By Alliance President Terry Gips and Alliance Communications Coordinator Amy Durr
We’re shocked, saddened, horrified and infuriated by the murder of Renee Nicole Macklin Good by ICE that took place January 7 in Minneapolis, and the too-quick exoneration of the ICE officer. Also, the attacks on her and lies about the shooting from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, President Trump and VP Vance.
In our Alliance for Sustainability staff meeting we agreed there are no words that can fully capture the despair and anger we feel. While it may be way too soon, we feel it’s important to share our feelings, provide facts as opposed to lies, suggest some possible actions and share the benefits of protesting.
While CNN, MPR and other news outlets have done a phenomenal job of sorting through so much conflicting information and seeking to hold ICE accountable, there is still much more information that is needed. Perhaps most important is hearing the perspective of Renee Good’s still unidentified spouse, who was sitting in the passenger seat.
We’ve all seen the videos from different angles of an ICE officer shooting 37-year-old Good, who is a US citizen, as she was driving away from an ICE operation and posing little obvious threat. There appear to be completely conflicting perspectives on what took place, some of which are clearly intentional lies for a particular agenda.
Telling the Inconvenient Truth on the Conflicting Narratives
First, Noem stated it was an “act of domestic terrorism,” claiming Good was harassing ICE “all day” and tried to ram an ICE officer. President Trump added fuel to the fire, calling her a “professional agitator” on Truth Social.
However, we feel it’s important to set the record straight in order to counter the lies of Noem, Trump and Vance to avoid future violence. In fact, Renee Good has a daughter and son from her first marriage who are now 15 and 12. She also has a 6-year-old son from her second marriage (her spouse, a veteran, who died three years ago). She had just dropped her youngest off at school and was driving back with her now wife.
Good’s mother said that she had never been involved in protests against ICE or anything else. Her first spouse also said she was no activist and he had never known her to participate in a protest of any kind. Instead, he described her as a devoted Christian who took part in missions trips to Northern Ireland when she was younger. Reporting does show she was part of a neighborhood watch.
A friend said, “Renee was pure sunshine, pure love,” and subsequently created an online fundraiser for Good’s spouse and youngest son hat has brought in more than $1 million after only one day.
Second, the Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, Police Chief Brian O’Hara and Gov Tim Walz disputed the account of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in their news conferences yesterday. The Mayor called Noem’s narrative as “Bull____” and told ICE to “get the f___ out of Minneapolis” (and stop the surge of the 2,000 ICE agents). He called for peaceful protest with love. Walz encouraged people to not be violent and thereby take Trump’s bait to have an excuse for a military occupation.
Third, we feel it’s important to counter the clearly false statement by Trump, “She ran him over. She didn’t try to run him over. She ran him over.” It’s infuriating that even a day later, in the face of every video clip that proves him wrong, Trump would not retract his false claim when interviewed by the NY Times. And Vance doubled down on this claim.
Fourth, it’s clear in ICE and other training manuals that officers are required to de-escalate the situation. If confronted by a moving vehicle, they are required to step back out of harm’s way. They also are forbidden from firing at a moving vehicle because of the serious potential for both the bullets and vehicle to harm others. None of these requirements were followed.
Now, What Do We Do?
In our staff meeting the day after the shooting, we struggled to know how to respond. We felt it was important to start with sharing our feelings. We noticed the all-too-familiar sense of overwhelm. The events took us back to how we felt after the murder of George Floyd 5 years ago, only 6 blocks from where this murder took place.
At that time, the entire Alliance spent months assessing how we could respond and scale our impact for long overdue fundamental systems change. We sought a positive, powerful way to address the daunting challenges of the racism and inequity of his murder and those of too many others, along with threats from the climate crisis and anti-democracy.
Consequently, we completely shifted the focus of the Alliance from our work on resilient cities to develop our national Campaign for Sustainability, Health, Equity and Kindness (S.H.E. Kindness). At this moment, we are in the question about how we can most effectively fight back against the authoritarian, anti-democracy and bigoted efforts of the current regime. We welcome your thoughts and suggestions.
Some Food for Thought about ICE Tactics, Protesting and the Need to Humanize
Let’s be honest. It’s hard to see the human behind a mask. This all too easily leads to othering and a sense that we’re dealing with heartless robots or mob goons. We understand ICE agents have a reasonable fear of retaliation if they aren’t wearing a mask or have a clear ID, but our police don’t wear masks and have identifying badges. Why can’t ICE?
And why can’t ICE have clearly identified vehicles and stop harassing actions at bus stops, churches, schools and restaurants, which only stoke fear and harm families, business and our communities?
But either way, we still need to see these law enforcement officers as fellow humans, even when we fundamentally disagree with their actions. To this end, it was very important for Governor Walz to encourage people to peacefully protest, but remind them that if the National Guard needs to be called in that we all remember they are members of our community and in their daily lives serve us as fire fighters, school teachers and restaurant workers.
