shown being directed by ICE officers to move away from the location as she is putting herself in danger. As she is moved back by a number of officers she reveals to them that her six year old son is in her car, unattended. The officers are incredulous and caution her to the danger and to the fact the this behaviour is unacceptable, to say the least. One officer tells her to take her child away from the scene.

[Renee Good and child at ICE arrest scene], Megyn Kelly, 10 January 2026, YouTube, duration: 11.59 minutes.

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5. Comments

Renee Good's death is a tragedy, for many reasons, not least of all the fact that she was the mother of three young children, the youngest of whom has now lost both parents. Renee should never have died; she did not deserve to die. However, her death is clearly the result of her own actions, and of those around her, including her partner Rebecca Good. Why? Because she naively took herself into dangerous situations, ignored the dangers she faced, and in following a certain ideology, this reckless behaviour resulted in her death. Not only will her friends and family now bear this tragedy for years to come, but also the officer who shot her will likely suffer accordingly, despite the fact that his actions in both defending himself and his colleagues were reasonable. No, it is not the fault of ICE or President Donald Trump or any other person involved in the campaign to rid Minneapolis of illegal immigrants and criminals. Blame can, however, be apportioned to those individuals who directed and encouraged Renee Good to go down this dangerous path of activism, without cautioning her, or themselves exhibiting compassion towards her in questioning what she was being encouraged to do, without highlighting the danger. Were they aware of the danger? Perhaps not. However, Rebecca Good, following the death of her partner, immediately recognised her culpability in the tragic death. The lesson her is - do your research, as a parent do not take yourself and your children into dangerous situations, and remember that your number one responsibility is to protect those children until they come of age. In order to achieve that, you should also protect yourself, especially if you are responsible for the child and the other parent is deceased. This basic task is reflected in the shock of the female ICE officer who confronted Renee when she realised that she had left her six year old son in the car whilst she attended an ICE arrest scene. The officer was incredulous that she would do that. However it reveals to us that Renee was not cognisant of the dangerous behaviour she was undertaking, and the danger she was putting her son in. This was also evident at the Portland Road event, where she disobeyed the orders of the ICE officers to get out of her car, and then attempted to escape from the scene, in the process of which she ran into an ICE officer. All of this is clearly evident when the information and videos presented above are brought together. To ignore any of the evidence, and blame others, is clearly wrong. Should the ICE protests continue? Yes, they should, but only if they are simply a peaceful expression of individual concerns over elements of their activities. The protests should not involve interfering in any of the ICE activities, or in violently attacking ICE officers and officials. The present writer, as a life-long Lefty / liberal, supports the ICE operation and deplores the activities of the protesters in interfering with them and in physically, verbally and psychologically attacking ICE individuals, causing them harm. There are many lessons to be learnt from the tragic death of Renee Good, the number one being that as rational human beings and parents we need to stay out of danger where possible, and accept our overriding responsibility to our children as they grow into adults.

The international reaction to the death of Renee good, in the form of anti-ICE and anti-Trump protests, also highlights the political nature of the event and its misrepresentation by individuals and organisations which seek to gain from the tragedy. The writer has observed that many of the commentators in support of these protests fail to recognise the facts of the case, selectively presenting information to support their views. As such, those who take on board their arguments are deceived. The present article aims to present factual information so that such deception is negated, where possible. 

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6. References

Alvarado, Amanda, Bystander [Trevor Heitkamp] video shows moments before and after woman killed by ICE agent in Minneapolis, 7News WWNY TV, duration: 0.46 minutes.

Biesecker, Michael, Jim Mustian and Giovanna Dell'Orto, Family and neighbours mourn woman who was shot by ICE agent and made Minneapolis home, Associated Press, 9 January 2026.

Bynum, Russ, What to know about the fatal shooting of a woman by an ICE officer in Minneapolis, Associated Press, 11 January 2026.

Does New Video Support Self-Defense Claim in Fatal ICE Shooting? | Renee Good and Jon Ross Analysis, Dr Ross Grande, 11 January 2026, YouTube, duration: 13.10 minutes.

Compound Censored, [Video footage, commentary and interview with Emily Heller], @videomattpresentsofficial, Off Topic Show - Compound Censored, Instagram, 9 January 2026.

Freitas, Nick, My perspective on the Minneapolis ICE shooting, Nick Freitas, 11 January 2026, YouTube, duration: 12.33 minutes.

Heller, Emily, Witness to ICE agents [Emily Heller]: "You shot her in the fucking face", CNN, 8 January 2026, YouTube, duration: 9.37 minutes.

Kelly, Megyn, [Renee Good and child at ICE arrest scene], Megyn Kelly, 10 January 2026, YouTube, duration: 11.59 minutes.

Kirk, William, Does this change your perspective?, Washington Gun Law, 11 January 2026, YouTube, duration: 7.29 minutes.

Moving to Canada because of political situation: Renee Good, woman killed by ICE in Minneapolis, briefly left US with gay partner, Times of India, 10 January 2026.

MS NOW, "The officer shouldn't have shot the gun" : Eyewitness described officer shooting leaving a woman dead, MS NOW, 8 January 2026, YouTube, duration: 8.49 minutes.

[Paramedics administer CPR 15 minutes after the shooting], Instagram, @jennalynnking, 7 January 2026.

Timecast IRL, Renee Good's wife says ICE shooting was her fault. Media silent, Timecast IRL, 10 January 2026, YouTube, duration: 14.47 minutes.

-----, New video proves woman struck ICE agent, activist says "Come at us", Timecast IRL, 10 January 2026, YouTube, duration: 133.13 minutes.

Russell, Ian, What we know about Renee Good, the woman shot and killed by an ICE agent Wednesday in Minneapolis, KARE11, 8 January 2026.

Shocking Footage From ICE Agent’s Own Phone Shows Confrontation and Shooting of Renee Good, New York Post, 10 January 2026, YouTube, duration: 2.19 minutes.

US Immigration Agent Fatally Shoots 37-Year-Old Renee Nicole Good In Minneapolis, CNBC-TV18, 8 January 2026, YouTube, duration: 3.48 minutes.

Wikipedia, Killing of Renee Good, Wikipedia, accessed 11 January 2026.

-----, List of Renee Good protests, Wikipedia, accessed 12 January 2026. 

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Memorial to Renee Good, Portland Street, Minneapolis.

Last updated: 12 January 2026

Michael Organ, Australia