Minnesota's US attorney to staff: 'Say nothing' about federal probe into Renee Good's killing

Sarah Nelson, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Jan 13, 2026

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MINNEAPOLIS — Staffers within Minnesota’s top federal prosecutor’s office have been asked to stay quiet about the FBI investigation probing the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an immigration agent last week.

In an internal email obtained by the Minnesota Star Tribune, Minnesota’s U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen told his staff to “say nothing” about the federal case to anyone, specifically citing law enforcement and media. Rosen said only assistant U.S. attorneys designated by him may communicate with investigators about the federal probe into Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jonathan Ross’ fatal shooting of Good.

“The shooting investigation is highly sensitive,” Rosen wrote. “It has been the subject of continuing inflammatory statements by state and local elected officials.”

The killing of Good prompted widespread protests across Minnesota and calls for a thorough investigation into Ross’ use of force as cellphone footage taken by witnesses of the shooting elicited divided opinions about what happened based on the footage.

Disputes over an investigation flared when Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said the agency had been frozen out of the case and federal officials had taken over the review of the Jan. 7 shooting. Minnesota’s elected officials and law enforcement questioned the transparency of an investigation without state law enforcement, as the move means they will not have access to key evidence from the scene.

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty and Attorney General Keith Ellison announced the state will press on with an independent review of Good’s death one day after the sudden reversal. The state’s top prosecutors stressed the move was not to challenge federal authorities and repeatedly emphasized they have jurisdiction over the matter — a rebut of the Trump administration’s claims that they did not.

At a news conference in Fort Snelling hours after the shooting, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was asked whether body camera footage from other agents at the scene would be publicly released. She told reporters the “FBI would decide” as the investigation continues. Two days later, Alpha News published cellphone footage purportedly recorded by Ross during the deadly shooting. Homeland Security officials responded on social media that the footage “corroborates what DHS has stated all along,” about their claims that Ross acted in self-defense.

Rosen, who did not immediately respond to the Minnesota Star Tribune for this story, said in his email that he has “full confidence” the FBI will conduct its investigation “thoroughly, fairly, and at the highest level of integrity.”

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