Lawyer for ICE agent who killed Renee Good drops out of Minnesota governor race to protest ‘retribution’ against state

A Republican lawyer who was running for governor of Minnesota has dropped out of the race because he cannot support federal “retribution on the citizens of our state” following the second fatal shooting of a protester in Minneapolis.

Chris Madel, the attorney who represented Jonathan Ross, the immigration agent who killed mother-of-three Renee Good on January 7, said he “cannot support the national Republicans’ stated retribution on the citizens of our state” in a video statement posted Monday on social media.

“Not can I count myself a member of a party that would do so,” he added.

Madel’s statement follows the death of ICU nurse Alex Pretti, 37, who was shot and killed by a federal agent Saturday in Minneapolis.

The lawyer said the Trump administration’s Operation Metro Surge has “expanded far beyond its stated focus on true public safety threats.”

“United States citizens, particularly those of color, live in fear. United States citizens are carrying papers to prove their citizenship,” he said. “That’s wrong.”

“At the end of the day, I have to look my daughters in the eye and tell them, I believe I did what was right, and I am doing that today,” Madel added.

Madel has not held elected office before and launched his bid for governor in December.

In his 10-minute video statement, he said he supported the “originally stated goals” of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s surge in Minnesota, but condemned the agency’s recent tactics.

“ICE has authorized its agents to raid homes using a civil warrant that need only be signed by a border patrol agent. That’s unconstitutional and it’s wrong,” Madel said.

A second reason for dropping out of the race, Madel said, was because he was “a pragmatist,” alluding to how no Republican has won a statewide election in Minnesota since 2006.

“The reality is that the national Republicans have made it nearly impossible for a Republican to win a statewide election in Minnesota,” he said.

Madel outlined how he supported Ross following the shooting of Good, and said he helped him “fill out a form” to obtain legal representation from the Justice Department if he is ever sued or charged with a crime.

“I did this just like I have helped hundreds of other people find good lawyers, including on immigration matters,” he said.

Ross fired three shots at Good as she was sitting behind the wheel of her maroon Honda Pilot. Good and other neighbors had come out to protest the presence of immigration forces on their streets.

The Trump administration has rallied behind Ross, asserting he acted in self-defense and accused the wife and mom of running him over, a claim her family vehemently deny. Ross is reportedly increasingly unlikely to face criminal charges for the killing.

Following the killing of Pretti, Trump announced he was sending border czar Tom Homan to oversee ICE operations in Minnesota.

Local and state officials have asked a judge to end the surge of federal agents, calling it “unprecedented” in court Monday.

The Justice Department has previously labeled the lawsuit “legally frivolous” and asked the judge to deny their request.