The civil actions represent some of the first major legal challenges to emerge from the Trump administration’s controversial mass deportation sweep in Minnesota, which drew intense protests and ended following widespread public backlash. Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen, was shot and killed on January 7 as she sat in the driver’s seat of her SUV during a protest against the deployment of thousands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to the city.
Wrongful Death and Civil Rights Claims
The two complaints, filed by the attorneys representing Good’s partner, Becca Good, and her brother, Brent Ganger, outline severe allegations of constitutional violations, negligence, battery, assault, false imprisonment, and emotional distress. One of the lawsuits invokes the Federal Tort Claims Act to hold the United States government legally and financially liable for the actions of federal personnel.
According to the legal filings detailed by The Guardian, the first complaint seeks damages for the immense physical and psychological suffering Good endured in her final moments, as well as the profound losses inflicted upon her surviving family. Becca Good, who was standing feet away from the vehicle when officer Jonathan Ross discharged three rounds into it, witnessed her partner’s death firsthand.
The second lawsuit alleges a coordinated conspiracy to interfere with civil rights. It names specific federal figures, including the immigration officer who shot Good, Jonathan Ross; former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem; White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller; and former Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino, holding them directly accountable for their roles in setting the hardline enforcement policies that preceded the shooting.
Contested Video Evidence and Escalation
The fatal encounter was captured on multiple cellphone video clips, which became central to the public outcry following Good’s death and the subsequent killing of intensive care nurse Alex Pretti two weeks later. In the footage, officers can be heard shouting at Good to exit her vehicle. However, video evidence shows Good steering her SUV away from officer Ross and beginning to drive forward as multiple gunshots ring out, before the vehicle crashes into a parked car.
While the Department of Homeland Security previously claimed that Good had engaged in an act of domestic terrorism and officer Ross maintained he acted in self-defense, witnesses told NBC News that Ross did not appear to be in the direct path of the vehicle. A separate video recorded by Ross captured a male voice using a profanity moments before the collision.
In the aftermath of the shooting, then-Deputy U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche stated that the Justice Department saw no grounds for opening a civil rights investigation into the incident, though days later federal prosecutors opened an inquiry into Becca Good’s relationship with local protest groups. The aggressive enforcement operation, which had descended on Minnesota following a state fraud scandal involving Somali nationals, ultimately prompted the withdrawal of federal agents in February amid fierce pushback from state leaders and nationwide demonstrations.
Family Grief and the Pursuit of Accountability
During an emotional press conference announcing the lawsuits, Becca Good made her first public comments since the tragedy, describing her partner as smart, funny, and “pure love.”
“Every single one of these moments for all of her babies and for everyone up here was a monumental moment, and she should be here for all of them. We were all robbed,” Becca Good said, as reported by NBC News. Brent Ganger called his sister’s death “completely senseless” and emphasized that the legal action is intended to put public officials on notice.
Neither the Department of Homeland Security nor the White House immediately responded to requests for comment regarding the lawsuits, and a representative for Jonathan Ross could not be immediately reached.