Senior officials at the FBI, acting under the leadership of Director Kash Patel, instructed agents to shut down a civil rights investigation into the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an ICE officer, after concluding that the inquiry could conflict with public remarks made by President Donald Trump and other top administration figures, according to several people familiar with the decision.

The New York Times reported Saturday that federal prosecutors in Minnesota initially handled the case as they would any other fatal shooting by a federal agent, moving swiftly to open a standard civil rights use-of-force investigation.

As part of that early effort, Joseph H. Thompson, a senior federal prosecutor, sought a search warrant to examine Good’s SUV for forensic material, including bullet paths and blood evidence, and arranged for the FBI to coordinate its work with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

That plan was stopped just as agents were preparing to carry out the court-approved search.

According to sources cited by the Times, the order to halt the investigation came from senior leadership, including Patel, out of concern that pursuing a civil rights theory — and relying on a warrant obtained on that basis — could clash with Trump’s assertion that Good had “violently, willfully, and viciously” struck the ICE agent with her vehicle.

Rather than continue down that path, Justice Department leaders pressed prosecutors to consider other investigative angles, such as applying for a new warrant based on the claim that Good’s vehicle was used as a weapon against the officer, or redirecting attention toward a potential investigation of Good’s partner.

Career prosecutors pushed back, according to the report, arguing that the proposed shift rested on shaky legal grounds and risked inflaming political tensions in Minnesota, a state already unsettled by confrontations involving federal immigration enforcement.

The disagreement set off a cascade of resignations within the U.S. attorney’s office in Minnesota.

Thompson and five colleagues stepped down in protest, and further departures followed, leaving the office severely weakened and struggling to pursue major prosecutions involving fraud, drug trafficking, terrorism, and violent crime.

The turmoil has unfolded as Minnesota has emerged as a focal point in the administration’s intensified immigration enforcement campaign, with several fatal encounters involving federal officers sparking public outrage and deepening political strains.

Although the White House has sought to present an image of stability and restraint, critics argue that stepped-up enforcement is occurring alongside growing pressure on investigators to shape their work around official statements, heightening the risk of further unrest.

The Times also reported that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem publicly described Good as a “domestic terrorist,” language later repeated by Vice President JD Vance, even as prosecutors were reviewing video footage and anticipating a routine, independent assessment of whether the shooting was legally justified.

Local law enforcement leaders have warned that the fallout could damage long-standing working relationships between federal agencies and local police departments.

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara told the Times that the resignations and the perception of political influence over prosecutions threaten to derail progress against serious criminal activity.

Both the Justice Department and the FBI declined to comment to the Times, and it remains unknown whether prosecutors ultimately secured a new warrant to search Good’s vehicle.

{Matzav.com}