Some Preliminary Actions We’re Taking
First, we are creating a safe space for the sharing of feelings and speaking up – whether in meetings, here or our social media – thereby allowing full self-expression and encouraging engagement in whatever way they feel comfortable.
Second, we encourage you to join us in peacefully protesting, whether in Minneapolis or wherever you live. Take a stand for the rule of law and justice.
It was wonderful to experience the quiet and solemnity of the Renee Nicole Good makeshift memorial with people bringing their candles, flowers and other offerings, such as a child giving their Teddy Bear. And marching with loud chants can feel enlivening and make you feel like your voice is really being heard, while building a sense of camaraderie and new friendships. We’re in this together.
Third, respect the wide range of responses that people may have and seek to welcome them in joining us, regardless of their political affiliation or past beliefs. It will take Republicans, Independents and Democrats to work together to create a just society and save our democracy.
Fourth, come up with your own creative response. For example, Alliance Treasurer Janine Watkins is helping Black Diamond create a drum circle performing at the memorial site soon. You can get trained as a neighborhood observer or assist with meals for people who do not feel safe leaving their home. You can donate to the fund for Renee’s child and spouse. While you may feel such actions won’t really solve the situation, your taking any action can make you feel empowered and may unleash surprising positive energy and impact.
Fifth, write a letter or call your US Representative and Senators so they know how you feel and ask them to commit to restricting the actions of ICE. Given the ill-informed rush to judgement by the Trump administration, you can also call on them to assure there is a proper, independent investigation of the murder by requiring the FBI to include the MN Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
Sixth, join us in signing our Take Action from the National Immigration Law Center to your state legislators calling on them to stop illegal ICE Actions.
The Power of Protesting – An Invitation with Multi-Faceted Benefits
What began as a protest in Minneapolis after the murder of Renee Nicole Good, quickly spread that evening to massive demonstrations in Chicago, New York, Seattle and other cities. These protests were rawer, with people reacting with rage and sorrow in the moment..
Timothy Snyder gave 5 reasons to protest in a short video from October 2025 before the No Kings protests. It was helpful because of the many questions people post about protests: Does it change anything? Are protests simply performative?
Snyder, an American historian and author of On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, calls us to protest:
- Constitutionally – It’s our right
- Morally – We have the right to show what we think is right
- Socially – By showing up, we show those around us that we don’t think this is normal
- Practically – Nonviolent resistance, nonviolent opposition works to hold off the worst
- Politically – By being being at a protest, you’re cooperating with others, taking a step towards more cooperation, and finding a way out to something better
Bonus – It’s fun and it makes you feel better
Both No Kings protests were very well attended nationwide and around the world. The second No Kings protest this past October was judged by many to be the largest protest in US history. There were surprisingly large turnouts both in suburbs and even in Amy’s tiny, rural, very red city in Central PA. And yes, we both felt great and empowered, while meeting many new neighbors and having fun.
But do protests change anything?
“Yes. Each big, small, and medium action has a cumulative effect. It keeps you motivated and living life despite the supremely fascist environment while also adding your individual drop into the larger and ever-growing river of resistance. Every kind of resistance—inside the system, outside the system—has value. If you’re not, for example, a protester, don’t sit in despair. There are dozens of ways you can support your values outwardly each day.” – Beth Pickens, Making Art During Fascism
“For resistance to succeed…people must find themselves in places that are not their homes, and among groups who were not previously their friends. Protest can be organized through social media, but nothing is real that does not end on the streets.” – Timothy Snyder, On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century
Are protests simply performative?
“Protest, like catastrophe, can enliven our connectivity as human beings. We should not think of our protective instincts as ‘selflessness,’ rather as a connectedness that facilitates reciprocal care. By not abandoning people, we contribute to a culture where we, ourselves, are less likely to be abandoned. By defending one another, or even rescuing each other, in times of danger, we are reclaiming our capacity to help each other survive.” — Kelly Hayes and Mariame Kaba, Let This Radicalize You: Organizing and the Revolution of Reciprocal Care
“Mostly protests, campaigns, boycotts and movements do a lot, but do it in less tangible and direct ways… They influence public opinion, make exploitation and destruction and their perpetrators more visible, shift what’s considered acceptable and possible, set new norms or delegitimize old ones. Because politics arises from culture, if culture is our values, beliefs, desires, aspirations shaped by stories, images – and yeah, memes – that then turns into politics as choices and actions that shape the world.” – Rebecca Solnit, ‘Protest shapes the world’: Rebecca Solnit on the fight back against Trump
We really need people to protest. Please share this with your family, friends and colleagues so that we can create a large-scale movement forming a tidal wave so huge that we can not only stop ICE’s illegal actions, but counter the regime’s efforts on every level and return to the rule of law and democracy.