In combative news conference, Vance defends Minneapolis ICE shooting

Vice President JD Vance on Thursday combatively defended an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer’s fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman a day earlier, declaring that the woman had intentionally sought to ram the officer and that he acted in self-defense by opening fire on her SUV.

“I can believe that her death is a tragedy, while also recognizing that it’s a tragedy of her own making and a tragedy of the far left,” the vice president told reporters Thursday, accusing what he called a “lunatic fringe” of marshaling a movement against law enforcement officers.

Vance alleged that the woman, 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good, had tried to “ram” the officer with her SUV. Video footage of the attack is less clear, showing that the ICE officer fired his weapon as he appeared to be moving to the side of the vehicle’s path. Another video from another angle appeared to show the SUV grazing the officer after the first discharge.

In an interview Wednesday with the New York Times, President Donald Trump appeared to moderate his initial assertion that Good had tried to run over the officer after being pressed by reporters.

But Vance’s appearance in the White House briefing room echoed assertions made by others in the Trump administration in the shooting’s immediate aftermath, when officials, including Trump, moved swiftly to defend the ICE officer, criticize Good and accuse the left of fostering an environment dangerous to law enforcement officials.

“You have a woman who was trying to obstruct a legitimate law enforcement operation,” he said. “Nobody debates that.”

Vance has emerged as one of the administration’s leading voices on the shooting in Minneapolis, leveraging the events to amplify his anti-immigration and pro-law enforcement messaging. His outspokenness stands in contrast to the more backseat role he played in the administration’s approach to Venezuela — though he emphasized Thursday that he is chairing a regular meeting of White House principals to discuss next steps for the country.

At the news briefing, Vance announced a new assistant attorney general position that will be run out of the White House and “get tougher at the people who are defrauding the United States by inciting violence against our law enforcement officers.”

Good was a poet and mother of three, according to online records and family members. She was a U.S. citizen, according to a post on social media by Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.).

Vance on Thursday said the ICE officer who fired the fatal shots had previously been attacked and dragged by a driver, echoing statements made by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem. He also emphasized that the officer had been hit twice by motor vehicles in the past six months.

“So you think maybe he’s a little bit sensitive about somebody ramming him with an automobile,” Vance said.

Authorities have not yet released the officer’s name. Court records reviewed by The Washington Post of the dragging incident identify him as Jonathan Ross.

Vance said the Department of Homeland Security is continuing to operate in Minnesota to crack down on immigration and go “door to door” to investigate fraud.

In recent years, law enforcement agencies across the country have moved to tighten policies governing when officers may shoot into moving vehicles. Many police departments and federal agencies bar the practice unless a vehicle poses an imminent threat and no other safe options exist, noting its limited effectiveness and the dangers to bystanders.

The Department of Homeland Security’s use-of-force policy prohibits officers from firing into a moving vehicle unless the use of deadly force is otherwise justified. Before doing so, the policy says, officers must “take into consideration the hazards that may be posed to law enforcement and innocent bystanders by an out-of-control conveyance.”

The policy also bars the use of deadly force solely to stop a fleeing suspect, though it allows exceptions when an officer believes others’ lives are in imminent danger.

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• Derek Hawkins contributed.