Romanucci & Blandin announces civil lawsuits against the United States of America, individual federal agents and officials for death of Renee Good

Evidence substantiates how Agent Jonathan Ross violated his own department’s use of force policies

Legal action details federal conspiracy with discriminatory design and authorized use of force against observers

^{COMPLAINT: Federal lawsuit for death of Renee Good (FTCA) v. United States of America}

^{COMPLAINT: Federal lawsuit for death of Renee Good v. Individual agents and officials}

MINNEAPOLIS (October 1, 2026) – The day of accountability has arrived for the United States’ rogue agencies, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and the unjustified and excessive use of force – let alone deadly force – used on people exercising their rights under the Constitution’s Bill of Rights. Peaceful assembly, speech and even dissent are protected rights. However, the government has distorted the exercise of these rights as violence against our republic and acted with extreme and unconstitutional force, causing egregious harm. Many of these illegal uses of force resulted in death – including the death of an American mother of three, Renee Good, in Minneapolis on January 7, 2026.

A civilized society has rules, especially for law enforcement officers, whom the government empowers to use force only to protect the public. Today’s legal actions demand accountability for countless violations of the law, the Constitution and the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) own rules governing the use of force. The legal action substantiates multiple violations of the Department’s use of force and other policies by Agent Jonathan Ross and his fellow agents in their deadly interaction with Renee. Further, the complaints explain how the Administration created an environment during Operation Metro Surge in which federal agents believed they would be immune from consequences for violating those rules. There is no such immunity.

Renee’s death was not an accident. It was the predictable result of a coordinated campaign by senior officials in this administration to target Minnesotans of Somali or Hispanic origin and silence anyone who dared to raise their voice in protest. Operation Metro Surge was built on exaggerated fraud accusations that the White House embraced as a pretext for thousands of masked, unidentified federal agents to rove neighborhoods and stop people based on how they looked. Administration officials told agents to force confrontations with observers like Renee and led agents to believe they would face no consequences for using force. However, Congress passed the Ku Klux Klan Act in 1871 to ensure accountability for those who conspire to deny the right we all enjoy to equal protection.

Two civil lawsuits were filed on October 1, 2026, in the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota. In both complaints, the Plaintiffs are Brent Ganger, Renee’s brother, as trustee for the next of kin of Renee Nicole Macklin Good, including her three minor children, parents and siblings; and Becca Good, Renee’s partner. One lawsuit names the United States of America as the sole Defendant under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). The other lawsuit names Jonathan Ross, Stephen Miller, Kristi Noem, Corey R. Lewandowski, Thomas D. Homan, Todd Lyons, Gregory Bovino and John Doe Federal Agents 1-10 for their respective individual roles in the operation that led to Renee’s death.

Case background – January 7, 2026

Neither Renee nor Becca, who was with her that morning, was the target of any investigation. They had not committed or threatened any act of violence, and they were breaking no law that any federal officer had authority to enforce. They were unarmed, with the family dog in the vehicle. The women had just dropped off their son at school and were driving home in their south Minneapolis neighborhood, where federal immigration agents were deployed as part of Operation Metro Surge. Renee stopped their vehicle on Portland Avenue and honked her horn to alert neighbors. Becca got out and began filming. Renee stayed behind the wheel.

Numerous vehicles, including the unmarked Chevrolet Tahoe driven by ICE agent Jonathan Ross, drove around the stopped vehicle without incident. Renee waved multiple vehicles past without impeding traffic flow.

Ross exited his vehicle with his cell phone in hand and was already recording. He walked past her open driver’s side window when Renee said to him, “I’m not mad at you. I’m not mad at any of you.” Two additional agents approached her vehicle, one shouting expletives at Renee.

Renee turned her vehicle’s wheels away from Ross and began to pull forward slowly. Ross moved out of the vehicle’s path. Then he leaned forward toward the vehicle, drew his firearm and fired a round through the windshield. As Renee’s vehicle continued its slow turn away from Ross, he fired twice more from a ninety-degree angle, on the side of the car through her open driver’s side window. One of those shots through the window struck Renee in the head. No agent was in the path of the vehicle at the time any of the shots were fired.

As her vehicle careened down the street and crashed into a parked car, Ross said “(expletive) bitch.” Becca ran to the vehicle to find her partner with a gunshot wound to the head.

