During a White House briefing on Tuesday, January 20, President Donald Trump appeared to soften his stance on the killing of Minneapolis protester Renee Good after learning that her father, Timothy Ganger, is a Trump supporter.
“That woman was shot. I felt terribly about that,” Trump said during a speech. “And I understand both sides,” he added, referring to the incident.
“I felt horribly when I was told that the young woman—had the tragedy. It’s a tragedy. It’s a horrible thing,” Trump continued.
“Everybody would say…ICE would say the same thing. But when I learned her parents, and her father in particular, I hope he still is, but I don’t know – was a tremendous Trump fan.”
“He was all for Trump, loved Trump. And, uh… it’s terrible. I was told that by a lot of people. They said, ‘Oh, he loves you.’ I hope he still feels that way. I don’t know—it’s a hard, hard situation.”
During the briefing, Trump also repeated unsubstantiated claims that “professional agitators” were responsible for fueling protests over Good’s killing, as well as opposition to his administration’s mass deportation policies.
“There was another woman that was screaming, ‘Shame, shame, shame,’ like a professional opera singer,” Trump said. “She was so loud and so professional. These are professional agitators and professional people that want to see our country do badly. But that’s not happening because we have the hottest country.”
Supporters gather at vigils and memorials honoring Renee Good after she was fatally shot by an ICE officer in Minneapolis on January 7, 2026. Murals were also created in her memory; Photo Credit: Getty Images/Stephen Maturen and Kerem Yucel
Good, 37, was shot three times by ICE officer Jonathan Ross on January 7, 2026, during an ICE raid in south Minneapolis. Earlier this month, Trump and his administration characterized Good as a “professional agitator” and a “domestic terrorist,” stating that the shooting was justified and that the agent fired in self-defense while standing in front of Good’s vehicle as it began to move forward.
Good’s family has accused federal immigration officers of wrongdoing in the death of the Minneapolis mother, saying she was attempting to comply with agents’ instructions. The family has hired the Chicago-based law firm Romanucci & Blandin, the same firm that represented George Floyd’s family, to seek answers and accountability.
The decision to hire the firm came after the U.S. Justice Department said it found no basis to open a federal civil rights investigation into the shooting without cooperation from the state of Minnesota on key evidence. An FBI investigation into Good’s death remains ongoing.
Crime scene showing a visible bullet hole in the windshield of a crashed vehicle on Portland Avenue in Minneapolis after an ICE officer struck and killed Renee Good on January 7, 2026; Photo Credit: Reuters/Tim Evans and MPR News/Ben Hovland
Meanwhile, roughly half a dozen federal prosecutors in Minnesota resigned this week, along with several supervisors in the Civil Rights Division’s criminal section in Washington, according to NPR. The departures were reportedly tied to concerns over the lack of a broader probe, amid allegations that political leaders were more focused on investigating Good’s widow than the officer who killed her.
Good’s loved ones released a statement following her death, saying she was a beautiful light to her family and brought joy to everyone she met, describing her as relentlessly hopeful and optimistic. In another statement released through Romanucci & Blandin, the family said they want Good remembered as “an agent of peace” and urged the public not to use her death as a political flashpoint.
