By MELISSA GOLDIN

Misrepresented and fabricated images spread widely on social media in the aftermath of the fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman, Renee Good, by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer on Wednesday.

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Soon after the shooting, photos emerged erroneously identified as showing the victim, a 37-year-old mother of three. Others were fabricated to falsely show the face of the officer involved or were misrepresented to say he had a Nazi tattoo. And an old video of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was said to show him speaking about the incident.

Here’s a closer look at the facts.

Images said to show the officer likely AI

CLAIM: Images show the ICE officer who shot Good without a mask at the scene of the shooting.

THE FACTS: This is false. The images were fabricated. They appear to be screenshots from a video of the shooting, as the background matches the location where it took place. But that footage never shows the officer without a mask.

Hany Farid, a digital forensics and misinformation expert at the University of California, Berkeley, said that the images appear to have been generated by AI and that they are unlikely to reflect what the officer looks like.

“We have previously studied the application of AI to ‘enhance’ facial images,” he said. “Under considerably more favorable conditions than in this example of the masked ICE agent, AI enhancement/reconstruction is not consistently reliable.”

He continued: “In this situation where half of the face is obscured, AI (or any other technique) is not, in my opinion, able to accurately reconstruct the facial identity.”

Victim falsely identified in photos

CLAIM: Two photos of a blond woman with a small child show Good.

THE FACTS: False. The photos are of Renee Paquette, a former WWE wrestler, and her daughter.

One photo shows Paquette kneeling on the ground while her daughter hugs her. She posted it to Instagram on International Women’s Day in 2023, writing that “raising a strong, independent, free thinking, confident woman is my main objective.” The other photo shows Paquette kissing her daughter’s cheek as her daughter sticks out her tongue. It was posted in 2024, on her daughter’s third birthday.

Paquette commented on one of the posts misrepresenting her photos: “Wrong Renée. My condolences to her family.”

___

CLAIM: A photo of a woman with short, pale pink hair wearing a green sweater shows Good.

THE FACTS: False. The woman in the photo is not Good, it is Gabriela Szczepankiewicz. Photos of both women appeared in a 2020 Facebook post from Old Dominion University announcing the winners of a poetry prize.

Szczepankiewicz earned an honorable mention in the undergraduate category for that year’s Academy of American Poets Prize. Her photo, which is captioned with her name, is the first to appear in the Facebook post.

Good — who is identified as Renee Macklin in her photo — won the undergraduate category. Her photo appears third.

Photo of man with tattoo is not the officer involved in the shooting

CLAIM: An image of a man with a Nazi tattoo on his neck shows the ICE officer who shot Good.

THE FACTS: False. The image, which comes from a video posted to Instagram on Jan. 5 — two days before the shooting — is of a different man. Video of the shooting shows that the ICE officer involved does not have a tattoo in the same place as the man in the image spreading online.

In the Instagram video, a man behind the camera confronts the man with the tattoo outside of a restaurant on Lyndale Avenue South in Minneapolis. The tattoo is visible in the first few seconds of the video. It consists of two black lightning bolts that resemble the SS bolts symbol, which was used by the Nazi guard, and appears on the right side of the man’s neck, directly behind his earlobe.

The tattooed man says he “had this done years ago” and that he “ain’t had no time to change it” as he walks away.

In footage from the shooting, the ICE officer who shot Good is seen walking down the street about one minute in with a mask covering the bottom half of his face. He does not have a tattoo behind his right earlobe. In addition, his earlobe is shaped differently than that of the man in the Instagram video.

Video does not show Florida governor discussing the shooting

CLAIM: A video shows Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis defending Good.

THE FACTS: False. The video is from an interview DeSantis did in June on “The Rubin Report,” an online political talk show, amid protests that month over President Donald Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops and Marines to Los Angeles.

“And we also have a policy that if you’re driving on one of those streets and a mob comes and surrounds your vehicle and threatens you, you have a right to flee for your safety,” DeSantis, a Republican, says in the clip spreading online. “And so if you drive off and you hit one of these people, that’s their fault for impinging on you. You don’t have to sit there and just be a sitting duck and let the mob grab you out of your car and drag you through the streets. You have a right to defend yourself in Florida.”

DeSantis was not referring to Good. He was answering a question about Florida’s policies on protests that block roads.

Find AP Fact Checks here: https://apnews.com/APFactCheck.

