Since the recent shooting death of a Minnesota woman, Renee Good, by an ICE agent, Jonathan Ross, there has been a flood of high-profile political and social responses, from the early conclusions by federal officials to the growing number of protests—and even more recently, to the mass resignation of prosecutors. The news has been emotionally overwhelming to many and doesn’t seem to be subsiding.

Among officer-involved shootings, this one has an unprecedented amount of video evidence of what happened. Although full interpretations still vary, it seems clear that Good had turned her wheels away from Ross prior to the shooting (Inal et al., 2026; Lum et al., 2026; Stein et al., 2026). Less clear is whether Ross noticed the turning prior to the shooting.

Even so, many in the federal government have pointed the finger at Good, claiming that she was engaged in "an act of domestic terrorism" and framing Ross' actions as "defensive." Thus, what I want to add to the discussion is some of the psychology of victim-blaming: what drives it, and what we can do in response.

There are four known causes of victim-blaming, including politics (Stalder, 2022). The politics of this moment are undoubtedly intense.

But those in the Trump administration who are blaming Good for her own death are, like anyone, individuals who make decisions not only for political reasons but also for personal psychological ones (whether consciously or less-than-consciously). Is it possible that even individuals with so much power can feel guilt or cognitive dissonance when a presumed-innocent bystander gets caught up in the effects of their decisions?

Even members of the powerful elite are still human beings, and most are likely capable of such feelings. And unfortunately, one of the ways to reduce any dissonance over the suffering of a presumed-innocent victim is victim-blaming, especially when one’s own actions or the actions of those one supports may have contributed to the suffering (Stalder, 2018, 2025).

There’s plenty of research on how individuals with different preconceived beliefs can look at ambiguous stimuli and draw different conclusions. But the video evidence does not seem ambiguous in refuting, at the least, the initial official claims that Good rammed or ran over Ross with her car (Inal et al., 2026; Lum et........

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