Well I had hoped to hear from Schumer but at least he is demanding the reforms be in writing. He is getting a lot of pressure to do something this time. But he wanted to end the last shut down with a loss because he was afraid the republicans would destroy the filibuster. He settled for a vote that meant nothing and was totally performative. Will he do the same here? Hugs
Well at least he can articulate the points that need to be made in a strong manner. I liked him better clean shaven. My view on a beard is either grow one big, bushy, and long or don’t grow it. Scruffy is a sad look I think and reminds me of teenagers getting their first facial hairs. I wonder what political job he will run for next. I think Senate, or governor. Hugs
Daily Kos Staff Emeritus (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)
Wednesday, January 14, 2026 at 2:03:31p EST
Courts provide extraordinary protection to the police. Courts provide extraordinary protection to agents of the federal government. Is it still possible to prosecute ICE agents for assault and murder?
For anyone who has watched the many videos showing ICE agent Jonathan Ross shooting and killing Minnesota mom Renee Nicole Good, the conclusion is obvious: This is murder.
Under ordinary circumstances, the Department of Justice would be investigating this incident, and Ross would be suspended awaiting the outcome of that investigation. But we are nowhere near ordinary circumstances. Instead, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has labeled Good a “domestic terrorist” and blessed Ross’s shooting without bothering to conduct any review, talk to any witnesses, or apparently watch any of the videos clearly showing that Ross was never under any conceivable threat.
Both Donald Trump and J.D. Vance have issued statements that are completely at odds with what happened on January 7. Noem has also stated that Ross “followed his training protocol” and was justified in his actions.
As far as the White House is concerned, Good is a dead terrorist and Ross is a hero. Fortunately, Noem and Trump don’t have the final say on who gets prosecuted.
Good’s tragedy—a young mother killed for no reason after dropping off her 6-year-old at school—is not a solitary event. Since Trump reentered the White House and began his immigrant pogrom, ICE agents have fired their weapons at civilians at least 16 times. As The Trace notes:
Renee Good was one of four people who have been killed. Another seven people have been injured.
At least 15 other civilians have been held at gunpoint. In addition, ICE has routinely brutalized both protestors and bystanders. That includes incidents such as shooting a priest in the head with pepper balls and teargassing infants.
Every day, ICE agents seem determined to show that they sincerely believe American citizens have no recourse but to submit to their abuse.
What’s most disheartening about all this is that so far … ICE is right. While several agents have been arrested for off-duty crimes, abusive behavior and deadly force have earned only praise from Trump, Noem, Vance, and other Republicans. Attorney General Pam Bondi has taken up none of these cases for review, and Trump has made it clear that he expects Americans to surrender their First Amendment rights … or else.
Q: "Do you believe that deadly force was necessary?"Trump: "It was highly disrespectful of law enforcement. The woman and her friend were highly disrespectful of law enforcement…Law enforcement should not be in a position where they have to put up with this stuff."
But if no one in the Justice Department will stand up for the Constitution—and they won’t—what’s left? Can state and local officials bring a rogue agency to heel?
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty have announced that they are investigating Good’s death. This is being made much more difficult because the FBI has taken apparently unprecedented action to block access to any evidence collected by federal officers.
Moriarty is soliciting additional videos and statements from witnesses. Ross or other ICE agents do not appear to have been made available to speak to state or county officials. How likely is it that charges will be leveled against Ross, or any of the other ICE agents involved in incidents of deadly force, assault, and abuse? What are the odds of any of them being convicted?
This is seriously difficult to determine.
First, there’s the question of whether or not an ICE agent involved in an immigration raid qualifies as a “peace officer.” It may seem like an obvious question, but relevant case law is pretty thin on the ground. ICE agents are federal officers, but the Venn diagram of their authority doesn’t cover the general enforcement powers of FBI agents or federal marshals. Their training is on immigration enforcement, and doesn’t include general public safety or community policing. They are not agents under the Department of Justice, but facilitators under DHS.
