It’s been a challenging week in our country.
The tragic death of Renee Nicole Good has resonated deeply across the nation — especially here in the Hampton Roads community that helped shape her early adult life.
Renee, a 37-year-old mother, poet, and 2020 graduate of Old Dominion University (ODU), was shot and killed by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent during a federal operation in Minneapolis, Minnesota on January 7, 2026.
At ODU, Renee studied creative writing and English, earning not only her degree but also recognition for her poetry — including an award from the Academy of American Poets presented by the University in 2020. She was remembered by professors and peers as a thoughtful writer who explored voices and experiences beyond her own. Upon Renee’s death, the Norfolk-based university released a statement expressing its sadness at losing “a proud Monarch.”
On the morning of January 7, Renee was in Minneapolis when she encountered federal agents conducting an immigration enforcement action. Footage and eyewitness accounts show agents around her vehicle before an ICE officer fired multiple shots, killing her. The incident has sparked intense national debate over federal law enforcement powers and use of force, especially as Renee was a U.S. citizen. Under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, Renee had the right to ‘peaceably assemble’, and under the Fifth Amendment Renee was not supposed to be ‘deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.’
Here in Hampton Roads, community members have mourned her tragic loss with vigils and protests, honoring her memory and calling for accountability and justice. On Friday, January 9 a large crowd in Norfolk gathered on the sidewalk outside the Federal Building on Granby St. to grieve together and remember Renee’s life, and on Saturday protests were held in Newport News and again in Norfolk.
An attorney from our firm, Andrew Reigel, was recently interviewed by a local news channel regarding the incident. Click here to watch his interview.
Both of Virginia’s senators, Senator Tim Kaine and Senator Mark Warner, have also spoken out, issuing statements calling for an investigation and disagreeing with the way Homeland Security has characterized Renee’s death.
Like any human being, Renee Nicole Good’s life can’t, and shouldn’t, be reduced to headlines or a moment of violence. She was a writer, a wife, a mother, and an ODU graduate whose roots in Hampton Roads remind us why personal stories matter — and why justice must always be pursued with integrity and compassion.
