Senior FBI officials under Director Kash Patel ordered agents to halt a civil rights investigation into the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an ICE officer, amid concerns the probe could undermine public statements made by President Donald Trump and senior administration officials, according to multiple people familiar with the matter.
The New York Times reported on Saturday that federal prosecutors in Minnesota initially moved quickly to treat the killing as a standard use-of-force civil rights case, the typical process when a federal officer shoots a civilian.
Joseph H. Thompson, a senior federal prosecutor, sought a search warrant to examine Good’s SUV for forensic evidence, including bullet trajectories and blood spatter, and planned for the FBI to work jointly with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
But as FBI agents prepared to execute the signed warrant, they were abruptly ordered to stop.
Sources told the Times the directive came from senior officials, including Patel, who feared that a civil rights investigation, and the warrant obtained under that legal theory, could contradict Trump’s claim that Good had "violently, willfully, and viciously" struck the ICE agent with her vehicle.
Instead, Justice Department leadership urged prosecutors to pursue alternative investigative approaches, including seeking a new warrant under the theory that Good’s vehicle may have been used to assault the ICE officer, or shifting focus toward investigating Good’s partner.
Career prosecutors reportedly objected, viewing the strategy as legally questionable and politically inflammatory in a state already roiled by clashes involving federal immigration agents.
The dispute triggered a dramatic wave of resignations in Minnesota’s U.S. attorney’s office.
Thompson and five others quit in protest, followed by additional departures that hollowed out the office’s leadership and drained its ability to prosecute major cases involving fraud, narcotics trafficking, terrorism, and violent crime.
The upheaval comes as Minnesota has become a flashpoint in the administration’s broader immigration crackdown, where multiple killings involving federal officers have fueled public anger and heightened political tensions.
While the White House has sought to project control and reduce unrest, critics say the administration is simultaneously escalating enforcement efforts, creating a volatile environment in which federal agencies appear under pressure to align investigations with official narratives.
The Times reported that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem publicly labeled Good a "domestic terrorist," a description echoed by Vice President JD Vance, even as federal prosecutors reviewed video evidence and expected a routine independent investigation into whether the shooting was lawful.
Local officials warned the turmoil could undermine long-standing cooperation between federal and local law enforcement.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara told the Times the resignations and politicization of cases could derail progress in targeting serious criminal threats.
The Justice Department and FBI declined to comment to the Times, and it remains unclear whether prosecutors ultimately obtained a new warrant to search Good’s vehicle.
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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