JD Vance Blames Renee Nicole Good for Being Killed by ICE: ‘A Tragedy of Her Own Making’

Vice President JD Vance said Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother of three who was shot and killed by an ICE agent, was responsible for her own death — comments he delivered during a press briefing one day after the fatal shooting.

Speaking from the White House on Thursday, Jan. 8, Vance, 41, described the incident as “an attack on federal law enforcement” and “the American people.” At points raising his voice, he defended the ICE agent — identified as Jonathan Ross — while portraying Good as a radical activist.

Vance alleged Good was “part of a broader left-wing network to attack, to dox, to assault and to make it impossible for our ICE officers to do their job,” before accusing her of trying to ram Ross with her car.

“He shot back, he defended himself,” Vance said. He then criticized those who have described Good as an innocent bystander, saying, “Everybody who has been repeating the lie that this was some innocent woman who was out for a drive in Minneapolis when a law enforcement officer shot at her, you should be ashamed of yourselves, every single one of you.”

Good’s ex-husband told The Associated Press that she had been returning from dropping off her 6-year-old son at school and was driving home with her current partner when they encountered a group of ICE agents Wednesday morning. He said Good was not an activist and that he was unaware of her participating in protests in the past.

Good’s mother, Donna Ganger, also rejected the administration’s characterization of her daughter as part of coordinated anti-ICE activity. Responding to the claim that Good was a “domestic terrorist” and that ICE acted in self-defense, Ganger told The Minneapolis Star Tribune, “That’s so stupid. She was probably terrified.”

During the briefing, Vance agreed with a reporter who said, “Nobody wants to see an American killed,” before adding that Good’s death was “a tragedy, but it’s a tragedy of the making of the far-left.”

A reporter later asked whether Vance was “preempting a thorough investigation” by publicly drawing conclusions. Vance replied that the Department of Homeland Security was already investigating, but insisted the facts were straightforward.

“The simple fact is, what you see is what you get in this case,” he said, claiming Good tried to obstruct a lawful operation. He then repeated the assertion that Good aimed her car at a law enforcement officer and accelerated — a claim Vance said “nobody debates,” though it remains widely disputed.

“I can believe that her death is a tragedy while also recognizing that it’s a tragedy of her own making,” Vance said, blaming what he called a far-left movement against law enforcement.

Earlier Thursday, Vance posted similar remarks on X, accusing critics of “gaslighting” by defending Good and blaming her shooter.

“This guy was doing his job. She tried to stop him from doing his job. When he approached her car, she tried to hit him,” he wrote. “A tragedy? Absolutely. But a tragedy that falls on this woman and all of the radicals who teach people that immigration is the one type of law that rioters are allowed to interfere with.”

The Trump administration has accused Good of “domestic terrorism” and said Ross acted in self-defense. President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that Good’s death was a “horrible thing to watch,” claiming the officer “seems to have shot her in self defense.”

After the shooting, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin alleged in a statement that Good “weaponized her vehicle, attempting to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them,” and said Ross feared for his life, the lives of other officers, and public safety.

Local officials pushed back. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called the White House’s version of events “bulls—,” and told ICE to “get the f— out” of Minneapolis. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz reposted a DHS statement and wrote, “I’ve seen the video. Don’t believe this propaganda machine.”