A makeshift memorial for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer on Jan. 7, is seen Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)
An FBI agent, who was part of the probe into the fatal shooting of Renee Good, an unarmed woman in Minneapolis, Minnesota, earlier this month by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer, has resigned over the direction of the investigation.
FBI agent resigns over direction of probe
The FBI agent, Tracee Mergen, left her job in the FBI’s Minneapolis field office after facing pressure to discontinue an inquiry into the ICE officer, Jonathan Ross, The New York Times reported.
According to NBC News, Mergen resigned after Trump administration officials focused the probe more on the actions of Good and her partner and less on the officer who shot her.
A makeshift memorial for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer on Jan. 7, is seen Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)
A spokesperson for the Minneapolis FBI field office told NBC News that it was “FBI policy not to comment on personnel matters.”
The Department of Justice had said it sees “no basis” for a civil rights investigation into the fatal shooting of Good.
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Six federal prosecutors resign
Earlier, six prosecutors with the US attorney’s office in Minnesota had resigned over their concerns with the direction of the investigation into the shooting of Good.
The attorneys were allegedly pressured by Justice Department leadership, both in Minneapolis and in Washington, to investigate any ties to activist groups by Good and her widow, following which they resigned.
Shooting of Renee Good
The 37-year-old was shot dead by an ICE agent identified as Jonathan Ross on January 7 in Minneapolis. The DHS and several Trump administration officials have defended the ICE agent, claiming that he opened fire in self-defence as the woman was trying to run him over with her vehicle, despite several videos contradicting the narrative.
The FBI took over the investigation into the shooting and shut out the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, a move that many, including Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, described as a cover-up.
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Along with the FBI probe, the DOJ has also launched an investigation into the actions of Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey for allegedly obstructing federal law enforcement over their public criticism and comments the governor made, calling ICE a “modern-day Gestapo”.
Protests continue in Minneapolis
Meanwhile, protests are continuing across Minneapolis against immigration enforcement despite Arctic temperatures in the region. On Friday, the police arrested about 100 clergy demonstrating at Minnesota’s largest airport, and several thousand gathered in downtown Minneapolis to protest the Trump administration’s crackdown.
Clergy members and community activists gather at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, to protest deportation flights and urge airlines to call for an end to the Department of Homeland Security’s operation, on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (Kerem Yücel/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)
The protests are part of a broader movement against President Donald Trump’s increased immigration enforcement across the state, with labor unions, progressive organizations and clergy urging Minnesotans to stay away from work, school and even shops.
The faith leaders gathered at the airport to protest deportation flights and urge airlines to call for an end to what the Department of Homeland Security has called its largest-ever immigration enforcement operation.
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The Rev. Elizabeth Barish Browne traveled from Cheyenne, Wyoming, to participate in the rally in downtown Minneapolis, where the high temperature was minus 23 degrees Celsius despite a bright sun.
“What’s happening here is clearly immoral,” the Unitarian Universalist minister said. “It’s definitely chilly, but the kind of ice that’s dangerous to us is not the weather.”
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A makeshift memorial for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer on Jan. 7, is seen Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis) 
