Renee Good’s Former Father-In-Law Says He Doesn’t Blame ICE

Renee Good’s former father-in-law is publicly rejecting efforts to place blame on federal immigration officers for her fatal shooting in Minneapolis, offering a perspective grounded in faith, personal responsibility, and restraint rather than partisan outrage.

Timmy Macklin told CNN on Tuesday that the situation surrounding Good’s death was “hard all around,” acknowledging that “some bad choices” were made but stressing that he holds no animosity toward law enforcement or the individuals involved. According to Fox News, Macklin was unequivocal in distancing himself from the political narrative forming around the case.

“I don’t blame ICE, I don’t blame [Good’s wife] Rebecca. I don’t blame Renee,” Macklin said.

He added that his faith shapes how he understands the tragedy, explaining that “if we’re walking in the spirit of God, I don’t think she would have been there.”

Good had been married to Macklin’s son, who died in 2023. The couple shared a six-year-old son. Despite the controversy surrounding her death, Macklin remembered Good warmly, describing her as “an amazing person” and a “good mother” who was “full of life.”

When CNN anchor Erin Burnett pressed Macklin on whether the shooting was justified, he again refused to assign blame, reiterating that he “was not blaming anybody.”

Macklin also said he watched cellphone video recorded by a witness that showed Good’s vehicle striking an ICE agent. Reflecting on the rapidly unfolding encounter, he noted that in such moments “it’s hard to say how you’d react.”

Those remarks came as new details emerged from federal officials that appear to strengthen the self-defense claim made by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. On Wednesday, a Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary confirmed that the ICE agent involved suffered internal bleeding after being struck by Good’s vehicle.

Federal authorities have consistently maintained that ICE agents acted in self-defense and have classified the incident as an act of domestic terrorism — a designation Democratic officials and local leaders have strongly rejected.

According to sources briefed on the investigation, the agent who fatally shot Good — identified as Jonathan Ross, a 10-year law enforcement veteran — sustained the internal injury when Good’s SUV made direct contact with him during the chaotic encounter. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed the injury but declined to release additional medical details, citing privacy concerns.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem previously said Ross was treated at a local hospital immediately after the Jan. 7 shooting and released the same day.

“The officer was hit by the vehicle. She hit him. He went to the hospital. A doctor did treat him. He has been released,” Noem said at the time, adding that Ross “acted to protect himself and his fellow agents.”

Officials say confirmation of Ross’s injuries could significantly reshape public perception of the case, which has fueled nationwide protests and sharp partisan attacks against federal immigration enforcement under President Donald J. Trump’s second-term administration. Early video clips circulating online showed Good driving her SUV toward a group of agents, prompting claims from left-wing activists that the response was excessive.

Investigators now say forensic evidence and hospital records corroborate Ross’s account that he was struck by the vehicle before firing. The injuries are described as consistent with blunt-force trauma to the lower body.

U.S. Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino told reporters that Ross is recovering and has been placed in a secure location after receiving death threats.

“He’s in a safe location. He’s recovering from those injuries, and we’re thankful that he’s recovering,” Bovino said.

Court records also show Ross had been injured in a nearly identical incident last June, when he was dragged by a vehicle during an attempted arrest in the same region. That attack reportedly required 33 stitches and multiple days of hospital treatment — a prior trauma officials say likely weighed heavily in his split-second decision-making.

Good, 37, was killed after allegedly attempting to ram Ross and other ICE officers while blocking their vehicle during an enforcement operation. Federal officials later identified her as part of a radical anti-ICE activist network known as ICE Watch, which they say has repeatedly interfered with immigration enforcement efforts in sanctuary jurisdictions.

DHS has classified the attack under its working definition of domestic terrorism, citing politically motivated violence directed at federal law enforcement officers — a label that continues to inflame debate but underscores the gravity of the incident.