Becca Good, the widow of Renee Nicole Macklin Good, said her wife “was made of sunshine” in her first public statement last week, days after a federal agent shot and killed Macklin Good in Minneapolis.
“Renee sparkled. She literally sparkled,” Good wrote in her first public statement to Minnesota Public Radio released Friday. “I mean, she didn’t wear glitter but I swear she had sparkles coming out of her pores. All the time. You might think it was just my love talking but her family said the same thing. Renee was made of sunshine.”
Good remembered her wife as a woman defined by kindness. “Renee lived by an overarching belief: there is kindness in the world and we need to do everything we can to find it where it resides and nurture it where it needs to grow,” she wrote.
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The couple had recently moved to Minneapolis and were raising one of Macklin Good’s three “extraordinary” children, Good confirmed. “Here, I had finally found peace and safe harbor. That has been taken from me forever,” she wrote. “We were raising our son to believe that no matter where you come from or what you look like, all of us deserve compassion and kindness. Renee lived this belief every day. She is pure love. She is pure joy. She is pure sunshine.”
Of the shooting itself, Good wrote only briefly: “On Wednesday, January 7th, we stopped to support our neighbors. We had whistles. They had guns.”
Protests against ICE and vigils for Macklin Good sprang up across the country over the weekend, and a GoFundMe page benefiting Macklin Good’s family had raised over $1.5 million as of Monday. Good offered thanks to those who had reached out with well wishes and support, and asked for privacy while she and her family grieve.
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“We thank you for ensuring that Renee’s legacy is one of kindness and love. We honor her memory by living her values: rejecting hate and choosing compassion, turning away from fear and pursuing peace, refusing division and knowing we must come together to build a world where we all come home safe to the people we love,” Good wrote.
On January 7, an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot and killed 37-year-old Macklin Good while she was operating her car, sending it crashing into another vehicle on Minneapolis’ Portland Avenue, per videos of the incident. In a cell phone video of the shooting obtained by right-wing Minnesota outlet Alpha News on Friday, one of the ICE agents can be heard saying “fucking bitch” seconds after the shooting.
The Minnesota Star Tribune on Thursday identified the agent who shot Macklin Good as former Border Patrol agent Jonathan Ross, based on a comment from Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem, who said the agent who killed Macklin Good had been “dragged” by a vehicle during a previous incident. Federal officers reportedly removed several crates of items from Ross’ Minneapolis home on Friday, per the Daily Mail.
Since the shooting, President Donald Trump and administration officials have claimed that Macklin Good and her wife were “professional agitators” and that Ross acted in self-defense. Trump doubled down on those assertions, without evidence, in remarks to the press on Air Force One on Sunday, claiming that both women were “very disrespectful” to the ICE agents and that “law enforcement should not be in a position where they have to put up with this stuff.”
Read Becca Good’s full statement:
First, I want to extend my gratitude to all the people who have reached out from across the country and around the world to support our family.
This kindness of strangers is the most fitting tribute because if you ever encountered my wife, Renee Nicole Macklin Good, you know that above all else, she was kind. In fact, kindness radiated out of her.
Renee sparkled. She literally sparkled. I mean, she didn’t wear glitter but I swear she had sparkles coming out of her pores. All the time. You might think it was just my love talking but her family said the same thing. Renee was made of sunshine.
Renee lived by an overarching belief: there is kindness in the world and we need to do everything we can to find it where it resides and nurture it where it needs to grow. Renee was a Christian who knew that all religions teach the same essential truth: we are here to love each other, care for each other, and keep each other safe and whole.
Like people have done across place and time, we moved to make a better life for ourselves. We chose Minnesota to make our home. Our whole extended road trip here, we held hands in the car while our son drew all over the windows to pass the time and the miles.
What we found when we got here was a vibrant and welcoming community, we made friends and spread joy. And while any place we were together was home, there was a strong shared sense here in Minneapolis that we were looking out for each other. Here, I had finally found peace and safe harbor. That has been taken from me forever.
We were raising our son to believe that no matter where you come from or what you look like, all of us deserve compassion and kindness. Renee lived this belief every day. She is pure love. She is pure joy. She is pure sunshine.
On Wednesday, January 7th, we stopped to support our neighbors. We had whistles. They had guns.
Renee leaves behind three extraordinary children; the youngest is just six years old and already lost his father. I am now left to raise our son and to continue teaching him, as Renee believed, that there are people building a better world for him. That the people who did this had fear and anger in their hearts, and we need to show them a better way.
We thank you for the privacy you are granting our family as we grieve. We thank you for ensuring that Renee’s legacy is one of kindness and love. We honor her memory by living her values: rejecting hate and choosing compassion, turning away from fear and pursuing peace, refusing division and knowing we must come together to build a world where we all come home safe to the people we love.
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