As an employee of ICE, Ross’s role is limited to carrying out immigration arrests. He’s certainly not empowered to stop or arrest people for partially blocking a street for a few minutes. The whole initial basis of the encounter is unjustifiable.
Best guess? No. ICE agents are not “peace officers,” no matter how many times they stencil “POLICE” on their vests. However, in any case against Ross or another ICE agent, the “peace officer” status is likely to draw a fresh review from the courts. That question will get definitively resolved, but probably only after working its way to the Supreme Court.
Even assuming that Ross is a peace officer under Minnesota state law, that doesn’t cut off the chance of prosecution.
In general, to bring charges against any law enforcement officer for using deadly force, the State has to show that the officer’s use of force was not justified. Justification can include any circumstance where the officer is under threat, or others may be under threat without immediate action. This alone is an enormous hurdle, because courts have repeatedly ruled that this doesn’t just protect officers who were genuinely under threat, but also those who felt threatened.
However, in a rare instance of the current Supreme Court not making things worse, last year’s Barnes v. Felix ruling tossed a decision from the hyper-conservative Fifth District. This ruling restricted the circumstances in which an officer can apply deadly force—or, at least, kept those circumstances from ballooning absurdly.
The description of the case by the Cato Institute makes it clear why Barnes may be very relevant to Good’s shooting.
In 2016, Ashtian Barnes was killed by Harris County, Texas, Deputy Constable Roberto Felix, following a traffic stop for unpaid tolls. As Barnes apparently tried to drive away, Felix jumped onto the moving car and indiscriminately opened fire, killing Barnes instantly.
The Fifth Circuit cleared Felix’s actions, writing that in the “moment of threat,” the officer was clearly in danger and was justified in shooting Barnes. However, the Supreme Court reversed that ruling.
Last spring, the Supreme Court unanimously held that a full review of the “totality of the circumstances,” including the nature of the offense and the events leading up to the incident, is relevant to determining the reasonableness of force.
In Barnes, the initial charges were barely sufficient to warrant a traffic stop in the first place, and Felix was under no threat until he placed himself in peril by grabbing onto Barnes’ car. He may have been frightened in the moment, and for the Fifth Circuit, that was enough, but in the totality of circumstances, it’s not enough.
That “totality of circumstances” requirement also happens to align with Minnesota law.
The circumstances in Barnes seem to almost perfectly overlap with what happened with Renee Good. As multiple videos have shown, Good’s car had only partially obstructed a residential street for a handful of minutes. Other vehicles were still getting by. She was already in the process of moving completely out of the way when Ross and other ICE agents approached the car, and would have been gone had she not stopped to wave another vehicle to pull around her. Her last exchange with Ross was, at worst, snarky, but non-confrontational and contained no threats.
It’s hard to believe that an actual police officer, authorized to deal with traffic situations, would have retained Good.
Assuming Ross was in front of her vehicle at all, he was only there because he violated DHS procedures by placing himself in front of the vehicle after Good was already attempting to leave the area. Good was traveling at low speed, was turned away from Ross and other officers, and had barely begun to move when Ross opened fire.
Good’s offense, if any, was minor. The threat against Ross, if any, was of his own making. The totality of circumstances in this case is not in Ross’s favor. That’s especially true of additional shots he fired at Good from beside or behind the vehicle. There are no reasonable grounds for these shots.
Hennepin County police, like those in many other jurisdictions, are actually forbidden from shooting into a moving vehicle in any circumstance. under the very reasonable understanding that a vehicle in motion doesn’t automatically stop if the driver is dead. The DHS issues these same guidelines to its agents.
This doesn’t mean that a Grand Jury might not still determine that Ross had a reason for his action. The number of cases in which officers have walked away from the use of deadly force seems almost limitless.
Another potential complication comes from the discovery that this is not the first time Ross has been involved in an incident with a car. Federal court records show that last June, Ross approached a car driven by a Guatemalan man, Roberto Carlos Muñoz, and attempted to apprehend him.
According to court testimony, Ross arrived in an unmarked vehicle, approached Muñoz, and ordered him to exit his car. When Muñoz didn’t respond, Ross punched through the side window and attempted to wrest control of the car. Muñoz responded by hitting the gas. As NBC News reported, Ross claimed to have used a taser in an attempt to stop Muñoz.
