THE CROSSROADS OF PORTLAND AVENUE: A CASE STUDY IN JURISDICTIONAL CONFLICT AND THE DEATH OF RENEE NICOLE GOOD

THE FROST OF OPERATION METRO SURGE

The morning of January 7, 2026, in south Minneapolis was defined by a biting Minnesota cold and the tactical silence of a federal mobilization. Residents in the residential neighborhoods near East 34th Street and Portland Avenue woke to a city that felt occupied. According to local reports and community statements, the atmosphere had been thickening for weeks as the federal government initiated "Operation Metro Surge," a massive immigration enforcement initiative that deployed upwards of 2,000 armed agents into the Twin Cities. Court records and local police logs indicate that these agents, often masked and operating from unmarked vehicles, were conducting high-frequency stops and raids across the metropolitan area.

At the intersection of 34th and Portland, the geopolitical tensions of the nation and the personal reality of a local neighborhood were about to collide. Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother and poet, was in her maroon Honda Pilot SUV, a vehicle that would soon become the focal point of a national debate on the use of deadly force. At the same time, Jonathan Ross, a 43-year-old veteran Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer with nearly two decades of federal service, was operating as part of a tactical team. Investigatory files show that Ross was a member of the elite Special Response Team, a unit reserved for high-risk operations requiring advanced firearms proficiency and breaching techniques.

The encounter was not a chance meeting but the result of a pressurized environment where federal agents were tasked with aggressive enforcement and local residents had begun "neighborhood watches" to observe and document ICE activity. Investigators later noted that the shooting occurred just blocks from where George Floyd had been killed five years prior, a geographical fact that amplified the emotional and political stakes of every movement made on that snowy asphalt.

A LEGACY OF VERSE AND VIGILANCE

To understand the life of Renee Nicole Good is to look past the "domestic terrorist" label applied by federal officials in the immediate aftermath of her death. According to her family and academic records, Renee was a woman of profound creative depth and resilience. Born in Colorado Springs, she was the mother of three children—two from her first marriage and a six-year-old son from her second. Her life had been marked by significant loss; her second husband, Timmy Macklin Jr., a military veteran, had died unexpectedly in 2023. This tragedy prompted Renee to move to Minneapolis to "restart her life," as her father later described it.

Academic records from Old Dominion University show that Renee was an exceptional student of English and creative writing. In 2020, she won the Academy of American Poets Prize for an undergraduate poem titled "On Learning to Dissect Fetal Pigs." Her professors described her as a "working-class mom" who balanced the rigors of university life with the demands of parenting. Her poetry often explored the visceral intersections of life, death, and nature, themes that have since become a haunting backdrop to her own passing.

In Minneapolis, Renee worked as a substitute teacher and lived with her wife, Becca Good. Neighbors described the couple as a warm presence in the community, often seen playing outside with their young son. On the morning of January 7, Renee was not a target of any immigration warrant. Court filings and official statements confirm that she was a United States citizen with no significant criminal history. Her presence at the scene was, according to her spouse, an act of neighborly support. "We had whistles. They had guns," Becca Good stated in a public account provided to investigators, clarifying that they were there to observe and bear witness to the federal agents' actions.

THE MECHANICAL ANATOMY OF A FATAL SECOND

The confrontation that led to the shooting was captured by multiple cameras, including bystander cell phones and federal surveillance equipment. According to a detailed analysis of the footage, the sequence began at 09:35:05 a.m. Renee’s SUV was stopped sideways across Portland Avenue, a one-way street. Jonathan Ross, driving a federal vehicle, maneuvered around her, stopped, and exited with his face covered. Forensic video analysis shows Ross walking in front of the SUV while recording Good with his phone. Renee is heard on the video telling the officer, "That’s fine, dude. I’m not mad at you," as she backed the vehicle up to provide space.

The situation escalated at 09:37:13 a.m. Multiple agents had surrounded the vehicle. One agent was seen pulling on the driver-side door handle, while another approached the passenger side. According to investigators, commands were being shouted simultaneously for Renee to "get out" and to "move the car." In the center of this confusion, Renee began to drive forward, turning the steering wheel to the left—a movement that forensic experts suggest was an attempt to navigate away from the agents and rejoin the flow of traffic.

As the vehicle moved, Jonathan Ross, who had moved to the front-left of the SUV, drew his handgun. Court records show that Ross fired three shots in under one second. The first shot entered through the windshield, and the subsequent two shots were fired through the open driver’s side window as the vehicle passed him. Federal officials would later claim that Renee had "weaponized" her vehicle and that Ross was "violently run over." However, independent video analysis conducted by several media outlets and state investigators suggested that Ross was moving outward from the path of the car and that the wheels were pointed away from him at the time of the discharge.

