Justice Department Declines to Investigate the ICE Killing of Renée Good — and Prosecutors Quit

On January 13, 2026, senior Justice Department officials declined to open a criminal civil rights investigation into ICE officer Jonathan Ross's fatal shooting of Renée Good in Minneapolis six days earlier. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said there was "currently no basis" for one. Four leaders of the Civil Rights Division's Criminal Section resigned, in what was described as the largest departure at the department since February 2025. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon had decided against opening the case.

Separately, three veteran federal prosecutors in the Minnesota U.S. Attorney's Office resigned — Joe Thompson, a 17-year veteran, along with Harry Jacobs and criminal division leader Melinda Williams — after department officials pressed the office to investigate Good's widow, Becca Good, over any ties to activist groups.

The Criminal Section is the unit that ordinarily reviews alleged excessive force by federal officers. No federal criminal investigation of the shooting had been opened as of the end of January 2026.