An FBI agent, who was delving into the deadly shooting of Renee Good by an ICE officer, resigned after reportedly facing pressure to abandon the investigation.
Tracee Mergan’s resignation mirrors that of multiple federal prosecutors who also stepped down from the inquiry into Jonathan Ross’s shooting of the 37-year-old Good on January 7.
Mergan, who was a supervisor at the FBI’s Minneapolis field office, initiated a civil rights investigation into Ross’s conduct.
However, she allegedly encountered directives from higher-ups in Washington to cease her inquiry, leading to her resignation.
The Daily Mail has contacted both the FBI and the legal representatives of the Good family for their responses.
Her resignation underscores ongoing tensions between local and federal authorities following the incident.
Roughly half a dozen federal prosecutors in Minnesota resigned and several supervisors in the criminal section of the Civil Rights Division in Washington gave notice of their departures amid turmoil over the federal probe.
The Justice Department has said it doesn’t believe there is currently any basis to open a criminal civil rights investigation into the killing.
An FBI agent who tried to investigate the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent quit after her bosses allegedly pressured her to drop it
Tracee Mergan followed in the footsteps of several federal prosecutors in resigning over the probe into Jonathan Ross’ shooting of 37-year-old Good on January 7. Pictured: FBI Director Kash Patel
Among the departures in Minnesota is First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson, who had been leading the sprawling investigation and prosecution of fraud schemes in the state.
At least four other prosecutors in the Minnesota US attorney’s office joined Thompson in resigning amid a period of tension in the office.
The Justice Department said those prosecutors had requested to participate in an early retirement program ‘well before the events in Minnesota,’ and added that ‘any suggestion to the contrary is false.’
They are the latest in an exodus of career Justice Department attorneys who have resigned or been forced out over concerns over political pressure or shifting priorities under the Trump administration.
Hundreds of Justice Department lawyers have been fired or have left voluntarily over the last year.
The decision to keep the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division out of the investigation into the matter marks a sharp departure from past administrations, which have moved quickly to probe shootings of civilians by law enforcement officials for potential civil rights offenses.
An FBI probe of Renee Good’s death is ongoing.
The quick pronouncement by administration officials before any meaningful investigation could be completed has raised concerns about the federal government’s determination to conduct a thorough review of the chain of events precipitating the shooting.
Joe Thompson (pictured), the federal prosecutor leading the massive Somali fraud investigation, resigned from the Minnesota US Attorney’s Office. Roughly half a dozen federal prosecutors in Minnesota have quit over the probe
Federal officials have instead reportedly launched an investigation into Good’s partner Rebecca following accusations that she impeded an ICE agent in the moments before her wife’s death
Minnesota officials have also raised alarm after federal officials blocked state investigators from accessing evidence and declared that Minnesota has no jurisdiction to investigate the killing.
Federal officials have instead reportedly launched an investigation into Good’s partner following accusations that she impeded an ICE agent in the moments before her wife’s death.
According to insiders familiar with the investigation speaking to NBC News, the Justice Department is now moving forward with an investigation into Good’s grieving widow, Rebecca.
The probe will reportedly focus on Rebecca’s ties to activist groups and actions leading up to her wife’s death, according to the report.
Good, 37, was shot three times through the window of her car by Ross in Minneapolis on January 7 after she refused to get out of her vehicle.
In footage that swept social media capturing the moments leading up to the shooting, Rebecca appeared to struggle with the car door before telling her wife to ‘drive’ as an ICE agent attempted to coax Good from her vehicle.
Witnesses said the couple had attended the protest to film and act as legal observers, and the footage showed Rebecca confronting and taunting ICE agents seconds before they opened fire.
Good’s Lawyer told NBC News ‘there has been no contact from the FBI or federal officials indicating Becca Good is the subject of an investigation.’
Good (left) and Rebecca (right) were reportedly at the scene to act as legal witnesses
Her family is accusing federal immigration officers of killing the Minneapolis mother of three as she attempted to follow agents’ instructions, and have hired the same law firm that represented George Floyd’s family to press for answers and accountability.
Her loved ones said in a statement they want Good, 37, remembered as ‘an agent of peace’ and urged the public not to use her death as a political flashpoint, according to the Chicago-based firm Romanucci & Blandin.
The firm said it is investigating Good’s death and will release information in the coming weeks.
Family members say the couple had just dropped off their 6-year-old child at school and stopped to observe the law enforcement activity.
Video shows a red SUV driven by Renee sitting perpendicular and blocking part of the road. She is pressing the horn repeatedly.
A short time later, a truck carrying immigration officers pulls up, two get out and one of them orders Renee Good to open her door.
She reverses briefly, then turns the steering wheel toward the passenger side as the officer says again, ‘get out of the car.’ Almost simultaneously, Becca, standing on the passenger side and trying to open the door, shouts, ‘drive, baby, drive!’
The Trump administration has defended the ICE officer’s actions, saying he fired in self-defense while standing in front of Good’s vehicle as it began to move forward.
That explanation has been panned by Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and others based on videos of the confrontation.
The Justice Department has also launched an investigation in Walz and Frey.
Officials allege the Democrat pair conspired to impede federal agents through public statements.
The shooting has escalated an already tense situation in the city, with protests of ICE agents happening daily in Minneapolis.
This past weekend, several stormed into a Christian church to interrupt Sunday services over their belief that one of the pastors was employed by ICE.
