Hours after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Goode in Minneapolis, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told Americans she had all the answers.

“This was an act of domestic terrorism,” Noem said at a separate press conference held Wednesday at the Texas border.

Noem then stated that Goode, whose identity has not yet been released, “attacked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and bystanders” and “attempted to run them over with her vehicle.”

This was the first sign that President Donald Trump’s administration would take an offensive, rather than defensive, approach to the shooting, discrediting Goode and removing Minnesota authorities from the FBI investigation.

During Noem’s statement, footage of the incident surfaced, contradicting her account. Footage filmed from multiple angles showed masked ICE agents approaching Goode’s car, which was partially blocking the road. They grabbed the door handle, reached through the open window, and then an agent (identified by the Star Tribune as Jonathan Ross) shot her at close range, killing her instantly as she tried to flee. Most of the agents did not have the legal authority to arrest American citizens.

An eyewitness told HuffPost that Goode was “visibly frightened” and trying to flee from the police. No video of the incident shows Goode attempting to run over the officers; instead, she is seen swerving to avoid them in her final moments. It is unclear whether Goode’s car struck the officer seen in a video walking away from the scene.

Despite the release of new footage of the incident throughout the day, Noem hardened his stance, suggesting without evidence that Goode was part of a “coordinated” group that had been “trained and instructed on how to use their vehicles to obstruct law enforcement.”

Goode’s family told Minnesota Public Radio that she was driving home after dropping her six-year-old son off at school when she encountered Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. The family emphasized that she was not an activist and had never participated in any protests.

Over time, more and more members of the Trump administration joined the smear campaign against Goode.

Trump claimed on TruthSocial that “the driver was behaving very erratically, obstructing justice, resisting arrest, and then violently, deliberately, and brutally ran over an ICE agent, who apparently fired in self-defense.” He added that it was “hard to believe” that the agent who killed Goode was still alive.

When questioned by The New York Times, Trump stood by his statements, calling the incident a “violent situation.”

Vice President JD Vance also attacked her on social media, calling her a “far-left psychopath who tried to overthrow him.” He reiterated his position at a press conference on Thursday, stating without any evidence: “This woman was part of a larger far-left network to attack, leak personal information, assault, and obstruct our ICE agents from doing their jobs.”

In another message posted on social media Thursday, he called the reactions to his death “ridiculous” and claimed that Goode was responsible for his own demise.

Echoing Noem and Vance’s remarks, White House Press Secretary Carolyn Leavitt also fueled conspiracy theories during a joint press conference with Vance, stating that the shooting was the work of “a larger and more sinister radical left-wing movement.”

The rhetoric has outraged Democrats and surprised at least one Republican.

“I was surprised at the level of certainty in her comments … most times you don’t draw definitive conclusions like she did in that press conference while the scene is still being processed,” Sen. Tom Tillis (R-N.C.) said of Noem to HuffPost on Thursday.

Little Hope For Accountability

The Trump administration is denying state and local officials any access to the investigation into the shooting, offering little hope for a non-partisan probe into what happened.

“They don’t have any jurisdiction in this investigation,” Noem said Thursday. She then railed against Minneapolis and Minnesota officials for not doing enough to assist ICE.

Her remarks came after Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) Superintendent Drew Evans released a statement saying the U.S. attorney’s office has barred it from participating in the federal investigation.

“Without complete access to the evidence, witnesses and information collected, we cannot meet the investigative standards that Minnesota law and the public demands,” Evans wrote. “As a result, the BCA has reluctantly withdrawn from the investigation.”

Minnesota Department of Public Safety Commissioner Bob Jacobson explained Thursday that it would be impossible for the state to conduct its own investigation without the cooperation of the federal government.

“They have all the evidence in the initial investigation notes and reports, while we have none, and they haven’t shared any with us,” he said. “We are excited to be able to resume the investigation… in order to get the answers the public deserves. Without this information, and without any help from the FBI or the federal government, we will be unable to begin and conduct a thorough investigation.”

Governor Noem said Thursday that she was confident the investigation would clear the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent of any wrongdoing.

On Thursday, when asked about the details, she said, “We expected all review procedures and policies to confirm that he acted appropriately to protect his life and the lives of his colleagues.”

Following Noem’s comments, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (Democrat-New Zealander) said it now “seems very difficult” to reach a just conclusion in the shooting investigation.

“I say this only because people in positions of power, from the president and vice president to Kristi Noem, have made judgments and statements that are patently false and inaccurate,” Walz added, visibly discouraged, at a press conference. “They judged the morality of a 37-year-old mother they didn’t even know.”