The Lawyer for the Agent Who Shot Renee Good Thinks ICE Has Gone Too Far
Chris Madel was distraught as he left last Tuesday’s GOP gubernatorial debate at a suburban movie theater, where he had squabbled onstage with six other candidates about every major political issue except one: immigration.
It rattled him that no one mentioned the most polarizing issue in Minneapolis in the days after the fatal shooting of Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother, by veteran ICE agent Jonathan Ross.
In fact, Madel had been thinking a lot about the case that has gripped America. After all, he’s not just a candidate for governor.
He’s also the ICE agent’s lawyer.
“They didn’t ask one question about immigration, but they asked about abortion,” he said. “It’s like, what are your priorities here?”
Madel, a trial lawyer and first-time candidate, confided in his wife that he was thinking of ending his campaign. On a scale of one to 10, she asked how certain he was, and he said seven. By Friday night, he was at 10.
“I can’t look my daughters in the eye and say I’m running as a Republican, when they’re pulling over Hispanics and Asians because of the color of the skin and what they look like,” he told The Wall Street Journal. “I did not sign up for that.”
Federal authorities have defended their tactics. “Our operations are lawful. They’re targeted and they’re focused on individuals who pose a serious threat to this community,” Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino said last week at a news conference in Minnesota.
Madel (pronounced “MAD-dle”) is among an increasing number of conservatives juggling competing perspectives. He supports cracking down on illegal immigration but rejects the administration’s methods for doing so. He is among the first Republicans to say the second part out loud.
In a video statement posted Monday morning announcing the end of his campaign, Madel said he supported the goal of Operation Metro Surge to deport “the worst of the worst,” but that the mission had expanded too far past its stated focus on “true public safety threats.” He said he personally had heard from local law-enforcement officers of Hispanic and Asian descent who had been pulled over by ICE.
“United States citizens, particularly those of color, live in fear. United States citizens are carrying papers to prove their citizenship,” he said. “That’s wrong.”
In the 10-minute clip, Madel is wearing a red-and-blue striped tie and seated in his home office in front of a window looking out on a snowy landscape. The 59-year-old political newcomer thanked supporters for helping him quickly vault to the top of a crowded field and promised to pay back all campaign donations, which totaled $426,000 in December alone.
“I am above all else a pragmatist,” he said. “The reality is that the national Republicans have made it nearly impossible for a Republican to win a statewide election in Minnesota.”
Many Minnesota Republicans privately agree, according to Preya Samsundar, who runs communications for Republican strategy group K2 & Co. and previously worked on Trump’s behalf at the Republican National Committee. That holds particularly true for political candidates, she said, as they don’t want to risk antagonizing the president.
Samsundar says she is alarmed by the ICE campaign as an individual—her mother, who immigrated legally, has started carrying her passport to work—and as a professional who makes her living advising Republican campaigns. She said her social-media feed is full of conservative contacts lamenting the situation in Minneapolis.
A Republican can’t win statewide without some modicum of support in the Twin Cities. Former Gov. Tim Pawlenty, the last Republican to win statewide, relied on votes from moderates in Hennepin and Ramsey counties.
“As the days and weeks go by, you can’t brush this off anymore,” Samsundar said. “How much longer can you go on before you do enough damage that you can’t come back?”
When Madel jumped into the race on Dec. 1, against a field that includes the speaker of the house and the embattled founder of MyPillow, it was shaping up to be a referendum on two-term incumbent Gov. Tim Walz. Republicans were giddy about their chances to win their first statewide race since 2006 by taking advantage of Walz’s tack left in his failed vice-presidential bid and attacking his administration’s handling of a yearslong welfare-fraud scandal.
Madel positioned himself as the man of the moment, touting his 30-year career taking on corporate corruption. At the time, the safety-net scandal was receiving renewed national attention. In a campaign ad, former IRS and FBI agents described him as the best candidate to combat fraud.
Madel grew up in Waseca, Minn., a farming town of 9,000 people in the south-central part of the state, where his father was chair of the county Republican party. He moved to the Twin Cities to attend Macalester College, where his thesis on corporate stock prices ahead of public tender offers helped send him to Michigan Law.
After completing stints in corporate law and at the Justice Department, he took on high-profile fraud cases, including a multimillion-dollar kickback scheme within Best Buy and claims of illegal campaign contributions at the Fiesta Bowl football game.
Though Madel campaigned on his fraud record, many of his biggest cases were defenses of law enforcement.
