On January 7, 2026 a federal immigration enforcement operation in south Minneapolis ended with a tragic death when an ICE agent fired on a vehicle and a 37-year-old woman, later identified as Renee Nicole Good, was killed. Bystander videos and multiple local reports captured parts of the incident and set off a storm of conflicting narratives between federal officials who called the act defensive and city leaders and witnesses who say the footage does not clearly show the vehicle being used as a deadly weapon.
The Department of Homeland Security framed the shooting as an act of self-defense after an assailant allegedly “weaponized her vehicle,” while video shared widely online appears to show the SUV pulling away and officers firing as it moved, prompting immediate outrage and calls for an independent investigation. Minneapolis’s mayor and police chief publicly questioned the federal account and urged a full state and federal probe, underscoring how raw and unresolved the facts remain even as activists mobilize.
Conservative voices aren’t staying silent about the context that led to this ugly confrontation. Scott Jennings, appearing on CNN, pushed back against the media narrative and warned that years of demonizing ICE—labeling agents “Gestapo” and encouraging street confrontations—helped normalize dangerous interference with law enforcement and heightened the risks agents now face on the job. That exchange, shared widely by commentators, should make Americans uncomfortable about how political rhetoric can translate into real-world violence.
Dave Rubin amplified that same point by sharing a direct-message clip of Jennings’ remarks with his audience, reminding viewers that calm, common-sense arguments about law and order are being drowned out by sensationalist portrayals that inflame the public. Conservative commentators correctly note that when politicians and pundits equate federal officers with fascist secret police, it lowers the bar for people to take matters into their own hands instead of using the political process.
This is not abstract theory—prominent Democrats and progressive leaders have in recent years used rhetoric that casts ICE as a malignant force in America, and mainstream outlets have amplified those claims without always reckoning with the consequences. That piling-on has predictably hardened attitudes on both sides and made operations in American cities flashpoints for confrontation rather than sober law-enforcement actions that respect due process.
As the FBI and state investigators examine the scene, conservatives must demand two things: a thorough, transparent investigation that gets at the truth, and a rejection of the reckless, dehumanizing language that turns public servants into targets. We can grieve for the life lost while still insisting on the rule of law—and we can insist that public debate be responsible enough not to fan the flames of violence against families and officers doing a dangerous job.
Hardworking Americans shouldn’t be forced to choose between law and liberty or between community safety and fair enforcement; we can and must have both. It’s time for leaders on the left to stop weaponizing language for political gain, for the media to report facts before rushing to judgment, and for every patriot to stand for accountability, respect for due process, and the protection of innocent lives caught in the crossfire of radical rhetoric.
