Top Trump administration officials inadvertently helped journalists identify the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official involved in the Minnesota shooting by revealing a detail about his background.
Vice President JD Vance and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told reporters after the Wednesday incident that the agent, who opened fire on a driver, had previously been dragged by someone’s car during a pursuit in June. Though they meant to defend the agent, the comments gave journalists and internet sleuths what they needed to find the case in public court records and name him as 10-year deportation officer Jonathan Ross.
Ross fatally shot 37-year-old Renee Good at a protest in Minneapolis after she abruptly drove her car toward him during a confrontation with multiple agents. In the prior case described by Vance and Noem, Ross helped chase down a convicted child rapist from Mexico who accelerated his truck while Ross was partly inside, dragging him about 100 yards, according to multiple reports published after their remarks.
“That very ICE officer nearly had his life ended, dragged by a car, 6 months ago, 33 stitches in his leg,” Vance said Thursday. “So, you think maybe he’s a little bit sensitive about somebody ramming him with an automobile?”
The Guardian, one of the first outlets to report Ross’ name, referenced “court records that closely match the description of a June 2025 incident involving the agent in Bloomington, Minnesota, cited by the homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, and JD Vance.”
The White House did not respond to a request for comment on the record, but one White House official referred the DCNF to the DHS.
The Trump administration has maintained that masks and anonymity are needed for ICE agents’ safety and reiterated that stance in comments to the Daily Caller News Foundation — without answering why Ross’ involvement in the June chase was revealed in press conferences.
“We are not going to expose the name of this officer. He acted according to his training,” DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said.
“Doxxing our officers [puts] their lives and their families in serious danger,” she said. “Our law enforcement officers are on the frontlines arresting terrorists, gang members, murderers, pedophiles, and rapists. Now, thanks to the malicious rhetoric of sanctuary politicians, they are under constant threat from violent agitators.”
McLaughlin took aim at the Minnesota Star-Tribune as one of the earliest to expose Ross’ identity. “Publicizing their identities puts their lives and the lives of their families at serious risk,” she said. “The Star Tribune should be absolutely ashamed of themselves for their reckless behavior, and they should delete their story immediately.”
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