“I was yelling at him to stop,” Ross testified of Robert Muñoz-Guatemala, who was found guilty last month of assault on a federal officer with a dangerous or deadly weapon. “Over and over and over again at the top of my lungs.”
Ross said in his testimony that he feared for his life and fired his Taser repeatedly at Muñoz-Guatemala.
“It didn’t appear that it affected him at all,” Ross said.
“That very ICE officer nearly had his life ended, dragged by a car six months ago with 30 stitches in his leg, so he’s a little sensitive about being rammed by an automobile,” Vance said at the White House on Jan. 8.
However, what this testimony actually shows is that Ross already had a history of dealing poorly with people inside vehicles and of violating DHS guidelines. He either didn’t know how to properly and safely deal with such a situation or deliberately ignored the rules. If he was truthful in his claim that he attempted to use a taser in the earlier incident, this also shows an agent primed to skip over any attempt at non-lethal force and go straight for his gun.
Videos show that Ross pulled his gun before Good had begun to move forward, and fired even as he was still holding up his phone in his other hand. This could indicate that he was traumatized, or simply infuriated, by the earlier incident. In effect, he was primed to kill Good as retribution for the perceived wrong he had suffered from Muñoz.
In addition to murder, there are additional charges that could be levied against both Ross and other ICE agents on the scene—and these charges apply equally to peace officers and civilians.
Videos show that ICE agents refused to allow a doctor who was on the scene to approach the vehicle and blocked ambulance access to the area. Both of these are felony violations of Minnesota law with penalties up to five years imprisonment. If Good’s death was found to be connected to the delay of treatment, all involved could face additional charges of manslaughter.
However, there’s still one more hill to climb before charging Ross, and it’s a steep one.
Whether or not Ross is a peace officer, he certainly is a federal agent. Vance and others have claimed this gives him “absolute immunity” from state prosecution.
This is, in legal terms, utter bullshit.
Federal officers are broadly immune from state prosecution for taking actions specifically authorized by federal law in a case that goes back to an 1890 incident in which a federal agent shot a man who was threatening a member of the Supreme Court.
Neagle established a two-prong test for this type of immunity from state criminal law: (1) Was the officer performing an act that federal law authorized him to perform? (2) Were his actions necessary and proper to fulfilling his federal duties? If the federal officer satisfies this test, he or she is immune from prosecution for violation of state law.
The DOJ would certainly argue that Ross was acting to perform his duties as an ICE agent. Any State prosecution would need to show that Ross’s actions were excessive or unjustified.
This could be much harder than getting past the leeway given to police use of deadly force. Like the question of whether or not an ICE agent is a peace officer, there are few recent cases to reference, especially when it comes to an agent who was on duty. In short, States simply haven’t done much to test the immunity of federal officers, even when those officers have performed unnecessary acts of violence.
The murder of Good was clearly not required to enable the immigration enforcement actions of the ICE officers. That doesn’t mean a judge, jury, or federal court might not see a way to grant Ross his magic get-out-of-everything card.
Is Ross a peace officer? Probably not. Was this a justified shooting? No. Can he be prosecuted? Yes.
Will those charges survive federal challenges? Let’s find out.
I am posting the meme below because it explains the intrusive thoughts issue I have struggled with for so long and for a while got really overwhelming. But I am NOT suicidal. Again please don’t worry about that, I am not self harming and I am not suicidal. I am just struggling. Links for any that need help below given with love. Hugs
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, TrevorLifeline 1-866-488-7386 the Trevor Project’s crisis counselors are just a text, chat, or phone call away. Completely confidential and free LGBTQ hotline.
it has been reported that after tRump and Walz talked that tRump is willing to have the FBI cooperate and work with local law enforcement on the shooting investigation. But will the Stephen Miller / Kash Patel group really do what tRump wants or will they mess everything up for the local officials to prevent them from pressing charges. Hugs
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension was refused access to evidence regarding Alex Pretti’s killing by Border Patrol officers — despite a signed judicial warrant.
