Leaders Lying About the Killing of Renee Good Shows the Nation Is Openly Run by Evil
What message does it send when top leadership in the White House deny what is clearly visible? When Americans are asked to discount their own eyes? To agree that two plus two equals five?
Let’s acknowledge a few foundational truths.
The United States of America has a long and well-documented history of treating non‑White people as less than fully human. This reality is evident in colonizers’ genocide of Native Americans, the enslavement and brutalization of Africans and their descendants, and the persistent marginalization of communities of color. None of this is abstract. It is recorded, lived, and ongoing.
Without dismissing or minimizing the suffering of Indigenous peoples or other communities of color, I want to focus primarily on the treatment of African Americans. Historically, Blackness became the central category through which non‑whiteness was defined. If you were not White, you were treated as Black — socially, legally, and often with great violence. Even today, if we open a dictionary and examine how “white” and “black” have been defined symbolically, we see moral meaning embedded into the language itself. Some will say these are merely figures of speech. But the architects and guardians of whiteness have always taken those metaphors quite literally.
I begin here because it provides context for what we are witnessing in the United States today — this same historical “wickedness” directed with terrifying precision at immigrants of color, many of whom identify as followers of Jesus Christ.
People of conscience have been rightly appalled by the treatment of immigrants of color. Documented and undocumented. Citizens and non‑citizens alike. Over the past year, dozens of people have died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody. Rights have been ignored, trampled, or outright denied. Video footage, eyewitness testimonies, and survivor accounts paint a disturbing picture of systemic cruelty. Victimized immigrants, targeted primarily because of their Brown skin or Latino appearance, are being treated worse than animals. I say that deliberately. In this country, we care for our pets. We feed them, shelter them, bathe them, and provide them medical care. Yet these hunted and detained human beings are denied dignity, care, and basic respect.
The Killing of Renee Good
That same pattern of cruelty brings us to the recent killing of a Minneapolis woman, Renee Nicole Good, by immigration agent Jonathan Ross. For some Americans, this incident has been shocking, a sudden revelation that ICE, in its current state, operates primarily through intimidation, violence, and chaos. Yet for Black Americans, this moment feels grimly familiar. This is not new. This is what state-sanctioned violence has looked like for generations.
Available video footage of Ross shooting at Good three times as she was driving away from agents is deeply troubling. Based on the ICE agent’s own recording, Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, appeared to pose no imminent threat. Various video angles show Ross circling Good’s SUV, shifting the phone he was recording with from his right hand to his left, and eventually positioning himself in front of Good’s vehicle. As Good reverses, turns her steering wheel to the right, and begins to drive away from the ICE agent, Ross pulls his gun and takes a shooting stance, first firing through the windshield. Ross then quickly moves to the driver’s left as the vehicle passes him and fires twice more through the window. Based on the visual evidence, Ross did not appear to be in immediate physical danger when he shot Good, particularly by the second and third rounds, nor did he indicate at the scene that he was injured. Finally, after shooting Good in the head, Ross is allegedly heard on his own recording calling her a “f-cking b-tch” — an expression of contempt for the victim rather than remorse at having ended a life. That slur reveals a spirit of animosity and vindictiveness, not fear.
Despite the footage, President Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem have publicly characterized Ross’s actions as justified, a reasonable defense against “an act of domestic terrorism.” While Vance blasted Good as a “deranged leftist,” Trump claimed she “violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE officer.” Yet, after the shooting, Ross is seen walking unencumbered to Good’s vehicle, which crashed into another car on the side of the road. The nation’s leaders don’t acknowledge that videos show Ross placing himself in the vehicle’s path and firing after it was already moving away — actions that critics argue contradict ICE training.
What message does it send when top leadership in the White House and DHS deny what is clearly visible and blame a victim for her own death? When Americans are asked to discount their own eyes? To accept that two plus two equals five?
We must also confront an uncomfortable truth: the muted outrage surrounding Good’s killing may be influenced by the fact that she was the “wrong kind” of White woman. Described as a “devout Christian” by her ex-husband, Good was openly lesbian and married to another woman. So “this lesbian agitator” does not fit the idealized image some Christians and conservatives prefer for a “perfect victim.” For some, that makes indifference — and acceptance of the lies — easier.
A Tipping Point & Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing
Police violence against Black Americans has become so normalized that it is practically a rite of passage. Young Black boys are still given “the talk” — the warning that their skin color may cause law enforcement to presume guilt before a word is even spoken. What feels different now is that this kind of violence is being openly justified, even celebrated, from the highest levels of government.
