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| - The video was from January 2026 and did show a law enforcement official twice kicking a flameless memorial candle honoring Renee Good. The incident occurred in Sacramento, California.
The officer who kicked over the candle was a Federal Protective Service officer, not an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agent. The FPS is the subsidiary of the Department of Homeland Security responsible for protecting federal government facilities.
On Jan. 7, 2026, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis, sparking nationwide protests and inspiring numerous memorials and gatherings across the country.
A video that emerged online from one such event appeared to show a law enforcement official walking over words written on the ground honoring Good and twice kicking a flameless candle that was part of the makeshift memorial. The footage appeared on multiple platforms, racking up millions of views (archived).
The oldest version of the clip Snopes could find appeared on Bluesky on Jan. 8. The caption read: "Right after Renée Good's disgusting murder, a ICE goon was filmed kicking her memorial candles. Absolutely vile." Numerous other social media users, including former CNN anchor Don Lemon, also claimed the law enforcement official was an ICE agent.
(Bluesky user @victinibcn.bsky.social)
After the officer kicked over the plastic candle, a memorial attendant walked toward him shouting expletives. "What was that for?" the memorial attendant asked, gesturing toward the memorial on the ground. "I don't give a f***," the officer responded.
Snopes
Some social media users claimed the footage was generated using artificial intelligence tools (archived), while others discussed the possibility of the clip being recorded in Minnesota (archived, archived) — the state where Good was killed — which seemed unlikely given people in the video wore flip-flops and short-sleeve shirts, clothing unsuitable for a Minnesota winter. Another social media user claimed the officer was local police, not an ICE agent (archived).
Dozens of Snopes readers also searched our site for more information about the footage.
Analyzing the video
The officers in the footage wore uniforms featuring large yellow writing indicating they were police for the DHS — and, therefore, federal police, not local. Their uniforms did not suggest they were ICE agents (ICE is another subsidiary agency of the DHS).
The officer who kicked over the candle honoring Good had a badge reading "police" on his arm, sporting the official patch of the FPS, the law-enforcement subsidiary of the DHS responsible for protecting federal government facilities.
(Wikipedia Images and Bluesky user @victinibcn.bsky.social)
There were no signs the clip was created using AI or other video creation tools.
The background of the footage matched Google Street View imagery of the DHS office in Sacramento, California.
Multiple visual clues proving the video was recorded outside the Sacramento DHS office included the placement of the "No Public Parking" sign, the yellow post behind the individuals and the fencing in the background.
(Google Maps and Bluesky user @victinibcn.bsky.social)
Additionally, the Bluesky account for Placer County Democrats (a county adjacent to Sacramento) posted a photo of the memorial on Jan. 8. The caption, and matching imagery, suggested the video was recorded that night (archived):
ICE murdered Renee Good in cold blood today.
Tonight people were angry & sad, but the community came together in solidarity with our neighbors in Minnesota. People came out to the ICE facility in Sacramento to remember Renee Good & call for ICE to leave our towns & stop terrorizing our communities
The picture in the Placer County Democrats post included writing on the ground that matched the writing seen in the footage circulating online, as shown below.
(Bluesky users @placerdems.org and @victinibcn.bsky.social)
At the 0:40 timestamp of the Bluesky video, another memorial attendant walked past the camera holding a flag that resembled the one in the upper left corner of the Placer County Democrats' photograph. Text on the flag read: "F*** ICE."
The Placer County Democrats photo also featured several flameless plastic candles that were alight and upright. The Bluesky clip showed the candles had been knocked over, suggesting that the officer, or officers, may have done more damage to the memorial before the video started.
While it was not possible to confirm who filmed the clip, there was enough evidence to prove an FPS officer defaced the memorial for Good outside the DHS office in Sacramento.
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