No agent rendered any medical aid. When a bystander, who identified himself as a physician, offered help, he was told by an agent, “I don’t care,” and was not permitted to assist. Renee was pronounced dead at the Hennepin County Medical Center at 10:30 am.

Where Agent Ross and others deviated from policing protocols

The decisions made by Agent Ross that morning violated the Fourth Amendment and the mandatory use-of-force policies of his own Department.

These Department policies permit deadly force only against imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury, prohibit deadly force used solely to prevent escape, sharply circumscribe firing at the operator of a moving vehicle, direct agents not to place themselves in positions in which they have no alternative to deadly force, and require agents to obtain medical assistance for the injured as soon as practicable. Ross and the agents alongside him violated every one of those Department commands.

A different process for accountability when a federal officer is involved

The process for seeking accountability for harms caused by a federal law enforcement officer differs significantly from the process for a state or municipal officer. If a state or local officer violates an individual’s constitutional rights, a Plaintiff can file a civil lawsuit alleging misconduct by the individual officer and the city or state that employs them, and a jury of their peers can render a verdict at trial.

Outside of narrow circumstances, a direct lawsuit against a federal actor for violating constitutional rights is generally not an option. When a federal officer harms someone, the clearest path to accountability requires the Plaintiff to petition the federal agency that employs the officer by filing a claim under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). This process involves filing a form called Standard Form-95 (SF-95) and then waiting six months to file a civil complaint, which can only name the United States, and not the individual, as a defendant. That complaint can ultimately result in a bench trial before a judge, not a jury of the injured individual’s peers.

Romanucci & Blandin has created an executive summary of the FTCA process to serve as a resource to the press and the public.

In related legal matters, Romanucci & Blandin and co-counsel last month announced the start of the legal process for 15 U.S. citizens and legal residents in Chicago whose civil rights were violated by federal agents during Operation Midway Blitz. The SF-95s filed for those clients detail incidents of excessive force, wrongful detention, and other misconduct during immigration enforcement operations in the Chicago area last year.

Complaint Details

Two complaints were filed on October 1, 2026, for the death of Renee Good. 

The family of Renee Good is represented by Founding Partner Antonio M. Romanucci, Partner Daisy Ayllón, Partner Sarah M. Raisch, Senior Attorney Benjamin A. Berkman and Senior Attorney Stephen H. Weil from the law firm of Romanucci & Blandin, LLC, along with Co-Counsel Attorney Kevin Riach from Riach Law in Minneapolis. The team represents Renee’s partner, Becca Good; her parents, Tim and Donna Ganger; her three minor children; and her four siblings.

1. One of the complaints is filed under the FTCA, and the Defendant named is the United States of America. The claim asserts wrongful death under Minnesota statute predicated on the individual claims of battery, assault, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence that caused Renee’s death.

The complaint seeks to recover for Renee’s estate for the immense suffering Renee endured in the final moments of her life and for the profound and permanent losses that her death has inflicted upon her family. The complaint also seeks to recover for Becca Good, who was standing feet from the couple’s vehicle when Ross fired three rounds into it, and she watched her partner die. The lawsuit claims intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligent infliction of emotional distress on her behalf.

This complaint seeks a bench trial before a judge per the requirements of the FTCA.

2. The other complaint comes under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1985(3) and 1986, parts of the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, alleging a conspiracy to interfere with civil rights by senior federal officials, federal immigration enforcement agents, and private actors. It also includes allegations against Ross and the federal officers on the ground on January 7, 2026, under Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents and the state laws of Minnesota. This lawsuit names as Defendants Jonathan Ross, Stephen Miller, Kristi Noem, Corey R. Lewandowski, Thomas D. Homan, Todd Lyons, Gregory Bovino and John Doe Federal Agents 1-10 for their respective individual roles in Renee Good’s death.

The complaint explains that the shots fired by Agent Ross were the predictable and intended product of the operation that put him on Portland Avenue that morning. His conduct was in furtherance of a carefully planned, coordinated effort between senior federal officials and private actors to make two ethnic communities – Minnesotans of Somali and Hispanic descent and origin – the object of aggression and abduction, and to silence by intimidation, arrest and violence the neighbors and allies of those targeted communities who observed, documented and warned of that campaign.

Further, the complaint details collaboration of federal agencies and individuals with private entities for an operation with discriminatory design, racially targeted pursuit and seizure of individuals without regard to their legal status, and each defendant’s participation in the conspiracy. 