By JONATHAN MATTISE

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Austin Peay State University has reinstated a professor who was fired for his social media post after the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The Tennessee school is also paying the teacher $500,000 in the settlement.

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Austin Peay spokesperson Brian Dunn said Darren Michael returned to his position as a tenured faculty member at the public university in Clarksville effective Dec. 30. A copy of the settlement agreement obtained through a public records request includes a $500,000 payment and reimbursement of counseling, as reported earlier this week by WKRN-TV.

Tennessee’s governor, attorney general and comptroller signed a document authorizing the settlement payment.

Michael, a theater and dance professor, was among people who reported facing a conservative backlash and punishment at work for their online posts about Kirk’s fatal shooting in September. He was later moved to a suspension status.

In a Dec. 30 email to the university community, Austin Peay President Mike Licari said the school did not follow the required tenure termination process. The communication was another requirement under the settlement.

Licari added, “I deeply regret and apologize for the impact this has had on Professor Michael and on our campus community. I am committed to ensuring that due process and fairness are upheld in all future actions.”

Two days after Kirk’s killing, Republican U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee circulated a screenshot indicating Michael on Sept. 10 had posted the headline of a 2023 news article reading, “Charlie Kirk Says Gun Deaths ‘Unfortunately’ Worth it to Keep 2nd Amendment.” Blackburn, who is also a candidate for governor, included a photograph and biography of Michael. She wrote, “What do you say, Austin Peay State University?” and tagged the university’s account.

Blackburn’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the settlement.

David L. King, Michael’s attorney, said the professor said “nothing that was threatening or otherwise offensive.” King decried the pressure applied by “outside forces” and said the ordeal “caused a great deal of harm” to Michael and his daughter.

By JOE REEDY

MEDINA, Ohio (AP) — The four suspects involved in the burglary of Shedeur Sanders’ home on Nov. 16 are from Atlanta and used a stolen rental car in the break-in, authorities said Thursday.

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The Medina County Sheriff’s Office also said during a briefing that the group had robbed others, including professional athletes.

Jarvet Myrick, Deandrez Jackson and Maurice Exavier Taylor are in custody after being arrested in Georgia and are awaiting extradition to Northeast Ohio. Carlos DeAnthony Morris remains at large and has an active warrant.

Detective Rodney Rees said that the suspects stole the rental car in the Atlanta area, drove to Ohio and stayed at a hotel in Medina Township the night before the burglary took place.

The suspects then robbed a house in the Atlanta suburb of Brookhaven upon returning to Georgia on Nov. 17, Rees said.

Myrick, the alleged driver, was arrested on Nov. 26. Jackson was arrested Dec. 16 and Taylor on Dec. 29. All three are facing second-degree felony burglary charges. All three were also arrested with guns. Jackson had warrants from when he was a juvenile and Taylor also had outstanding warrants. Myrick also was in possession of marijuana when he was arrested.

“They’re violent. They’re part of two burglaries we know of and possibly a third one where they were seen running away with guns in their hands,” Rees said. “They target high-end individuals who have a lot of money, and they go to their houses, they break in, and they take anything of value, and they go and sell it.”

It wasn’t immediately clear who would represent the suspects when they get to Ohio.

Sanders’ home in Granger Township, a Cleveland suburb, was burglarized while he was playing in his first regular-season NFL game during the second half of the Browns’ 23-16 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Approximately $200,000 in property was stolen from the home, which included totes, luxury bags and a ring.

Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders speaks at a news conference after an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

The sheriff’s office previously stated that three people entered the home at 6:46 p.m. ET. Surveillance cameras in the home captured video of the people entering different parts of the house. They were wearing masks and gloves and were seen leaving the home just before 7 p.m.

Rees said they haven’t been able to recover the stolen items.

Investigators were able to use the security cameras at Sanders’ home and a neighbors as well as the Flock camera system, which can read license plate numbers, to identify the suspects and the stolen rental car as well as the camera at a Red Roof Inn, where the suspects stayed on Nov. 15.

The burglary added Sanders to a growing list of NFL players whose homes have been burglarized during games. Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, Kansas City Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, and New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan have dealt with break-ins since the start of last season.

“Unfortunately, right now, they’re just targets. They’re taking advantage of them being some type of stature in the community and they’re hitting them when they’re away from home and they know they’re away from home,” Rees said.

