Why the FBI can exclude state authorities from Minnesota shooting probe
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announce parallel investigation into ICE agent shooting of Renee Good despite FBI jurisdiction.
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The FBI has asserted authority over the investigation into a shooting by an ICE agent in Minnesota, effectively sidelining the state’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and spurring questions about who has jurisdiction in the case.
Federal officials have said the FBI’s jurisdiction is clear when a federal officer’s actions are being reviewed, but state leaders in Minnesota insisted Friday that they will pursue their own parallel inquiry into the incident.
The dispute arose after the Minnesota BCA revealed after the shooting that the FBI had shut the BCA out of the investigation. The incident involved an ICE agent appearing on video to shoot and kill 37-year-old Renee Good as she accelerated her vehicle in his direction.
CELLPHONE VIDEO RELEASED IN DEADLY MINNEAPOLIS ICE AGENT SHOOTING
Members of law enforcement work the scene following a shooting by an ICE agent during federal law enforcement operations on Jan. 7, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
It is common for the FBI and state and local agencies to pool resources to investigate crimes that could fall under all their jurisdictions, but Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Thursday the federal government did not view the shooting as one of those cases.
"They have not been cut out; they don’t have any jurisdiction in this investigation," Noem said.
Noem framed the incident as an attack on a federal agent, a point Democratic Gov. Tim Walz criticized as a predetermined outcome to an ongoing probe. Democrats have widely condemned the shooting as murder and an improper use of lethal force, but Noem and others in the Trump administration disagreed.
"The officer feels as though his life was in jeopardy," Noem said. "[The vehicle] was used to perpetuate a violent act. This officer took action to protect himself and to protect other law enforcement officers."
The FBI declined to comment on the investigation.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a press conference in New York City, on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (Yuki Iwamura/AP)
A federal law enforcement source told Fox News Digital the incident was a textbook example of a federal case that the FBI had jurisdiction over.
The source also pointed to a Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote to California’s leaders in October asserting that federal officers acting in their job capacity could not face state charges.
