FBI pushes Minnesota investigators aside in ICE shooting probe; Ellison calls move 'a stupid thing'

Paul Walsh and Jeff Day, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Jan 8, 2026

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MINNEAPOLIS — The state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has just revealed that federal officials have “reversed course,” and the investigation into the killing of a Minneapolis woman by an ICE agent will be conducted solely by the FBI without assistance from the state agency.

In the immediate wake of the killing of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good during an ICE enforcement action Wednesday morning on Portland Avenue, the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said it was collaborating with the FBI in the investigation.

However, the BCA said in a statement released late Thursday morning that “the FBI informed the BCA that the U.S. Attorney’s Office had reversed course: the investigation would now be led solely by the FBI.”

The BCA added that this takeover of the investigation means that it will “no longer have access to the case materials, scene evidence or investigative interviews necessary to complete a thorough and independent investigation.”

Without complete access to the evidence, witnesses and information collected, the BCA statement continued, “we cannot meet the investigative standards that Minnesota law and the public demands. As a result, the BCA has reluctantly withdrawn from the investigation. The BCA Force Investigations Unit was designed to ensure consistency, accountability and public confidence, none of which can be achieved without full cooperation and jurisdictional clarity.”

In an interview with CNN shortly after the BCA was frozen out by the FBI, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison addressed federal authorities, saying, “My question is, what are you afraid of? What are you afraid of an independent investigation for?”

Ellison said he cautioned the FBI to “wait a minute, don’t do this stupid thing! Do not go forward with an exclusive, which would be an inherently untrustworthy investigation.

“Do what is right, do what is wise, do what is best for this country, and have an inclusive joint investigation that includes cooperation by state and local authorities.”

The BCA’s statement explained that the purpose of the unit, created in 2020, is “to provide an independent, consistent and trusted mechanism for investigating use of force incidents involving law enforcement officers.”

Now that the FBI is the lone agency on the case, the BCA statement said it expects federal authorities “to conduct a thorough and complete investigation and that the full investigative file will be shared with the appropriate prosecutorial authorities at both the state and federal levels.”

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