FBI agent who sought civil rights probe in Renee Good shooting resigns after internal pressure
WASHINGTON, DC: The federal law enforcement officer who tried to probe the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent responsible for fatally shooting Renee Good has resigned.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent, Tracee Mergen, had sought to pursue a civil rights inquiry into the January 7 killing of the 37‑year‑old Minneapolis mother.
However, Mergen had reportedly faced demands to discontinue the probe before she stepped down.
FBI officer probing ICE agent resigned after internal pressure
The New York Times reported that Mergen, a supervisor in the FBI’s Minneapolis field office, stepped down amid an internal push to reclassify or discontinue the probe.
A spokesperson for the Minneapolis FBI field office declined further details into the matter, saying it was “FBI policy not to comment on personnel matters.”
Several top prosecutors in Minnesota also resigned last week, partly due to the DOJ’s reluctance to pursue a civil rights investigation into the ICE officer’s actions and its reported direction to instead investigate Good’s widow.
At the same time, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has served subpoenas on several top Minnesota officials, including Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, as part of an investigation into whether state and local leaders impeded federal immigration enforcement.
Walz, Frey and other local officials have all called for an end to federal immigration operations in the state amid ongoing protests.
AG declares no basis for criminal civil rights probe in Good's death
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said there was “currently no basis” for a criminal Civil Rights Division investigation into the ICE officer who shot Good, and the Justice Department confirmed it will not pursue a civil rights case against the agent.
Notably, the Trump administration defended the officer on social media, repeating claims that Good “viciously ran over the ICE officer, who seems to have [shot] her in self defense.”
Frey dismissed the administration’s self-defense claims as “bulls***,” saying he believed “this was an agent recklessly using power that resulted in somebody dying.”
The developments come amid broader controversy over the handling of the shooting and growing protests.
FBI agent removal controversy not new
FBI leadership has pushed out several employees after reviewing the bureau’s internal messaging system and finding negative comments about President Donald Trump, media reports have cited people familiar with the matter as saying.
Some of those messages date back as far as ten years.
The federal agency's Director Kash Patel has led the removals as part of an effort to force out people connected to earlier investigations, including cases involving Trump. The dismissals have affected senior FBI officials in cities such as New Orleans and Miami, along with others across the country.
These latest removals come months after three former senior FBI officials, including a former acting FBI director who served early in Trump’s second term, sued Patel.
The lawsuit claims Patel was told to fire agents who worked on past Trump-related investigations or risk losing his own job.
During his confirmation hearing in January 2025, Patel told Congress that no one at the FBI “will be terminated for case assignments” and promised he “will not … go backwards.”
He also said, “There will be no politicization at the FBI. There will be no retributive actions taken.”
This summer, the FBI Agents Association warned lawmakers that Patel was making staffing decisions without following required legal protections.
In a letter, the group said none of the fired agents faced misconduct accusations or received a chance to defend themselves, even though long-standing FBI policy requires both notice and due process.
