U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) arrives to attend a briefing for senators on the situation in Venezuela, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 7, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
President Donald Trump's allies, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Vice President JD Vance, are aggressively defending the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Minneapolis on Wednesday, January 7. But while Noem is attacking Good as a "domestic terrorist" and Vance described Good's death as a "tragedy" of "her own making," many others believe the agent used excessive force — including some people on the right, such as MS NOW host Joe Scarborough and former Judge Andrew Napolitano. A libertarian/conservative legal analyst for Newsmax, Napolitano believes the agent should face criminal charges.
Good's death sparked large protests all over the United States, from Portland, Oregon to Philadelphia (where a crowd of protesters gathered outside City Hall on January 8). And on Capitol Hill, GOP lawmakers are, according to The Hill's Alexander Bolton, "expressing skepticism" over Noem's handling of Good's death.
One of them is Sen. Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina), who told The Hill, "It was very unusual to have a senior law enforcement official to draw a conclusion about an event where the scene was still being processed. I believe that she gave the president advice — and I hope she’s right. But generally speaking, law enforcement would recognize that a life was lost, that families are changed forever, the shooter's life will change forever, we're collecting video, we're trying to assess the situation. That didn't happen."
The North Carolina conservative added, "Either Secretary Noem has a lot of information that she will share with us in the coming days that formed a basis for advising the president or she communicated too soon."
The investigation of Good's death is being conducted exclusively at the federal level by the FBI, and Tillis believes it is inappropriate for pro-Trump officials to exclude Minnesota law enforcement from the probe.
Tillis told The Hill, "I think you have to have local authorities because at the end of the day you got to calm the nerves of the local community."
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) also has a problem with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension being excluded from the probe of Good's death, telling The Hill, "I did find that a little confusing and concerning. It seems like the state authorities are being iced out of it — no pun intended — which just seems unusual."
Tillis quotes Murkowski as saying, "The videos I've seen from Minneapolis yesterday are deeply disturbing. As we mourn this loss of life, we need a thorough and objective investigation into how and why this happened — which will require full cooperation from the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security, along with local authorities. We need to ensure ICE officers have the necessary training to safely — and with empathy and respect for human life — carry out these activities."
Read Alexander Bolton's full article for The Hill at this link.