‘Deep distress’: Renee Good’s brothers testify on Capitol Hill after deadly Minneapolis shooting
Luke Ganger and Brent Ganger speak during a public forum on violent use of force by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents, at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on Feb. 3, 2026, in Washington, D.C. Win McNamee/Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — The two brothers of Renee Good, the 37-year-old Minneapolis woman killed by a federal immigration officer in January, spoke on Capitol Hill Tuesday, telling lawmakers of the effect their sister’s death had on their family.
“The deep distress our family feels because of Renee’s loss in such a violent and unnecessary way is complicated by feelings of disbelief, distress and desperation for change,” said one brother, Luke Ganger.
Luke and Brent Ganger’s remarks were part of a special public forum organized by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Rep. Robert Garcia of D-Calif., as part of an inquiry into the tactics and use of force by Department of Homeland Security agents.
Good’s killing intensified protests in Minneapolis that have continued into this month and were compounded by the fatal federal agent-involved shooting of Alex Pretti.
The Department of Homeland Security has said that agents in the interaction with Good acted in self-defense after Good tried to ram them with her car in an act of “domestic terrorism.” Local and state officials have disputed federal officials’ claims.
Good, a Minneapolis mother of three, was in the driver’s seat of her Honda Pilot in the middle of a residential street when an ICE agent opened fire.
Luke Ganger said his family initially took “consolation” that Good’s death “would bring change in our country. And it has not.”
“The completely surreal scenes taking place on the streets of Minneapolis are beyond explanation. This is not just a bad day or a rough week or isolated incidents. These encounters with federal agents are changing the community and changing many lives, including ours, forever,” he said.
He added that Good’s wider family could serve as an example to the rest of the country as it represents “a very American blend” of different faiths and political affiliations. Yet despite their differences, family members “treat each other with love and respect.”
Brent Ganger read portions of the eulogy he gave at Good’s funeral. He described Good as an “unapologetically hopeful” person whose children “were and are her heart … she made sure they felt safe and valued and endlessly loved.”
“She had a way to make you feel you were understood, even if you don’t have words yet. She believed in second chances. She believed tomorrow can be better than today,” he said. “When things were hard, Renee looked for the light.”
Sen. Blumenthal called the hearing “extraordinary and unprecedented” because Good and Pretti were “murdered by their own government” and “were killed in cold blood.”
He called for a complete overhaul of DHS and a revamping of policies, resulting in bodycams for each ICE agent, “masks off all the time,” and additional training and monitoring for all officers.
“These stories are not just about Minneapolis,” he said. “The nation is Minneapolis. We are all Minneapolis. These stories are a call to action.”
(NEW YORK) — Commodities from Indonesia beyond shrimp will almost certainly test positive for a radioactive isotope in the coming weeks and months, according to a new intelligence bulletin that follows a recall last month of 84,000 bags of frozen raw shrimp imported from Indonesia.
Federal regulators announced the recall on Dec. 19, after finding the shrimp may have been prepared, packed or held under conditions that could have exposed them to cesium-137, a radioactive isotope.
The new Homeland Security bulletin, a copy of which was obtained by ABC News, said the contamination is “very likely” to continue for the foreseeable future and spread beyond Indonesian imports that have already been interdicted — including shrimp, as well as spices and sneakers.
“Due to the high number of factories and wide variety of goods produced at facilities in the area of the contamination, additional commodities from Indonesia will almost certainly test positive for Cs-137 in the coming weeks and months,” the bulletin said. “While improbable, we cannot rule out the potential that Cs-137 contaminated goods will arrive in the United States via tourism or passenger travel.”
The bulletin noted that the U.S. is “nearly certain” the contamination was not intentional and that Customs and Border Protection is “well postured to detect and interdict all impacted bulk cargo shipments, reducing the likelihood that the public will encounter contaminated commodities shipped in bulk from Indonesia.”
The December shrimp recall followed a recall of imported shrimp that began in August and was processed by the same Indonesian company, PT. Bahari Makmur Sejati, according to the FDA.
The FDA said it has also detected the presence of cesium-137 in one sample of cloves from the Indonesian-based company PT Natural Java Spice.
Contaminated sneakers originating from Indonesia were also interdicted at several U.S. ports last summer, according to the DHS bulletin.