In 2024, Madel represented Minnesota state trooper Ryan Londregan, who was accused of killing 33-year-old Ricky Cobb while in his vehicle and faced murder, assault and manslaughter charges. The charges were dropped later that year, a stunning victory for Madel that he referenced in debates, public appearances and an interview with The Journal.
On Sunday, Londregan affirmed his support for Madel in a text message, saying, “My family and I have the utmost respect for Chris’s integrity, courage and dedication to the law-enforcement community.”
Since Madel’s entry into the race, its contours have shifted dramatically. On Jan. 5, Walz announced he wouldn’t seek a third term, clearing the way for a stronger Democratic candidate. U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota has since filed paperwork necessary to enter the race.
That same week, citing the fraud cases, the Trump administration deployed thousands of federal agents to Minneapolis and greater Minnesota. On Jan. 7, Ross fatally shot Good.
Madel said he offered Ross counsel pro bono because of his belief in due process, criticizing what he felt was a rush to judgment. Soon after he took the case, he posted a picture of himself on X in a John Adams T-shirt, and an article about the nation’s second president defending British soldiers.
His decision sent shock waves through his law firm. One of his six attorneys resigned.
“The tactics that ICE has deployed in Minneapolis are contrary to public safety,” said Matt Pelikan, the partner who left and a Democrat who is running for Hennepin County attorney.
Madel has previously represented conservative Minnesota news outlet Alpha News against defamation claims and has contributed op-eds for the outlet, which last month livestreamed his campaign announcement. But he faced an uphill climb with the state’s MAGA wing. He has donated tens of thousands of dollars to Democrats, according to state and federal campaign records, including at least $5,000 to Walz. Action 4 Liberty, an influential group with the state’s far-right, has referred to him as “a big-time Democrat donor.”
Though Madel is representing Ross, the ICE agent isn’t facing charges or a civil suit. The attorney is helping him navigate the process of accessing legal representation from the Justice Department. The Good family’s lead lawyer represented George Floyd’s relatives, and told The Journal he expects to file a civil lawsuit in this case.
The second fatal shooting in Minneapolis took place Saturday morning. Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse, was recording the actions of federal agents in Minneapolis.
Pretti had been carrying a legally permitted 9mm handgun when he was killed. The DHS said he had “violently resisted” disarmament before agents fired “defensive shots.” A video analysis by The Journal suggests otherwise.
The next morning, Madel sat and recorded the video that would end his campaign.
It rattled him that no one mentioned the most polarizing issue in Minneapolis in the days after the fatal shooting of Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother, by veteran ICE agent Jonathan Ross.
In fact, Madel had been thinking a lot about the case that has gripped America. After all, he’s not just a candidate for governor.
He’s also the ICE agent’s lawyer.
“They didn’t ask one question about immigration, but they asked about abortion,” he said. “It’s like, what are your priorities here?”
Madel, a trial lawyer and first-time candidate, confided in his wife that he was thinking of ending his campaign. On a scale of one to 10, she asked how certain he was, and he said seven. By Friday night, he was at 10.
“I can’t look my daughters in the eye and say I’m running as a Republican, when they’re pulling over Hispanics and Asians because of the color of the skin and what they look like,” he told The Wall Street Journal. “I did not sign up for that.”
Federal authorities have defended their tactics. “Our operations are lawful. They’re targeted and they’re focused on individuals who pose a serious threat to this community,” Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino said last week at a news conference in Minnesota.
Madel (pronounced “MAD-dle”) is among an increasing number of conservatives juggling competing perspectives. He supports cracking down on illegal immigration but rejects the administration’s methods for doing so. He is among the first Republicans to say the second part out loud.
In a video statement posted Monday morning announcing the end of his campaign, Madel said he supported the goal of Operation Metro Surge to deport “the worst of the worst,” but that the mission had expanded too far past its stated focus on “true public safety threats.” He said he personally had heard from local law-enforcement officers of Hispanic and Asian descent who had been pulled over by ICE.
“United States citizens, particularly those of color, live in fear. United States citizens are carrying papers to prove their citizenship,” he said. “That’s wrong.”
In the 10-minute clip, Madel is wearing a red-and-blue striped tie and seated in his home office in front of a window looking out on a snowy landscape. The 59-year-old political newcomer thanked supporters for helping him quickly vault to the top of a crowded field and promised to pay back all campaign donations, which totaled $426,000 in December alone.
“I am above all else a pragmatist,” he said. “The reality is that the national Republicans have made it nearly impossible for a Republican to win a statewide election in Minnesota.”
