By Esra Tekin
ISTANBUL (AA) - The US Justice Department announced Tuesday that it does not currently see any basis to open a criminal civil rights investigation into the killing of a Minneapolis woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent,
"There is currently no basis for a criminal civil rights investigation," said US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in a statement, without elaborating on how the department had reached its conclusion.
On Jan. 7, ICE agents shot mother-of-three Renee Nicole Good while in her car, sparking nationwide protests. Trump administration officials have said the shooting was a defensive action -- a claim rejected by local authorities and eyewitnesses.
The Department of Justice is instead planning to focus on investigating Good’s widow, according to outlets such as The New York Times and NBC News. In response, Joe Thompson, the acting US attorney for Minnesota, and several other federal prosecutors reportedly resigned in protest.
Department of Justice spokespeople didn’t immediately answer requests for comment on whether Good’s widow would face charges.