Rees said authorities believe there is a ringleader who leads people to the high-profile athletes, but that has not been proven yet. He said the cases involving other professional athletes the suspects are accused of burglarizing were not made public yet.

Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons’ home was also burglarized last month while the team had a road game against San Francisco, but Rees said no one from this group is suspected.

Sanders, the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, played in eight games during his rookie NFL season. The fifth-round pick started the Browns’ final seven games and passed for 1,400 yards with seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

“Preservation should absolutely preserve the buildings that enrich our communities, but not at the expense of the very institutions that made our communities what they are. Much as we would like to save both, this is not the case for West-Park.”

West Park Presbyterian Church at 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue. (Courtesy of Roger Leaf)

Presenting the case for a hardship at the Dec. 9 historic Landmarks Preservation Commission hearing on behalf of the West-Park Presbyterian Church felt like I had stepped into the twilight zone. What unfolded was not a sober evaluation of facts, law or safety, but a stunning display of selective memory, and offensive misstatements about a building that should never have been landmarked. 

A decade ago, LPC landmarked the West-Park Presbyterian Church at 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue over the congregation’s clear and urgent objections. At the time, the structure was empty, without heat or running water, and had been surrounded by a sidewalk shed for over 10 years. The church had almost no resources to maintain the building, and it warned that landmarking would only accelerate both the building’s and the congregation’s decline.  

The Commission landmarked the building due largely to Councilmember Gale Brewer’s emotional promises, much like those she made on Dec. 9, about the funding she could raise to pay for restoration. She and others again insisted that money would be raised, that grants would be secured, and that the congregation would not be left alone to shoulder the immense financial weight of restoration. Ten years ago, the Commission believed them. They shouldn’t make the same mistake twice.

As soon as the building was landmarked in 2010, Gale Brewer’s support vanished, and the congregation was forced to dedicate all its resources to repairs instead of the ministry and social outreach for which it has been so widely praised. Not surprisingly, as the pressures of building maintenance grew, the membership rapidly declined. Its loss of pastoral leadership in 2017 was the final nail in the coffin. 

We heard repeatedly at the LPC hearing that the condition of the building was a calculated strategy of “demolition by neglect” by a greedy congregation, and the loudest voices came from the Center at West Park. This is the height of chutzpah, given that the Center at West Park was tasked with maintaining the building for the past eight years in return for a pittance in rent but never spent a dime on restoration.  

If a hardship is granted by LPC, it allows the church to sell the building to a new owner, who would demolish it and build a new property with space for worship and community activities. It would also fund social justice initiatives through the five boroughs through a decided fund created by The Presbytery of NYC. 

Granting this hardship is the only path forward for the survival of one the oldest faith communities on the Upper West Side. It would provide safe, accessible space for worship, funding for a pastor, and an unprecedented $30 million to endow a social justice fund to carry on its mission in struggling communities across the City. If the hardship is not granted, West-Park will almost certainly close its doors forever. 

The not-for-profit provisions of the landmarks law are meant to prevent a taking when the burden of landmark designation has deprived the owner of the value of the property for the continuance of its mission. Such a condition could not be clearer in the case of West-Park. In 2021, an independent appraisal valued the building at $49 million if it were not landmarked. Today, there is no question that the value of the building as a landmark is a tiny fraction of that amount. 

The landmarks law is clear—a hardship shall be granted to a non-profit if the building is no longer suitable or appropriate to which the owner is devoted. The church—the owner—is facing millions of dollars in repairs to the building that it can’t possibly afford. Without relief from the weight of the building, West-Park will be driven into bankruptcy. 

The Center at West-Park is not a party to this hardship application. It is neither the owner nor a tenant, and has no connection to the church despite its wildly inappropriate name. But it was given an unprecedented opportunity last month to make a case for forcing the church to simply hand them the keys to the building—all to preserve the views from the apartments of six of its board members. 

Preservation should absolutely preserve the buildings that enrich our communities, but not at the expense of the very institutions that made our communities what they are. Much as we would like to save both, this is not the case for West-Park. This application should be granted.  

Roger Leaf is chair of the West-Park Administrative Commission. He has served as trustee for First Presbyterian Church in the City of New York for the past 20 years. He previously served as a board member, chair of audit, budget and finance committees for the Presbytery of NYC.   

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