A federal immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis turned deadly on January 7 when an ICE officer fired on a woman identified as 37-year-old Renee Good, leaving a grieving family and a city on edge. Local officials and bystanders say video of the encounter shows the shooting occurring as the driver was moving away, fueling immense public anger and questions about what really happened.
From the first hours the administration rushed to paint the scene as an act of attempted vehicular murder, but videos and independent reporting undercut that narrative and showed a far murkier — and more disturbing — picture. The quick, self-serving spin from DHS only stoked suspicion that political goals, not truth, were governing the federal response.
On Sunday Agenda, Newsmax host Lidia Curanaj cut through the cacophony and rightly called out the brainwashed left for weaponizing Renee Good’s death to score political points and inflame the streets. She reminded viewers that grief should never be turned into a partisan cudgel, and that rushing to politicize a tragedy before facts are out is both cruel and cynical.
Of course, the predictable chorus followed: progressive politicians and legacy media leapt into outrage theater, using the incident to attack the administration’s enforcement policies while glossing over the chaos left-wing mobs have created in these neighborhoods. That performative piety from coastal elites — who profit from outrage and never suffer the consequences of their agitation — is exactly what Curanaj was exposing.
That said, conservatives who back law and order should not reflexively defend every federal action without scrutiny. Homeland Security officials insist an agent was hit and feared for his life, and prominent voices in the administration backed that account; the facts of the case deserve a prompt, transparent investigation so officers and innocent civilians alike can find justice. The country cannot have two rules — one for federal agents and another for those who would block lawful operations.
Meanwhile, Good’s family has retained high-profile legal counsel — the same firm that represented George Floyd’s family — and calls for accountability have intensified, as have protests and clashes around federal operations in Minneapolis. This case shows how volatile the situation has become: when federal crackdowns meet organized resistance and opportunistic politicians, normal governance breaks down and Americans pay the price.
If conservatives want to win the argument about safety and immigration, we must lead with facts, demand due process, and oppose the left’s reflex to weaponize every human tragedy for political advantage. Lidia Curanaj’s plea for clarity and restraint was a needed conservative corrective: stand with truth, respect the grieving, but do not surrender the rule of law to a hysterical mob.
