by Joe Siegel

The murder of Renee Good by a member of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Minneapolis has received extensive coverage by LGBTQ media outlets.

Lavender Magazine, based in Minneapolis, reported on the Good killing on January 8, citing The Advocate: “… [A] Minnesota woman sitting in the snow with her dog told a person filming her that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents had just shot and killed her wife — now identified as Renee Nicole Good, 37 — according to newly circulating video that has intensified scrutiny of a fatal federal shooting during a sweeping immigration enforcement operation in south Minneapolis.”

Chicago’s Windy City Times published a January 10 story about a vigil held to honor Good. “‘We wanted to send a message to [Good’s] wife, Rebecca, that we see you, we hear you, we stand with you, and we’re here with you — united as a community,’ said Dawn Valenti, an LGBTQ+ and crime victim advocate who organized the vigil.”

Wrote Jake Wittich, Windy City Times’ managing editor, “Good was shot and killed during an encounter involving neighbors and immigration enforcement. Federal officials have said the agent fired his weapon during a confrontation, resulting in Good’s death. But video footage and witness accounts contradict the federal government’s account.”

The Advocate’s Christopher Wiggins posted a story on January 9: “Minnesota State Rep. Leigh Finke, the state’s first out transgender legislator, said the killing left her ‘heartbroken’ and warned that the federal immigration surge had created the conditions for violence long before Wednesday’s shooting.”

“My reaction is one of great sadness,” Finke told The Advocate. “For those of us here in Minnesota who’ve been seeing what these federal agents — ICE, CBP, others — have been doing and how they’ve been treating our communities and our neighbors, something like this felt very possible. But we’ve just had so many tragedies here. Waking up to this news was heartbreaking. It’s terrible. It’s one too many of these things.”

The Advocate also ran a story about Jonathan Ross, the ICE agent who killed Good: “Ross’ family and friends describe him as a hardcore conservative Christian and MAGA supporter, who sports ‘Don’t Tread on Me’ flags and Trump/Vance stickers. Social media posts reveal him arguing with his family over the white supremacist group the Proud Boys.”

The Washington Blade reported on a massive protest in the District of Columbia on January 9: “Protests began at the busy — and increasingly queer — intersection of 14th and U streets, N.W. There, hundreds of people held signs, shouted, and made their way to the White House to voice their dissent over the Trump/Vance administration’s choice to increase law enforcement presence across the country.”

LGBTQ columnists also voiced their opinions in the aftermath of Good’s murder.

“The shooting officer should be arrested for murder under state law and [Homeland Security Secretary] Kristi Noem should be prosecuted as an accessory to murder as her articles of impeachment are pending,” Sabrina Haake wrote in the Windy City Times. “And every American, including those who watch Fox News, OAN and similar Trump propaganda channels, should watch the video of the shooting and see for themselves how Trump and Noem are lying to them.”

Dana Piccoli, managing director of LGBTQ media collective News is Out, wrote a message about the tragedy in her organization’s newsletter.

Good’s “death has left many queer people grieving and questioning how federal forces are deployed in our neighborhoods,” Piccoli wrote. “Loss on this scale shakes us. But we are also seeing community, care and collective action take shape in response. Queer organizers, allies and media are holding space for grief and accountability, and honoring Good’s life through reporting, remembrance and calls for dignity and justice.”

On January 24, 2026, Alex Pretti, a Minneapolis intensive care nurse for the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, became the second American citizen shot and killed by ICE agents in that city that month.

IN THE NEWS
Volume 27
Issue 12