At this time, no product that has tested positive or alerted for cesium-137 has entered the U.S. marketplace, the FDA said.
Law enforcement respond near Temple Israel following reports of an active shooter on March 12, 2026 in West Bloomfield, Michigan. Police continue to investigate as emergency personnel remained on the scene. (Photo by Emily Elconin/Getty Images)
(WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich.) — Dearborn Heights Mayor Mo Baydoun said that 41-year-old Ayman Mohamad Ghazali — the suspect involved in the shooting and vehicle-ramming attack at a Detroit-area synagogue on Thursday — had “lost several members of his own family … in an Israeli attack on their home in Lebanon.”
Strongly condemning the attack, Baydoun said “everyone deserves to worship in peace and we must unequivocally condemn any attack on a house of worship or the people within it.”
“We learned that the individual responsible for the incident that took place at Temple Israel Synagogue in West Bloomfield was a resident of Dearborn Heights,” Baydoun continued. “He died at the scene. Earlier this month, he lost several members of his own family, including his niece and nephew, in an Israeli attack on their home in Lebanon.”
Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin also vehemently condemned the attack, saying she is “so sick” of these incidents happening both within her community and across the country.
“Everyone deserves the right to worship in peace. Everyone. An act of antisemitism, an act of violence, of hate, should be treated to the fullest extent of the law,” Slotkin told ABC News on Thursday. “And I’m so sick of another one of these incidents all the time in my community, across the country. And I just — I think we need to acknowledge that we have a problem, and I’m just sick about it.”
Ghazali, who was armed with a rifle, died after a shootout with security at the Temple Israel synagogue in West Bloomfield, Michigan, a senior federal law enforcement official briefed on the investigation said earlier.
Nobody inside the synagogue was hurt, and the synagogue noted that all 140 students as well as staff, teachers and “heroic security personnel” were accounted for, according to Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard.
“This tragedy comes at a time when communities everywhere are confronting rising hate and senseless violence. No matter where violence occurs, whether in West Bloomfield or anywhere around in the world, harm against innocent people is something we must all stand firmly against,” Baydoun said. “The tensions we see across the world too often find their way into our own neighborhoods, reminding us how deeply connected our shared safety is.”
The sheriff said one synagogue security guard was hit by the suspect’s truck in the incident and was “knocked unconscious” but was expected to be okay.
There were no other injuries in the attack, though 30 law enforcement officers were transported to the hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation, according to Bouchard.
“I want our community to know that we are working closely with our police department and regional partners to protect the safety of every house of worship in our city,” said Baydoun. “I urge residents to stay aware and vigilant, especially as we gather during these sacred final days of Ramadan. Let’s continue to care for one another and pay attention to anything that feels out of place … “My heart is with everyone affected by these deeply painful events.”
Lawyer Barry Pollack speaks during a press conference, June 26, 2024, in Canberra, Australia. (Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — As Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife were arraigned this week on narco-terrorism charges, the key legal players in the case included a 92-year-old judge and the attorney for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
The case with international implications will feature high-profile defense attorneys and will be presided over by the most senior U.S. District Court Judge for the Southern District of New York.
Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on Monday pleaded not guilty to federal drug trafficking charges. The next court date is set for March 17.
The Judge
U.S. District Court Judge Alvin Hellerstein was appointed to the federal bench in 1998 by former President Bill Clinton and was confirmed by the Senate through unanimous consent.
Known by colleagues and lawyers as a no-nonsense jurist with an independent streak, Hellerstein presided over the 2019 federal civil trial of Harvey Weinstein, brought by 16 women who accused the former movie mogul of sexual assault.
In a major July 2020 ruling, Hellerstein, who turned 92 last month, tossed a $19 million settlement in the Weinstein civil case, saying that it failed to adequately compensate the accusers.
In his decision, Hellerstein slammed the settlement proposal as unfair, noting that accusers who had merely met Weinstein would receive compensation equal to those who were allegedly sexually assaulted by him.
“What is there to make me believe that a person who just met Harvey Weinstein has the same claim as the person who is raped by Harvey Weinstein?” the judge asked during a hearing on the settlement.
