Claims circulated on Facebook in April 2026 that Jonathan Ross, the ICE officer who fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis three months earlier, had been cleared of all charges.
One Facebook post (archived) with the claim read, "The ICE agent involved in the Renee Good shooting has just been CLEARED of all charges!"
Variations of the claim spread on Facebook, YouTube and Threads. Social media users sharing the post seemed to treat it as a settled legal outcome in the agent's favor.
However, the claim was false. As of this writing, no criminal charges have been filed against Ross in connection with the killing of Good, a 37-year-old American citizen shot on Jan. 7, 2026. Without charges, there is nothing to be cleared of. As of April 2026, multiple investigations and legal proceedings related to Good's death remained active and unresolved.
A Hennepin County attorney's office spokesperson, Daniel Borgertpoepping, confirmed to us that Ross "has not been charged" and that "the investigation into the fatal shooting of Renee Good is ongoing." Borgertpoepping added that "claims of charges or the outcome of charges are completely false."
We also reached out to ICE and the U.S. attorney's office for the District of Minnesota for comment, and will update this article if either responds.
Why the claim is false
A possible source of confusion is the federal government's position. The Associated Press reported in January 2026 that the Justice Department declined to open a federal criminal civil-rights investigation into Good's death, with then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche saying there was "no basis" for such an investigation. Federal officials also defended Ross' actions. But a decision not to open a federal investigation is not the same as a court clearing someone of charges, and it does not resolve Minnesota's separate state investigation.
As of late April 2026, that state investigation was still open. In a Feb. 2, 2026 letter to federal officials, the Hennepin County attorney's office said it was "currently conducting a criminal investigation" into Good's death with support from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and Minnesota attorney general's office. The letter said prosecutors had "reached no conclusion" about whether any law was violated, and that possible state offenses under review included murder, manslaughter and failure to render aid.
In other words, the state's review was unresolved — not closed in Ross' favor.
Where the matter stood in April 2026
Legal proceedings tied to the shooting were still actively unfolding in April 2026.
On March 24, the state of Minnesota, Hennepin County and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension sued federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, ICE and Customs and Border Protection, seeking access to evidence in three shootings in Minneapolis by federal officers — Good's death, the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, on Jan. 24, 2026, and the nonfatal shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis. State officials said federal authorities denied investigators access to evidence, interviews and other materials needed for Minnesota's independent investigations.
An April 9 federal court order involved Good's death, but it was not a criminal case against Ross. The order came in the separate case of Roberto Carlos Muñoz-Guatemala, who was convicted of assaulting Ross during a June 2025 encounter. Muñoz-Guatemala's attorneys argued that evidence from Good's shooting could be relevant to their client's defense and sentencing. The judge ordered federal officials to provide evidence related to Good's death to the court for review, so the court could decide whether any of it had to be disclosed to Muñoz-Guatemala's defense.
Therefore, as of April 2026, the legal record involving Ross remained open and contested, not the closed matter that claims of being "cleared of all charges" would suggest.
Bottom line
Claims that Ross was "cleared of all charges" misrepresent the legal record. As of April 2026, Ross had not been criminally charged in Good's death, meaning there were no charges to clear. Meanwhile, Minnesota's investigation and related court fights over evidence were still ongoing.
We've fact-checked multiple rumors regarding the fatal ICE shooting of Good, including claims about her alleged criminal record, the identity of the ICE agent and unrelated photos misrepresented as showing Good.