Renee Nicole Good was a poet, mother of three children, wife. Within hours of her death, in the eyes of the government, she had become a domestic terrorist.
On January 7, ICE Agent Jonathan Ross shot Good through the windshield and window of his car in Minneapolis. She appeared to have four gunshot wounds, according to the New York Times, which cited a report from the Minneapolis Fire Department. Hours after the shooting, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem accused Good of “[weaponizing] his vehicle. President Donald Trump claimed the 37-year-old woman “violently, intentionally and viciously ran down” the officer who killed her. Vice President JD Vance called her death “a tragedy of her own making.”
Bystander videos showed something different: It was okay to try to run away when the shots were fired. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called the vigilante story “bullshit.”
Despite the video evidence, conservative media immediately fell in line. Good was “100 percent responsible” for his own death, according to Matt Walsh of the Daily Wire. Megyn Kelly said it was “her own fault.” The verdict was unanimous: she deserved it.
But the reasons given for her death go well beyond what she did or didn’t do with her car. Much of it centered around Good’s identity as a queer woman.
Walsh called Good a “lesbian agitator.” Ian Miles Cheong, a right-wing commentator with millions of followers, called her a “carpet-eating leftist.” On Fox News, Jesse Watters noted that Good “leaves behind a lesbian partner” and pointed out that she has “pronouns in her bio,” apparently in reference to her Instagram profile.
Good was in a relationship with Becca Good, and the two had recently moved to Minneapolis in an effort to “create a better life for themselves,” according to a statement Becca released after her death. They left Kansas City, Missouri, for Canada after Trump’s 2024 election victory, before returning to the United States, Xtra reported.
Days after Good’s death, images that appeared to come from Ross’ cellphone were leaked to conservative media outlet Alpha News in Minnesota. It shows the moments leading up to the shooting. Good is driving and calmly says to the person filming, “I’m not mad at you. » His partner, Becca, is outside the car and confronts Ross. Becca appears defiant and fearless, telling the person behind the camera, “Go get yourself some lunch, big guy.” » As Good tries to run away, Ross fires several shots. Then, just before Good’s car crashes, a voice is heard saying, “Fucking bitch.” »
Whoever leaked this video could have deleted the insult. They didn’t do it. And judging by the reactions of right-wing influencers, they didn’t need it.
“There’s a real sense of disgust toward women in the way conservative media talks about these kinds of protests,” says Courtney Hagle, research director at Media Matters for America, which has tracked the right-wing reaction to Good’s death. “They are clearly very angry at the presence of women, and particularly white women, liberal women.” The video, as Hagle says, “confirmed to them that this was not a human being that they should care about.”
Some comments, including references to Becca as Good’s “so-called wife,” also appeared to be an insidious way of delegitimizing Goods’ relationship.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, President Trump repeatedly referred to Becca Good as Renee’s “friend.” “The woman and her friend were disrespectful to law enforcement,” he said. Leigh Finke, a Minnesota state legislator and the state’s first openly trans elected official, says this type of erasure sends a message. “All they portray is disrespectful lesbian women who don’t obey the men in power.”