Federal Claims include:

• 42 U.S.C. § 1985(3), Conspiracy to Deprive Persons of Somali Descent and Origin and Hispanic Persons of the Equal Protection of the Laws
• 42 U.S.C. § 1985(3), Going in Disguise on the Highway for the Purpose of Depriving Persons of Somali Origin and Hispanic Persons of the Equal Protection of the Laws
• 42 U.S.C. § 1986, Neglect and Refusal to Prevent the Wrongs of the § 1985 Conspiracy
• Fourth Amendment, Excessive Force, Bivens Claim

State Law Claims include:

• Minnesota Tort Law, Wrongful Death (Minn. Stat. § 573.02)
• Minnesota Tort Law, Battery
• Minnesota Tort Law, Assault
• Minnesota Tort Law, False Imprisonment
• Minnesota Tort Law, Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress
• Minnesota Tort Law, Negligence
• Minnesota Tort Law, Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress

This complaint seeks a trial by jury.

“Unquestionably, unequivocally, neither Renee nor Becca was the worst of the worst. They were exactly as their name says – Good folks. No one was armed. No one was a domestic terrorist. They had their pet dog in the car. Indeed, Renee told masked agents she wasn’t mad at them; her last words clearly reflected her state of mind. Renee had the right to speak, express herself, assemble, observe and leave the scene unharmed and alive,” said Founding Partner Antonio M. Romanucci, Romanucci & Blandin. “Today, these lawsuits are the beginning of the ultimate legal weapon in uncovering the truth behind this unlawful use of deadly force and the nefarious conspiracies behind the invasion of American cities by American law enforcement officers.”

“These two civil complaints seek to remedy two distinct, but related wrongs. We seek accountability for the unconscionable and unconstitutional use of force by a federal agent that killed Renee on January 7th. But we also seek accountability for the discriminatory and violent operation that placed Jonathan Ross on Portland Avenue that day. Those in the highest rungs of power authorized armed, masked men to terrorize Minnesotans on the basis of their perceived race or national origin. To achieve that goal, they also sought to silence community members who refused to look away. Congress passed the Ku Klux Klan Act to hold accountable those who conspire to deny the equal protection of the laws. Today’s filings intend to do just that,” said Senior Attorney Benjamin A. Berkman, Romanucci & Blandin.

“I stand here with fierce determination to do what is right for my sister, for her children, and for our country - and that is to insist on accountability. What happened to her on January 7^th and what has happened to far too many people in the last year is not what America is about. We can and must do better, and the Constitution must be the roadmap back to decency and the rule of law,” said Plaintiff Brent Ganger, Renee Good’s brother.

“Every morning, she is my first thought. I think about how the kids are growing up without their mama, and how I will grow old without the love of my life. I think about how we should have had 40 more years together. But I also think about what she would have wanted after all of this,” said Plaintiff Becca Good. “As we have tried to navigate our own massive loss, I am also devastated by how many other lives have been destroyed in this darkest of times. So many other families are dealing with the loss of their loved ones; to everyone who has had to witness it — the pain of this moment extends far beyond our family. What happened to us should never happen to any family. No child should grow up without a parent because of it. No one should lose their sister or their daughter. No one should have to live without their soulmate. Accountability — real accountability — is the only way to make sure that no other family has to go through what we have.”

Anyone with information about this incident is encouraged to contact Romanucci & Blandin for a confidential conversation at 312-458-1000 or intakes@rblaw.net.

About Romanucci & Blandin, LLC

Romanucci & Blandin is a Chicago-based national trial practice committed to fighting for victims of negligence, abuse and wrongful death. For nearly 30 years, we have secured more than $1 billion in verdicts and settlements for our clients - many for millions of dollars and others record-setting awards. Our experience ranges from mass shootings, civil rights and police misconduct to medical malpractice, sexual abuse, motor vehicle accidents or workplace injury cases involving individual or institutional negligence. Romanucci & Blandin is a valuable legal resource to individuals and groups of people who have been injured by others’ wrongdoing. Referring attorneys and clients say several factors differentiate our firm: Our record of success, depth of experience, talented and dedicated legal team, tireless preparation and strategic use of communications to fight for the rights of those whose lives have been changed forever. We are different from other personal injury firms in that our work does not stop when a verdict or settlement is secured. We are often inspired by our clients’ experiences and commit resources to create change in our communities. For more information about Romanucci & Blandin, please visit www.rblaw.net or call (312) 458-1000.