If this does not alarm you, it should. The line of what the American public is being asked to tolerate is moving — rapidly. A woman was lynched — shot and killed because she angered someone armed with federal authority. And the president and vice president excuse it. This is not hyperbole. This is documented reality.
We must also reckon with the broader pattern: ongoing race‑based cruelty toward people perceived as Hispanic, Black, or otherwise ethnically marginalized; funding cuts to programs that serve vulnerable populations; punitive decisions aimed at states governed by Trump’s political opponents; and a long history of violence and cruelty against Black Americans, Native Americans, and other non-White people. This is America’s original sin — greed, cruelty, and an obsession with so-called white racial superiority.
Instead of breaking free of these chains as the nation approaches its 250th anniversary, our current leaders and their supporters are clinging to these original sins — and claiming they will lead us toward a golden age.
Compounding this crisis is the role of Christian leaders who sanctify the cruelty. Some pastors and public Christian figures are peddling white racial grievance and calling it “law and order.” They cloak brutality in the language of justice and faith, spoon-feeding people who are searching for community, clarity, and hope what the Bible calls “doctrines of demons” — in this case, teachings that normalize cruelty and dehumanization. These are not confused shepherds. Many know exactly what they are doing and fall among those who the Apostle Paul describes as “hypocritical liars” (1 Timothy 4). They know which religious buzzwords appeal to Christians and which dog whistles appeal to white supremacists — and they use both, following in the footsteps of this administration.
The Fruits of Lawlessness and Resentment
I believe the election of Donald Trump in 2016 was a spiritual test. It revealed how much corruption and racial resentment still reside in the American heart, particularly among those who profess to be Christians. Trump did not conceal his views on race, women, or power. His record — racist rhetoric, misogyny, financial dishonesty, and moral inconsistency — was public. Even his own statement clarifying that he’s not a Christian, made in 2024, has not shaken the loyalty of many Evangelical supporters who insist that he is.
What we see now is the fruit of our collective choices and dark desires: an administration marked by lawlessness, cruelty, greed, and an obsession with whiteness. “Make America Great Again” has too often functioned as “Make America White Again,” by any means necessary. This is not law and order. It is selective enforcement and sanctioned violence.
Scripture warns us about worldly leaders who exalt themselves and who manipulate and oppress others — and about self-proclaimed Christian leaders who legitimize that power and lead people away from God.
Still, we are here, so repentance remains possible.
Will You Follow the Dragon or the Lamb?
Judgment does not always arrive as fire from heaven. As Jesus warns in Matthew 24:12, when wickedness increases, love grows cold. So it can look like moral numbness — the tolerance of cruelty, the normalization of lies, attacks on empathy, the quiet comfort many feel with racial hierarchy. Today’s movement for Christian nationalism, stripped of euphemism, is white supremacy wrapped in religious language. It is not of God, as it contradicts a fundamental truth of creation — every single one of us carries the Image of God and therefore has equal worth and dignity. As one pastor put it, to love Jesus is to hate white supremacy.
God is not obsessed with race as humans define it. God is not invested in skin color and doesn’t judge righteousness on a melanin scale. Humanity is one race, made in the Image of God, animated by the Breath of God. Any so‑called Christian movement or community that centers race rather than repentance, domination rather than salvation, is a deception.
The question before Jesus’ followers today is simple but urgent: when you hear the rhetoric of this administration — the self-aggrandizing words of the president or the vitriol of Stephen Miller, Trump’s “brain” — do you hear the echoes of Jesus Christ? Do you see the heart of the Lamb, who cares for the vulnerable and encourages His followers to love their neighbor, to love truth, and practice humility? Or do you hear the spirit of the Dragon, the Enemy of God’s people, seeking to exalt itself through deception and the persecution of others made in God’s Image?
If you cannot see that we have entered another dark chapter rather than a golden age in America, then prayer and discernment are desperately needed. Turn away from voices that justify cruelty. Seek God directly. The promise of Scripture is clear: those who seek the Lord sincerely will find Him.
There is still hope. As Christians, we believe in resurrection — that after the darkest day, a new morning will shine forth. But hope does not excuse silence, and faith does not require denial. Things are likely to get worse before they get better. Do not give up hope. Do not grow weary in doing good. Do not abandon prayer. Do not give in to lies. And do not surrender your conscience to the god of this world.
Transparency Note: The author drafted this op-ed based on her personal convictions and observations. She utilized AI as a research and editing partner to refine the structure and verify facts, while ensuring the final message and perspective remain entirely her own.