FBI blocking state from evidence in Minneapolis probe

Minnesota law enforcement officials said Thursday that the FBI has blocked the FBI from accessing evidence related to the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent on a residential street in Minneapolis.

Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension He said the FBI’s stance, which came at the behest of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota, was a reversal of an initial agreement for BCA to conduct a joint investigation with the FBI into Good’s killing.

BCA Superintendent Drew Evans also said the agency “reluctantly withdrew” from the investigation due to lack of cooperation from federal authorities.

“We expect the FBI to conduct a thorough and complete investigation and to share the entire investigation file with appropriate prosecutorial authorities at both the state and federal levels,” Evans said.

Good was shot by an ICE agent who positioned himself in front of his SUV and began to move away from another agent who was holding the driver’s side door and reached inside, ostensibly to pull him out. Seconds earlier, an ICE agent had ordered an ICE truck out of a vehicle stopped in the middle of the road as it was driving down.h+

The apparent pushback by federal law enforcement came as the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, accused Good, a 37-year-old mother, of participating in domestic terrorism and deliberately trying to run over ICE agents with her SUV on Wednesday.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and other Democrats shot down those claims, saying the video of the shooting contradicts the narrative pushed by DHS, Vice President J.D. Vance and others.

Speaking at a news conference Thursday, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said BCA was “not removed” from the investigation.

“They have no authority in this investigation,” Noem said.

“I think everyone who saw this clearly understands the feeling that Minnesota has been excluded from the investigation,” Walz said Thursday.

“It feels very, very difficult for us to get a fair outcome, and the only reason I say that is because the people in power are already transferring judgment from the president to the vice president to Kristy Noem, standing up and telling you things that are verifiably false, verifiably false,” Walz said at a news conference.

Shortly after Good was shot, BCA consulted with “the Hennepin County District Attorney’s Office, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI,” Evans said in a statement.

“It was decided that the BCA Force Investigation Unit would conduct a joint investigation with the FBI. BCA immediately responded to the scene and began coordinating investigative efforts in good faith,” Evans said.

“That afternoon, the FBI notified BCA that the U.S. Attorney’s Office had reversed course: the investigation would now be conducted solely by the FBI, and BCA would no longer have access to case materials, crime scene evidence, or investigative interviews necessary to complete a thorough and independent investigation,” Evans said. he said.

“Without full access to the evidence, witnesses and information collected, we cannot meet the investigative standards demanded by Minnesota law and the public,” he said. “As a result, BCA reluctantly withdrew from the investigation.”

Evans also said: “If the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI reconsider this approach and express a willingness to pursue a joint investigation, BCA stands ready to take action again in support of our common goal of public safety in Minnesota.”