Vice President JD Vance labels Minneapolis ICE shooting victim a 'deranged leftist'

WASHINGTON, DC: Vice President JD Vance on Thursday, January 8, described the woman fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Minneapolis as a “deranged leftist,” weighing in publicly as investigators work to determine the facts surrounding the incident.

The shooting occurred on Wednesday, during an immigration enforcement operation and was captured in several videos that quickly circulated online.

Officials at the local, state, and federal levels have offered sharply different interpretations of what the footage shows, fueling political and public debate.

Fatal encounter captured on video prompts competing accounts

The woman killed in the shooting was identified as 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good.

According to authorities, Good was shot as ICE agents approached her vehicle during an operation in southern Minneapolis.

One video footage showed that Good’s burgundy Honda Pilot stopped across travel lanes with the driver’s-side window down as two ICE agents exited their vehicle and moved toward her car. 

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said that at least two shots were fired and that Good suffered a gunshot wound to the head. She was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said that the ICE agent was struck by the vehicle and treated for injuries.

“She hit him. He went to the hospital. A doctor did treat him. He has been released, but he’s going to spend some time with his family,” Noem said.

She later said that the agent “used his training to save his own life and that of his colleagues,” describing the incident as “an attempt to kill or to cause bodily harm to agents” and an act of “domestic t******m.” 

Video footage reviewed publicly does not show the events leading up to the encounter or establish the woman’s intent. Investigations are being conducted by the FBI and Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

JD Vance and Trump defend ICE agent and criticize Democrats

Vice President Vance responded to video clips shared online, criticizing Democrats who questioned the agent’s actions.

“Every congressional Democrat and every Democrat who’s running for president should be asked a simple question: Do you think this officer was wrong in defending his life against a deranged leftist who tried to run him over?” Vance wrote.

He added, “These people are going to try to arrest our law enforcement for doing their jobs. The least the media could do is ask them about it.” 

President Donald Trump echoed similar conclusions within hours of the shooting, stating that the woman “violently, willfully, and viciously ran over” the agent and that the shooting appeared to be self-defense.

“The situation is being studied, in its entirety,” Trump wrote, adding that such incidents occur because “the Radical Left is threatening, assaulting, and targeting our Law Enforcement Officers and ICE Agents on a daily basis.”

Democratic leaders disputed that account.

Minnesota Gov Tim Walz said, “We have been warning for weeks that the Trump administration’s dangerous operations are a threat to public safety, that someone was going to get hurt.”

Senator Tina Smith (D-Minnesota) said, “Homeland Security’s description of what happened and the narrative they’re pushing clearly doesn’t match up with the videos we’re all seeing.”