Minnesota officials said they were denied access to the scene where Alex Pretti, a 37-year old intensive care unit nurse at the Department of Veterans Affairs, was shot by Customs and Border Patrol officers in Minneapolis on Saturday.
Pretti’s killing marks the second fatality of a U.S. citizen — in the same city, and in less than three weeks — as the Trump administration conducts a brutal immigration crackdown operation in Minnesota, despite objections from state and local officials.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said on Saturday morning that “the federal government cannot be trusted to lead this investigation. The state will handle it, period.”
The state’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension’s Force Investigations Unit, which was created in 2020 by the state legislature, typically leads the charge when looking into use-of-force incidents involving law enforcement officers. But in Pretti’s case, the agency was blocked from accessing evidence by federal officials.
“We’re in uncharted territory here. It’s been a longstanding understanding – both in our state and across the country – that entities like the BCA that conduct 80 plus percent of officer-involved shootings investigations across the United States, are asked to do these investigations of federal agents involved in officer involved shootings,” BCA Superintendent Drew Evans said in a Saturday press conference. “There certainly can be a new process going forward if the federal government would like to do that, and federal agencies, but that has not been a discussion that’s been had so that we can provide clear understanding to citizens.”
The BCA was also eventually blocked from investigating the Jan. 7 killing of Renee Good by an ICE officer.
Unlike in Good’s case, state officials obtained a signed judicial warrant to allow them access to materials needed to conduct their own investigation into Pretti’s killing. Still, Department of Homeland Security officials denied them access, and the investigation is now solely being led by the DHS.
Evans said that without cooperation and access to evidence, it will be difficult to conduct a thorough investigation. The BCA has offered to share everything obtained in its investigation, but has not heard back from federal officials in charge.
The DHS did not immediately respond to MS NOW’s request for comment about the BCA’s request.
Meanwhile, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said that her office is conducting an investigation separately from the federal government, adding that “there is other evidence other than what was taken here by federal agents.”
“It’s really important for us to collect as much as we can,” Moriarty told MS NOW, underscoring that state and local officials also have jurisdiction.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison filed a lawsuit on Saturday on behalf of the Hennepin County Attorney’s office and the BCA to prevent the destruction of any evidence in the Pretti shooting. Hours later, a federal judge granted a temporary restraining order, directing federal agencies to preserve and not alter any evidence collected.
In a statement to MS NOW, Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said that “any claim that the federal government would ‘destroy’ evidence is a ridiculous attempt to divide the American people and distract from the fact that our law enforcement officers were attacked — and their lives were threatened — yesterday. We are actively investigating this matter and will continue to do so as we do for any officer involved shooting. DHS eagerly awaits any effort from Minnesota to help our officers arrest criminal aliens in the meantime.”
David Noriega contributed reporting to this article.
Oh my the criminal gang thugs with all the weapons and beating up / killing people are the victims because people disrespect them while local government won’t help them hurt more nonwhite people. Cry me a few more tears. WTF reality are we living in! Everything Bovino the Nazi wannabee gets all the facts wrong, but that is the intent. There is no more truth, justice, and the American way. It is gang thugs trying to get their gang to the top of the heap and the public is just canon fodder for them. That a member of the public can be present and video their illegal activity must mean they are a US hating domestic terrorist who failed to instantly obey the lawless gang thugs. Notice the last paragraph, they moved the shooters out of the state just like they did with Jonathan Ross who shot Renee good. It is to protect the thugs from state laws charging them with the crimes they are doing. Hugs
Gregory Bovino applauded his agents’ actions in Minnesota, despite one citizen being killed by agents.
“We respect that Second Amendment right. But those rights don’t count when you riot and assault, delay, obstruct and impede law enforcement officers,” Gregory Bovino said. | Angelina Katsani/AP
Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino on Sunday said his Customs and Border Patrol agents are “the victims” after they shot and killed 37-year-old Alex Pretti in Minnesota.
