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Minnesota officials said Thursday that the Trump administration has barred them from assisting in the investigation into an ICE agent’s killing of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, marking an extreme step in the GOP’s seeming all-out efforts to prevent accountability for the shooter.
The head of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), the state’s investigations agency, said that federal officials are barring the office from accessing any evidence necessary to investigate the killing.
Despite initially agreeing to conduct the investigation jointly with the BCA on Wednesday morning, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and FBI changed course that afternoon. As the Trump administration was furiously spinning lies about the shooting, the BCA was informed that the FBI would assume sole responsibility for the probe.
The FBI said that the BCA would “no longer have access to the case materials, scene evidence or investigative interviews necessary to complete a thorough and independent investigation,” said BCA Superintendent Drew Evans.
“Without complete access to the evidence, witnesses and information collected, we cannot meet the investigative standards that Minnesota law and the public demands. As a result, the BCA has reluctantly withdrawn from the investigation,” Evans said.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem defended the decision on Thursday, saying that state investigators “don’t have any jurisdiction in this investigation,” despite crimes like murder typically not rising to a federal offense unless a federal officer is killed.
The move has sparked outcry, with critics saying that the Trump administration is trying to cover up the killing.
“You don’t cut out investigators unless you’re hiding something. Kristi Noem’s DHS is covering up the killing of a U.S. citizen,” said the Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee in a post on X.
Meanwhile, Republicans in Congress are also seeking to shield DHS from facing accountability for the killing.
In the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday, Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley (Massachusetts) motioned to subpoena DHS and ICE for records and footage of the shooting in order for members of Congress to help hold the government accountable.
However, Republicans blocked the move, with every GOP member voting against it.
“DHS’ claim that an agent shot in self-defense is a bold-faced lie and the video footage is damning,” said Pressley in a statement after the vote. “But after I moved to subpoena all records and footage related to this killing, Republicans shamefully voted it down — demonstrating once again that they have never cared about law and order or keeping our communities safe.”
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