Renee Nicole Good was fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, identified as Jonathan Ross, in Minneapolis last week. The 37-year-old was in her SUV when the ICE officer fired three shots. She died at the scene. It was soon revealed that the mother of three was an active member of her son’s school community, serving on the board of a small charter school that had shared materials encouraging parents to observe ICE activity and take part in nonviolent protest training.
Records reviewed by CNN show that Good, who joined the board of Southside Family Charter School in August 2025, was linked through school documents to broader community efforts aimed at monitoring immigration enforcement.
Federal officials have said those connections are central to their review of the shooting, which occurred when Good partially blocked an ICE operation with her SUV. However, nothing is conclusive.
Experts weigh in
Legal experts, however, told CNN that the materials outlined long-established, nonviolent civil disobedience practices rather than anything resembling extremism or violence.
“There’s nothing in there that suggests attacking ICE agents or engaging in any other form of physical harm or property damage,” Timothy Zick, a professor at William and Mary Law School who studies protest law, said. “This is authoritarianism 101 where you blame the dissenters and the activists for causing their own death.”
December 16 school report
One document, dated December 16 and titled “School Report,” thanked families who had participated in “ICE watch” efforts and framed the activity as a way to protect neighbors.
The message, listed on the agenda of a school board meeting that Good attended, linked to a separate training guide that encouraged nonviolent responses, including using whistles to alert neighbors and refusing to cooperate with ICE requests.
That training document included sharp language criticizing ICE, stating, “ICE are untrained bullies looking for easy targets. Neighbors showing up have saved lives.” Another guide emphasized nonviolence while encouraging “creative tactics,” such as using crowds, noise, and traffic to slow enforcement actions. It did not explicitly call for blocking ICE vehicles with personal cars.
School records do not show that the board formally voted on distributing the message, and it remains unclear how widely it was shared with families.
Good’s wife, Becca Good, said in a statement, “We had whistles. They had guns.” While several social media commentators claimed that Good was a ‘paid protestor’, there is no evidence to back the claims.