In an interview with CNN’s “State of the Union,” host Dana Bash pointed out that Bovino had repeatedly referred to Pretti as a “suspect” as he defended CBP’s training and de-escalation tactics.
“With respect, it feels as though in some ways you’re blaming the victim here,” Bash said.
Bovino replied, “The victim? The victims are the Border Patrol agents. I’m not blaming the Border Patrol agents. The suspect put himself in that situation.”
Bovino said that Pretti had “injected” himself into a federal law enforcement operation and was “more than likely” on the scene to assault officers.
The federal agents, Bovino added, “prevented any specific shootings of law enforcement. So good job for our law enforcement in taking him down before he was able to do that.”
Pretti was shot and killed Saturday morning as CBP agents continued to patrol Minneapolis streets as part of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. He is the second U.S. citizen in Minneapolis to be killed by immigration officers in recent weeks. Renee Good was killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer earlier this month in the city.
Bovino and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem have questioned why Pretti was in an area where agents were on the scene to arrest a “violent” illegal immigrant and accused him of interfering with federal law enforcement operations.
“Let’s look at why he was there in the first place. Was he simply walking by and just happened to walk into a law enforcement situation and try to direct traffic and stand in the middle of the road, and then assault, delay and obstruct law enforcement? Or was he there for a reason?” Bovino said on Sunday.
Video footage of the moments leading up to the shooting and verified by several media outlets, including the New York Times, shows Pretti filming the scene with his phone. While federal officials assert Pretti was holding a gun, video of the incident does not appear to corroborate the allegations. The analysis from the New York Times concludes that agents did not identify Pretti had a gun until about eight seconds after they had wrestled him to the ground.
While Pretti did hold a concealed carry license, video footage of the shooting from multiple angles appears to show Pretti holding a phone, not a gun, as he approaches a woman who had been shoved to the ground by agents.
“Are you saying it’s not okay for him to exercise his Second Amendment right, not to mention his First Amendment right to be there in the first place, and if you do you can be shot by federal law enforcement?” Bash asked.
“No, I didn’t say that, Dana. I never said that,” Bovino replied. “What I’m saying is we respect that Second Amendment right. But those rights don’t count when you riot and assault, delay, obstruct and impede law enforcement officers.”
Bovino added he does not know if Pretti was unarmed at the time of the incident but said that agents believed he was in possession of one. “We heard the law enforcement officer say gun, gun, gun. So at some point they knew there was a gun,” he said.
Video footage does not appear to show Pretti holding a gun as he tried to help the woman stand. Still, agents surround Pretti and force him to the ground before opening fire.
Bovino said he doesn’t know how many agents opened fire, but that those involved “will more than likely be on administrative duty” and relocated out of Minneapolis.
Bash asks him straight out if Pretti had brandished his gun and Gregory Bovino dodges the question instead falling back to the talking points that they have all decided looks good for them. They claim he was interfering, nope he was filming them with his phone. They did not like that and attacked him for doing it. They killed a person in anger for that person filming their illegal actions. They want to be called police and pretend they have police powers but watch the videos again, one ICE thug lunges at a woman knocking her back and down for no reason except he wanted to feel tough and Pretti was trying to help her when another ICE thug peeper sprays him in the face at point blank range. Remember that at that close it can stop the breathing. Then they dog pile on him beating him while on officer steals his lawful gun. Then they shoot him repeatedly. Bovino wants to pretend that anyone filming ICE is interfering. He keeps saying ICE police and police action but that is not true ICE has no police powers. It is all lies to protect their need to remove nonwhites while he keeps saying they were there for a violent offender but they don’t say what offender, and then Bovino calls him a suspect and saying that just being there he was interfering. It makes no sense what he is saying. Well worth her questioning him to see how he shifts and lies. They want people to disappear and obey like, the victim he claims are the ICE thugs there. Damn. And they don’t want people to believe their eyes. Hugs
Notice these guys are in plain clothing, not uniformed. They could be any gang thugs. They were pepper spraying him in the face and he had turned away from them when the attacked him in a pack taking him to the ground. Look how they shove the woman around first, they are just angry men out of control. Hugs
Scottie's Playtime 