When Renee Nicole Good, a Minneapolis mother and poet, was killed by an ICE agent while driving home from dropping off her 6-year-old son at school, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem immediately labeled her a 'domestic terrorist.' This wasn't an isolated incident—it's part of a dangerous pattern where the Trump administration is weaponizing terrorism labels against ordinary Americans exercising their rights. The implications go far beyond one tragic shooting, threatening the very foundation of free speech and due process in America.

Why It Matters

The Trump administration has systematically expanded the 'domestic terrorism' label beyond its legal boundaries:

  • No federal mechanism exists to formally charge individuals with domestic terrorism, making these labels purely rhetorical weapons
  • A September 2025 memo called for prioritizing threats including 'violent efforts to shut down immigration enforcement'
  • Trump designated antifa as a 'domestic terrorist organization' and ordered compilation of lists targeting groups with 'disfavored views.'
  • The focus deliberately targets left-wing activism while ignoring right-wing violence, including the assassination of Minnesota state Representative Melissa Hortman

Legal experts warn this violates First Amendment protections. As former DOJ counsel Thomas Brzozowski noted: 'When a policy directive targets one ideological family and leaves others to the footnotes, it sheds any pretense of neutrality.'

What Happened

Renee Nicole Good, a US citizen with no criminal background, was fatally shot by an ICE officer in Minneapolis while trying to drive away during an immigration enforcement operation. Secretary Noem claimed Good 'weaponized her vehicle' and attempted to run over an officer, labeling her actions 'domestic terrorism.'

Minnesota officials disputed this account, citing video evidence that showed Good attempting to flee rather than attack. Frame-by-frame analysis by The New York Times and The Washington Post confirmed the ICE agent was able to move out of the way and fired shots from the side of Good's car as she veered away.

This mirrors a similar October incident where Border Patrol shot US citizen Marimar Martinez five times, also labeling her a 'domestic terrorist'—charges that were later dismissed by federal prosecutors.

A Closer Look

This case exposes three critical dangers to American democracy:

First, officials are using 'domestic terrorism' labels without investigations or evidence. As former FBI agent Michael German explained: 'A government official calling her a domestic terrorist isn't supported in the law and is entirely pejorative and prejudicial.'

Second, the administration is redefining terrorism to include basic civil disobedience and even attempts to flee law enforcement. Stanford Law professor Shirin Sinnar observed: 'The administration's calling her a domestic terrorist is simply an attempt to malign a protester and justify her killing by an ICE officer.'

Third, this creates a chilling effect on legitimate dissent. When ordinary citizens like Good—a mother with no activist history—can be posthumously labeled 'terrorists,' who is safe from government retaliation?

Key questions being ignored:

  • Why are immigration enforcement operations increasingly militarized?
  • What oversight exists for these terrorism designations?
  • How many other cases like Martinez's have been quietly dismissed?

Call to Action

Demand accountability from your representatives about these terrorism designations. Question every official narrative that labels citizens as terrorists without evidence. Support organizations defending civil liberties and document instances of government overreach in your community.

Most importantly: Don't let them redefine the language of democracy. When 'domestic terrorism' can mean anything from ramming vehicles to simply trying to drive away, we must reclaim precision in how we discuss threats to our safety and freedom. Your voice matters—use it before they find a way to label it terrorism, too.

From Silence to Sound

This story embodies everything Silence to Sound exists to expose: the systematic suppression of dissent through authoritarian language manipulation. When governments redefine words like 'terrorism' to silence opposition, they destroy the shared language democracy requires.

Good's voice has been literally silenced—killed and then defamed. But her story amplifies the voices of countless others facing similar government overreach. This is exactly the kind of narrative distortion and voice suppression we must refuse to accept.