Hundreds gathered on the steps of the Georgia State Capitol on Thursday night, demanding accountability in the killing of Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer in Minneapolis. 

Protesters in Atlanta described the moment as a tipping point — not only for immigration enforcement practices, but for long-standing concerns about excessive use of force in everyday community spaces.

Good, a mother, poet, and active neighbor in her south Minneapolis community, was killed during a federal immigration operation. Officials say Johnathan Ross, the ICE officer who shot Good, fired in self-defense, claiming Good attempted to use her vehicle as a weapon. 

But eyewitnesses and circulating video paint a conflicting picture, intensifying national scrutiny of ICE's tactics and raising comparisons to the 2020 killing of George Floyd, which occurred less than a mile from where Good was shot.

At Thursday's Atlanta demonstration, organizers emphasized that Good was not the subject of any arrest warrant. She was simply driving through her neighborhood when the confrontation happened.

Local voices echo national outrage

Organizers filled the Capitol steps with posters, chants, and calls for both a federal investigation and a suspension of ICE operations pending an independent review.

One Atlanta protester told CBS News Atlanta, "Working-class people are seeing the need to mobilize. Both yesterday and today a strong crowd showed up to say that we need ICE out of our communities. We demand an end to the mass deportation machine."

They went on to say, "What we see is that all of these situations of violence from ICE exemplify the reason why we don't need ICE in our communities. Their brutality, the militarization of our neighbors, of our immigrant brothers and sisters... We need money for education and jobs and housing, not for these racist deportations."

Civil rights groups: "This action shows none of us are safe"

A coalition of civil rights and immigrant justice organizations issued a joint statement condemning Good's killing, calling it "a violation of due process and human dignity." 

The statement emphasized that Good did not exercise any form of violence, despite ICE's claims, and called her death a "systemic failure."

The organizations wrote: "Every person, regardless of immigration status, has the right to due process — to be free from excessive force and to be treated with dignity under the law… No law enforcement agency is above the Constitution, and the use of force must be strictly limited, transparent, and subject to accountability."

The groups called for a full, independent investigation into the officer's actions as well as a broader review of federal enforcement protocols.

A national debate with local implications

Although the fatal shooting happened in Minneapolis, Atlanta organizers say the stakes are deeply local.

Georgia continues to expand cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration agencies — a policy that immigrant rights groups argue heightens the risk of escalation during routine community interactions.

Good's death follows several fatal encounters involving federal immigration agents in recent months. Advocates say these incidents are part of a troubling pattern — one that echoes earlier national questions around policing, civil rights, and federal authority.

Many Atlantans who marched on Thursday night said the proximity of Good's killing to the site of George Floyd's death is impossible to ignore. Both incidents underscore the power imbalance between law enforcement and civilians during moments of rapid escalation.

What comes next

Organizers are calling on Georgia lawmakers to publicly condemn the killing and review local cooperation agreements with ICE.

National organizations are pushing for federal oversight, arguing that Good's killing represents not just a localized tragedy, but a constitutional crisis.

Their statement concludes: "Justice requires that we protect both the rule of law and the basic rights that bind us together. We stand with Renee's family and all our communities in demanding full accountability and an independent investigation."

Good leaves behind children, relatives, and a community that described her as creative, gentle, and the kind of neighbor who made people feel welcome.