Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman responded to backlash after donating $10,000 to an online fundraiser supporting a US immigration officer who fatally shot a Minnesota woman earlier this month.Ackman confirmed on X that he contributed to a GoFundMe campaign created to help cover any future legal costs for ICE agent Jonathan Ross. Ross is involved in the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis in “self-defence.”
The fundraiser had raised more than $660,000 by Wednesday from over 8,000 donors. Ackman’s contribution was one of the largest donations.Good was a mother of three, and her death was captured on video by bystanders. The murder resulted in lots of protests and condemnation from Democrats and progressive leaders. Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey, governor Tim Walz called for federal immigration agents to leave the city and the state. However, Ross has not been charged. The Department of Justice (DOJ) has not announced whether it will pursue charges. White House officials and top Trump aides have defended Ross’s case. Ackman’s net worth is estimated around $9.3 billion by Forbes. He said the backlash to his donation was unnecessary and that he was misinterpreted. In a lengthy post on X, he wrote: “My donation to Ross has been characterized in social media by the press as my ‘giving a reward to the murderer of Renee Good’ likely in an effort to generate clicks and boost virality, and by some to advance their political objectives.”He added that he was only providing fees for a fair trial for the ICE agent: “My purpose in supporting Ross and attempting to support Good was not to make a political statement. I was simply continuing my longstanding commitment to assisting those accused of crimes of providing for their defense.”Ackman said he had also attempted to donate to a fundraiser for Good’s family, but was unable to do so because it had already reached its $1.5 million target.Ackman took an example from his own life experience and said he was falsely accused two decades ago. He said: “23 years ago almost to the day, I was accused of a crime that I did not commit.”He said that experience later led him to support the Innocence Project, an organisation that works to exonerate wrongfully convicted prisoners. “As a result of all of the above, I am a fierce advocate for the American legal principle that one is presumed innocent until proven guilty by a judge or by a jury of one’s peers,” he said.Ackman agreed to the fact that he did little research before donating to Ross’s fundraiser. “When the tragic Ross/Good case blew up on X, I did not do any due diligence on the case other than quickly reviewing the handful of videos that were circulating online,” he said.GoFundMe said it is reviewing all fundraisers connected to the shooting. The company said that its terms prohibit raising money for the legal defence of anyone formally charged with a violent crime and said funds would remain held during the review process.Despite the row, Ackman defended his decision to donate publicly rather than anonymously. “One day you may find yourself accused of a crime you did not commit without the financial resources needed to defend yourself,” he said. He added: “You and your family will pray that someone will be open to believing you are innocent and will be willing to help you pay for your defense.”Ackman then replied to his own post and confirmed that the ICE agent is yet to be charged: “And to be clear, Ross has only been convicted by some in the world of public opinion. He has not been charged with a crime.”