Additionally, the judge said it was “obnoxious” that the settlement proposal would have included money to cover the legal fees for Weinstein and other directors of his former company.
Hellerstein has also ruled against President Donald Trump, whose Justice Department is prosecuting Maduro, in multiple instances.
In 2023 and 2024, Hellerstein rejected requests by Trump’s attorneys to move a case charging him with falsifying business records to hide hush-money payments to adult movie star Stormy Daniels from state court to federal court.
“Trump has failed to show that the conduct charged by the Indictment is for or relating to any act performed by or for the President under color of the official acts of a President,” Hellerstein wrote in his ruling.
Trump was eventually convicted in state court on 34 felony counts.
In April 2025, Hellerstein blocked the Trump administration from deporting migrants under the Alien Enemies Act, ruling that migrants being held in the Southern District of New York could not be deported without them first receiving notice and an opportunity for a hearing.
Maduro’s attorney
Barry Pollack, Maduro’s attorney, has more than 30 years of experience as a lawyer and has represented high-profile clients.
During Maduro’s arraignment on Monday, Pollack signaled that that he could assert that he is entitled, as a foreign leader, to protection against prosecution.
“He is the head of a sovereign state,” Pollack said in court, adding that there are “issues about the legality of his military abduction.”
Among the attorney’s past clients is Julian Assange. In June 2024, Pollack negotiated a plea agreement for the WikiLeaks founder who was charged with violating the Espionage Act for publishing classified information he obtained from Chelsea Manning, a U.S. Army intelligence analyst.
Under the plea agreement that Pollack hammered out with the Department of Justice, Assange was freed from prison in June 2024 after pleading guilty to a single felony count of conspiring to unlawfully obtain and disseminate classified information.
Pollack — a partner in the Harris St. Laurent & Wechsler law firm in New York City and Washington, D.C. — also won the freedom of Martin Tankleff, a Long Island, New York, teenager who was wrongfully convicted of murdering his parents in 1988. Tankleff was released from prison in 2008 after Pollack successfully filed an appeal, arguing there was insufficient evidence to convict him.
Pollack also defended Michael Krautz, former accountant for the Enron Corp., who was charged along with other company executives with fraud and conspiracy to falsify business records stemming from overstated earnings of the company’s now-defunct subsidiary Enron Broadband Services.
Krautz was acquitted of the charges in 2006, just days after Enron founder Kenneth Lay and CEO Jeffrey Skilling were convicted on similar charges in one of the biggest business scandals in U.S. history.
“Barry’s unwavering commitment to his clients, the defense function, and the Constitution serves as inspiration to criminal defense lawyers across the nation,” Christopher W. Adams, president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, said in 2021, as the organization honored Pollack with its Robert C. Heeney Memorial Award.
Maduro also added constitutional law expert Bruce Fein to his legal defense team, according to a notice on the court docket on Tuesday. Fein has written critically about the Trump administration’s deportation policies and the president’s use of pardons.
Maduro’s wife’s lawyer
Houston-based defense attorney Mark Donnelly, a former federal prosecutor, has been retained by Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores.
Donnelly is the former senior advisor to the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas and was a federal prosecutor for 12 years before going into private practice. He is now a partner in the Houston law firm Parker Sanchez & Donnelly.
“With over 100 jury trials under his belt, Mark not only is extremely comfortable in the courtroom, but also has the knowledge and experience to guide clients through all phases of representation,” his bio on his law firm’s website says.
According to the bio, Donnelly spent eight years as a prosecutor in the Harris County, Texas, District Attorney’s Office, where he led investigations into elected officials and others charged with violating the public trust.
In 2023, the Texas House of Representatives recruited Donnelly to assist in the historic investigation and impeachment trial of then-state Attorney Gen. Ken Paxton, who was accused of bribery and abusing his office to protect a donor accused of making false statements to secure business loans.
Paxton, a Republican, was acquitted in September 2023.
Donnelly is a proficient Spanish speaker and was once designated as a bilingual assistant prosecutor for the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.
“We look forward to reviewing and challenging the evidence the government has,” Donnelly said in a statement to Houston Public Media about representing Flores. “While we would love to present our side now, we will wait to do so in court at the appropriate time. The first lady is aware that there is a long road ahead and is prepared.”
