Minneapolis, a city still healing from the police murder of George Floyd in 2020, was thrust back into the national spotlight on January 7, 2026, following another fatal shooting by a federal agent. This time, the victim was Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old poet and mother, who was shot and killed by an agent of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The Shooting That Reignited a City's Pain
The incident occurred at the intersection of East 34th Street and Portland Avenue, mere blocks from the memorial site where George Floyd was killed. The proximity was not lost on the community, instantly drawing parallels and reviving deep-seated anger towards law enforcement agencies. A video of the shooting quickly spread across social media platforms, leading to widespread condemnation of ICE and fuelling calls for the agency to be abolished.
In the weeks that followed, Minneapolis saw a resurgence of protests, with demonstrators targeting both ICE and the Trump administration. The public outrage was directed not just at the shooting itself but at a pattern of lethal actions by federal agents in the city.
Trump Administration's Defense and a Defining Smirk
As global attention focused on the brutal killing, the Trump administration's response further inflamed the situation. U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem characterized Good's actions as an "act of domestic terrorism." This stance was echoed by other high-ranking officials, including former President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who all sided with the ICE agent.
The controversy reached a new peak when Secretary Noem gave an interview to CNN. When questioned about whether the ICE agent, identified as Jonathan Ross, was heard calling Renee Good a "f****** b****" moments after shooting her, Noem gave a startling response. "I can‘t determine which one it is, but it could be, sir," she said, followed by a brief, unmistakable smirk.
This blatant and off-putting reaction was captured on camera and shared widely, disappointing and angering viewers. Social media users were quick to condemn her demeanor. One user on X wrote, "That smirk at the end is the smile of a satisfied puppy killer," a reference that was far from random.
Noem's Past: From 'Puppy Killer' to Political Controversy
The comment about a "satisfied puppy killer" directly references a disturbing anecdote from Kristi Noem's own memoir. In her book, 'No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward' published in May 2024, the former South Dakota governor described killing her 14-month-old dog, Cricket, because the wirehair pointer was deemed difficult to train and "dangerous."
Noem's tale of slaughter did not end with her dog. She also graphically detailed killing a family goat that she described as nasty and mean. She wrote that she included these stories to illustrate her willingness to do "unpleasant" jobs, both in South Dakota life and in politics, while remarking, "I guess if I were a better politician I wouldn’t tell the story here."
This history made her smirk during the CNN interview about a human being's death appear even more callous to the public. The incident has compounded scrutiny on her tenure as DHS Secretary and the administration's handling of the ICE shooting.
The killing of Renee Nicole Good has thus become more than a single tragic event. It is a flashpoint intertwining issues of police and federal agent accountability, political rhetoric, and the personal history of a leading government official, leaving a nation grappling with renewed grief and outrage.
