In a motion filed Friday in Minnesota federal court, Rebecca Good, the widow of Renee Good, said the vehicle her wife was killed in on Jan. 7 "remains shrink-wrapped and unexamined in an FBI storage facility in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota."
Rebecca Good, who owns the vehicle, asked the court to force federal government agencies including the U.S. Departments of Justice and Homeland Security and the FBI to return the car to her.
"The federal government has not only apparently failed to investigate [Jonathan] Ross's killing of Renee — it has refused to share key evidence, including the Honda Pilot, with the state of Minnesota agencies investigating the shooting," the motion says.
Ross shot Renee Good while she was in the driver's seat of her family's Honda Pilot, and "video evidence showed Ross was in no danger when he opened fire at Renee," the motion asserts, explaining that "senior federal officials immediately absolved Ross of responsibility for the killing and declared there would be no federal investigation into his conduct."
Rebecca Good says that although she has asked for the vehicle to be returned to her so that an investigation into her wife's killing could begin, the government has not cooperated with the request.
"Though the federal officials stated there would be no federal investigation into Ross's conduct, they refused to allow Minnesota investigators access to any of the evidence federal officials seized," the motion states.
At the time of the shooting, President Donald Trump and senior federal officials, including then-DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, "made public statements reinforcing that there would be no cooperation, with the president stating Minnesota officials were 'crooked,'" the motion says.
Meanwhile, Minnesota state officials began their own investigation, and state courts "found probable cause to issue search warrants for evidence, including for Becca and Renee's car," the motion says.
Despite this, the federal government has not confirmed that information related to Renee Good's shooting would be preserved, according to the motion.
"This dual course of action — refusing to investigate while withholding key evidence — will prevent any meaningful inquiry into the unlawful killing of a U.S. citizen," the motion says.
The car holds blood spatter evidence and shows where bullets entered and exited, the suit says. Rebecca Good, who witnessed her wife's killing as she was documenting the ICE agent's activities, deserves her property to be returned, the motion says.
"The government has had ample opportunity to obtain whatever evidence it desires from the vehicle," the motion says.
Even if the federal government did decide to investigate the killing, the government has shown itself to be biased against Renee Good, the motion asserts.
"Almost immediately after the shooting, the president falsely declared that Renee 'violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE officer' who killed her, while [Noem] labeled Renee a 'domestic terrorist,'" the motion says.
"Even if the federal government suddenly reverses course and declares that it is investigating Ross, the public cannot have faith that it is doing so in a manner that is fair, complete, and independent of political whims," the motion says.
In an email to Law360, Antonio Romanucci of Romanucci & Blandin LLC, who represents Renee Good's family, demanded the release of the vehicle.
"The federal government cannot at once declare that it will not investigate the shooting death of Renee Good by a federal agent and at the same time withhold key evidence from those seeking the truth," Romanucci said.
He said the government "has not responded to our team's multiple letters and calls seeking access to this important piece of evidence for our civil investigation," adding that the state has made similar requests.
"We hope and expect that the requests by both our team and state officials will be honored and the vehicle will be released out of respect to this grieving American family and to the rule of law," he said.
Representatives for the federal government did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday.
The motion asks the court to intervene, claiming that "equitable principles require this court to exercise jurisdiction over this matter and order the government to return the Honda Pilot to Becca, its rightful owner, so that she and Renee's family may adequately investigate the events of January 7 and pursue available civil remedies."
Good is represented by Antonio M. Romanucci, Sarah Raisch and Benjamin Berkman of Romanucci & Blandin LLC, and Kevin Riach of The Law Office of Kevin C. Riach PLLC.
Counsel for the respondents was not listed.
The case is Rebecca Good v. U.S. Department of Justice et al., case number 0:26-mc-00025, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.
--Editing by Amy French.
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