Many Minnesota Republicans privately agree, according to Preya Samsundar, who runs communications for Republican strategy group K2 & Co. and previously worked on Trump’s behalf at the Republican National Committee. That holds particularly true for political candidates, she said, as they don’t want to risk antagonizing the president.
Samsundar says she is alarmed by the ICE campaign as an individual—her mother, who immigrated legally, has started carrying her passport to work—and as a professional who makes her living advising Republican campaigns. She said her social-media feed is full of conservative contacts lamenting the situation in Minneapolis.
A Republican can’t win statewide without some modicum of support in the Twin Cities. Former Gov. Tim Pawlenty, the last Republican to win statewide, relied on votes from moderates in Hennepin and Ramsey counties.
“As the days and weeks go by, you can’t brush this off anymore,” Samsundar said. “How much longer can you go on before you do enough damage that you can’t come back?”
When Madel jumped into the race on Dec. 1, against a field that includes the speaker of the house and the embattled founder of MyPillow, it was shaping up to be a referendum on two-term incumbent Gov. Tim Walz. Republicans were giddy about their chances to win their first statewide race since 2006 by taking advantage of Walz’s tack left in his failed vice-presidential bid and attacking his administration’s handling of a yearslong welfare-fraud scandal.
Madel positioned himself as the man of the moment, touting his 30-year career taking on corporate corruption. At the time, the safety-net scandal was receiving renewed national attention. In a campaign ad, former IRS and FBI agents described him as the best candidate to combat fraud.
Madel grew up in Waseca, Minn., a farming town of 9,000 people in the south-central part of the state, where his father was chair of the county Republican party. He moved to the Twin Cities to attend Macalester College, where his thesis on corporate stock prices ahead of public tender offers helped send him to Michigan Law.
After completing stints in corporate law and at the Justice Department, he took on high-profile fraud cases, including a multimillion-dollar kickback scheme within Best Buy and claims of illegal campaign contributions at the Fiesta Bowl football game.
Though Madel campaigned on his fraud record, many of his biggest cases were defenses of law enforcement.
In 2024, Madel represented Minnesota state trooper Ryan Londregan, who was accused of killing 33-year-old Ricky Cobb while in his vehicle and faced murder, assault and manslaughter charges. The charges were dropped later that year, a stunning victory for Madel that he referenced in debates, public appearances and an interview with The Journal.
On Sunday, Londregan affirmed his support for Madel in a text message, saying, “My family and I have the utmost respect for Chris’s integrity, courage and dedication to the law-enforcement community.”
Since Madel’s entry into the race, its contours have shifted dramatically. On Jan. 5, Walz announced he wouldn’t seek a third term, clearing the way for a stronger Democratic candidate. U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota has since filed paperwork necessary to enter the race.
That same week, citing the fraud cases, the Trump administration deployed thousands of federal agents to Minneapolis and greater Minnesota. On Jan. 7, Ross fatally shot Good.
Madel said he offered Ross counsel pro bono because of his belief in due process, criticizing what he felt was a rush to judgment. Soon after he took the case, he posted a picture of himself on X in a John Adams T-shirt, and an article about the nation’s second president defending British soldiers.
His decision sent shock waves through his law firm. One of his six attorneys resigned.
“The tactics that ICE has deployed in Minneapolis are contrary to public safety,” said Matt Pelikan, the partner who left and a Democrat who is running for Hennepin County attorney.
Madel has previously represented conservative Minnesota news outlet Alpha News against defamation claims and has contributed op-eds for the outlet, which last month livestreamed his campaign announcement. But he faced an uphill climb with the state’s MAGA wing. He has donated tens of thousands of dollars to Democrats, according to state and federal campaign records, including at least $5,000 to Walz. Action 4 Liberty, an influential group with the state’s far-right, has referred to him as “a big-time Democrat donor.”
Though Madel is representing Ross, the ICE agent isn’t facing charges or a civil suit. The attorney is helping him navigate the process of accessing legal representation from the Justice Department. The Good family’s lead lawyer represented George Floyd’s relatives, and told The Journal he expects to file a civil lawsuit in this case.
The second fatal shooting in Minneapolis took place Saturday morning. Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse, was recording the actions of federal agents in Minneapolis.
Pretti had been carrying a legally permitted 9mm handgun when he was killed. The DHS said he had “violently resisted” disarmament before agents fired “defensive shots.” A video analysis by The Journal suggests otherwise.
The next morning, Madel sat and recorded the video that would end his campaign.