Following the shots, the SUV accelerated down the block, eventually jumping a curb and striking a lamp-post and a parked vehicle. Minneapolis police officers who arrived at the scene found Renee with a catastrophic gunshot wound to the head. Despite lifesaving measures, she was pronounced dead at a local hospital. The mechanical reality of those ten seconds—the trajectory of the bullets, the angle of the steering wheel, and the positioning of the officer—remains the most contested evidence in the case.

THE SILENCE OF THE BLOOMINGTON PRECEDENT

To understand the "side" of Jonathan Ross, investigators have looked deeply into an incident that occurred six months prior to the Minneapolis shooting. According to court records, on June 17, 2025, Ross was involved in a tactical arrest in Bloomington, Minnesota. During that operation, a suspect attempted to flee in a vehicle. As Ross reached into the car to unlock the door, the suspect accelerated, trapping Ross’s arm and dragging him for approximately 300 feet down the road.

The injuries Ross sustained in the Bloomington incident were severe. Medical records indicate he suffered deep lacerations requiring 33 stitches—20 in his right arm and 13 in his left hand—along with extensive abrasions and internal bleeding to the torso. Federal officials, including the Secretary of Homeland Security, have repeatedly referenced this prior trauma to explain Ross’s state of mind on January 7. They argued that having nearly lost his life to a fleeing vehicle just months earlier, Ross was in a state of "heightened alert" and perceived Renee’s forward movement as a lethal threat.

Ross’s professional background is that of a highly trained tactical specialist. A veteran of the Iraq War who served as a machine gunner in the Indiana National Guard, he joined the U.S. Border Patrol in 2007 before transitioning to ICE in 2015. He was an expert marksman and a firearms instructor for the Special Response Team. According to federal statements, Ross had participated in hundreds of vehicle stops and high-risk arrests throughout his career. This experience, federal advocates say, meant he was "acting according to his training" to resolve a dangerous situation. However, this same experience has been used by critics to argue that a tactical instructor should have had the composure to recognize that the vehicle was turning away from him, rather than toward him.

THE SIEGE OF THE TWIN CITIES AND THE 10TH AMENDMENT

The aftermath of the shooting triggered a jurisdictional war between the State of Minnesota and the Department of Homeland Security. According to investigators, federal authorities took immediate and total control of the evidence. The FBI took possession of Renee’s SUV, the shell casings, and all federal video recordings. This led to a public fracture with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which had initially been told it would conduct a joint investigation. By the afternoon of January 8, the BCA announced it was "reluctantly withdrawing" from the probe because the federal government had "reversed course" and denied them access to the evidence.

This exclusion prompted a forceful response from state leaders. Attorney General Keith Ellison, alongside the mayors of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, filed a federal lawsuit against the DHS. The complaint, identified as Case 0:26-cv-00190, alleges that the federal government violated the 10th Amendment, which protects the sovereign authority of states to ensure public safety within their borders. The lawsuit characterizes Operation Metro Surge as a "federal invasion" designed to provoke community outrage and sow fear for political reasons.

Court filings from the state argue that the federal surge has forced local police to divert millions of dollars in resources and has caused "tangible harm" to the citizens of Minnesota. Minneapolis officials reported that within just four days of the shooting, the city had spent over $2 million in police overtime to manage the unrest and public safety issues created by the federal presence. The legal battle represents a rare and significant clash over the limits of federal power in a domestic setting, with Minnesota asking the court to declare the operation unconstitutional and to issue a restraining order to halt the raids.

FORENSIC CONTRADICTIONS IN THE SNOW

One of the most critical developments in the case has been the emergence of private video evidence that challenges the official federal narrative. According to investigators, the White House and the DHS initially released statements claiming that Renee Good was a "violent rioter" and a "domestic terrorist" who had "viciously ran over" an officer. However, when the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office established a public portal for evidence, local residents submitted footage from multiple angles that painted a different picture.

Experts who reviewed the bystander footage pointed to specific details: Renee’s tires were pointed to the left, indicating she was turning away from the officers. Her brake lights and reverse lights were visible at different points, suggesting she was attempting to maneuver her vehicle in a crowded street rather than using it as a battering ram. Furthermore, footage captured immediately after the shots showed Jonathan Ross remaining on his feet and walking away, which local leaders say contradicts the claim that he was "viciously run over."

