Speaking with reporters on Friday about the killing of Renee Nicole Good by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Jonathan Ross in Minneapolis earlier this week, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said the violence exposes a key contrast about the nation she wants to live in and the vision espoused by Vice President JD Vance, who has been outspoken in his demonization of the victim while defending the actions of Ross.
“I understand that Vice President Vance believes that shooting a young mother of three in the face three times is an acceptable America that he wants to live in, and I do not,” said the New York Democrat to a gaggle of reporters outside the Capitol Building. “And that is a fundamental difference between Vice President Vance and I. I do not believe that the American people should be assassinated in the street.”
The specific question was asked by CBS News’ Patrick Maguire who asked for Ocasio-Cortez’s reaction to Vance claiming that the killing of Good was “a tragedy” of her “own making.” In comments in the White House briefing room on Thursday, a day after the shooting, Vance said it was “preposterous” for anyone to criticize the actions of Ross.
Vance, along with President Donald Trump and other White House officials, have repeatedly tried to deny what video evidence of the shooting clearly shows: that Good was presenting no imminent threat to the officer, did not “target” him with her vehicle, and was not—as officials claimed—fully blocking the street from passing vehicles prior to her killing.
Vance on Thursday also falsely asserted that ICE agents like Ross have “absolute immunity” for their actions, a claim that legal experts—as well as prosecutors in Minnesota—have said is simply not true.
In her remarks to reporters on Friday, Ocasio-Cortez lamented what she called “extrajudicial killings” by ICE agents on the streets of America, exceeding their mandates and empowered by a huge influx of funding provided by the Trump administration and Republican lawmakers this year.
Ocasio-Cortez said it “shows the danger we are in,” when Trump claims, like he did in an interview with the New York Times this week, that he will only be constrained by his “own morality,” suggesting Congress and the judiciary are not obstacles to his power.
“We have a Republican majority that has decided to completely abdicate its power to the president,” she said. “I think it’s up to the American people to ensure that we take away power from those who do not use it well.”
In contrast to Republicans who say ICE agents operating in cities across the country are “just doing their jobs,” Ocasio-Cortez said, “I would not say that assassinating a young mother of three in the street is part of ICE’s mandate.” She encouraged people not to take her word for it, but to “watch the video for yourselves.”
“Watch that video for yourself and you will see a woman trying to back up her vehicle and leave a volatile scene—and she was met with three bullets to the face,” the lawmaker said. “Any law enforcement officer in the country, worth their salt, can tell you that is not how you handle that situation.”
Ocasio-Cortez and Vance are both seen as leading possible contenders for their respective parties when it comes to the presidential race in 2028.
“Vance, who may see himself pitted against [Ocasio-Cortez] in a general election,” said journalist Ryan Grim on Friday, “will deeply regret—I hope in his heart, but certainly politically—trashing Renee Good as ”deranged“ while valorizing his killer, who called her a ‘fuckin’ bitch’ after shooting her through her side window.”
Released Friday, and posted on social media by Vance, video footage taken from Ross’ own phone, which was holding and filming with in the moment leading up to the shooting, Good’s final words to recorded were not those of an angry or “deranged” person, but a smiling local citizen who said to Good, “It’s fine, dude. I’m not mad at you.”
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