The federal government has remained steadfast in its support of Officer Ross. Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated that the agency would not release the officer's name (though it was later identified through court records) because doing so would put his life at risk. Federal officials emphasized that the decision to use force must be judged from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene, particularly one who had been previously traumatized by a vehicle dragging. This "split-second" standard is a cornerstone of federal law enforcement protection, making it historically difficult to bring criminal charges against agents acting in the line of duty.

WHAT INVESTIGATORS HAVE CONFIRMED

• Investigators have confirmed that Renee Nicole Good was a United States citizen and was not the target of any immigration warrant or criminal investigation at the time of the shooting.
• Official records show that Jonathan Ross was the officer who fired all three rounds that struck Renee Good and her vehicle.
• The Hennepin County Medical Examiner confirmed that the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head, and the manner of death was homicide (death at the hands of another).
• Ballistics reports and video analysis show that one bullet was fired through the front windshield and two were fired through the driver-side window.
• Investigators have verified that Jonathan Ross was seriously injured in June 2025 after being dragged 300 feet by a suspect’s vehicle in Bloomington, Minnesota.
• Official logs from the Minneapolis Police Department show that officers arrived within minutes and attempted CPR, but Renee was pronounced dead at Hennepin County Medical Center.
• The FBI has confirmed it is the sole agency in possession of the maroon Honda Pilot, the shell casings, and the primary forensic evidence collected from the scene.
• Court filings confirm that Attorney General Keith Ellison has filed a federal lawsuit (0:26-cv-00190) seeking to end Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota.
• Investigators have noted that Renee Good’s wife, Becca Good, was present in the vehicle and witnessed the shooting first-hand.
• Official statements from the DHS indicate that Officer Ross was briefly hospitalized after the incident but was released to his family in stable condition.

UNANSWERED QUESTIONS

• Why did the U.S. Attorney’s Office reverse the decision to allow the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to participate in a joint investigation?
• What was the exact nature and severity of the injuries Jonathan Ross sustained on January 7, and do they align with the "viciously run over" narrative?
• Were the federal agents at the scene wearing body-worn cameras, and if so, will that footage be released to state prosecutors or the public?
• Did any officer or agent give conflicting commands (e.g., "stop" vs. "move") that contributed to the driver’s confusion in the seconds before the shooting?
• What was the specific objective of the tactical team in that residential neighborhood, and why was a dual-language school area chosen for high-intensity enforcement?
• Is there a connection between the "Operation Metro Surge" deployment and the political voting habits of the Twin Cities, as alleged in the state's lawsuit?
• How will the Bivens Doctrine affect the ability of the Good family to seek civil damages from federal agents in a court of law?
• Did the FBI or ICE provide Officer Ross with psychological "return to work" evaluations following his traumatic injury in June 2025?
• What was the internal DHS justification for labeling a U.S. citizen a "domestic terrorist" before an investigation had been completed?
• Why were local medical professionals reportedly prevented from providing immediate aid to the victim at the scene?

KEY INDIVIDUALS & RELATIONSHIPS

• RENEE NICOLE GOOD – VICTIM – A 37-year-old poet, writer, and mother of three who was fatally shot while driving her SUV.
• JONATHAN ROSS – SUBJECT – A 43-year-old ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations officer and tactical instructor who fired the fatal shots.
• BECCA GOOD – SPOUSE – The wife of Renee Good who was present in the vehicle during the shooting and has become a primary witness.
• KEITH ELLISON – STATE AUTHORITY – The Minnesota Attorney General who is leading the legal fight against the federal government’s immigration surge.
• KRISTI NOEM – FEDERAL AUTHORITY – The Secretary of Homeland Security who has publicly defended the shooting as an act of self-defense.
• TIMMY RAY MACKLIN SR. – FAMILY – The former father-in-law of Renee Good and grandfather to her youngest son; currently seeking custody of the child.
• MARY MORIARTY – PROSECUTOR – The Hennepin County Attorney who is attempting to build a state-level criminal case despite being blocked from evidence.
• JACOB FREY – CITY AUTHORITY – The Mayor of Minneapolis who has been a vocal critic of federal tactics and the exclusion of state investigators.
• TIM WALZ – STATE AUTHORITY – The Governor of Minnesota who has expressed deep concern over the fairness of the FBI-led investigation.
• ROBERTO CARLOS MUNOZ-GUATEMALA – PREVIOUS SUBJECT – The individual who dragged Jonathan Ross in June 2025, an event cited as a major factor in Ross’s state of mind.