Barack Obama decried the killing of Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis, saying it exemplified Donald Trump’s ‘assault’ on American values. Trump blamed Democratic ‘chaos’ as calls for an investigation continue to grow.
The Trump administration faced intensifying pressure on Sunday, January 25, over its mass immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, after federal agents shot a second US citizen dead, with graphic cell phone footage once again contradicting officials’ immediate description of the incident.
Federal agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, early on Saturday, while scuffling with him on an icy roadway in the Midwestern city, less than three weeks after an immigration officer fired on Renee Good, also 37, killing her in her car.
President Donald Trump’s administration quickly claimed that Pretti had intended to harm the federal agents – as it did after Good’s death – pointing to a pistol it said was discovered on him. However, video shared widely on social media and verified by US media outlets showed Pretti never drew the weapon, with agents firing around 10 shots at him seconds after he was sprayed in the face with chemical irritant and thrown to the ground.
The video further inflamed ongoing protests in Minneapolis against the presence of federal agents, with around 1,000 people participating in a demonstration on Sunday. One person held a cardboard sign that read: “Be Pretti, be Good.”
Trump slams Minnesota Democratic officials
Trump provocatively attributed the deaths to Minnesota’s Democratic elected officials, including Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, writing on his Truth Social platform: “Democrat run Sanctuary Cities and States are REFUSING to cooperate with ICE.” “Tragically, two American Citizens have lost their lives as a result of this Democrat ensued chaos,” he added.
While administration officials have defended the officer who shot Pretti, Trump in a brief Sunday interview with the Wall Street Journal declined twice to say whether the officer had acted appropriately. “We’re looking, we’re reviewing everything and will come out with a determination,” the president told the paper
US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, speaking to NBC’s “Meet the Press,” also said an investigation was necessary to get a full understanding of the killing. Asked if agents had already removed the pistol from Pretti when they fired on him, Blanche said: “I do not know. And nobody else knows, either. That’s why we’re doing an investigation.”
When asked on Sunday what she would say to Pretti’s parents, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said: “Just that I’m grieved for them.” “I truly am. I can’t even imagine losing a child,” she told Fox News show The Sunday Briefing. She said more clarity would come as an investigation progresses.
‘Sickening lies’
After top officials described Pretti as an “assassin” who had assaulted the agents, Pretti’s parents issued a statement Saturday condemning the administration’s “sickening lies” about their son.
Barack and Michelle Obama, meanwhile, issued a forceful statement condemning the killing of Pretti by federal agents, saying it exemplified President Trump’s “assault” on American values. “The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault,” the former president and first lady said in a joint statement.
Hours later Bill Clinton delivered a fierce indictment of the current administration, saying peaceful protesters “have been arrested, beaten, teargassed, and most searingly, in the cases of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, shot and killed.” “All of this is unacceptable,” Clinton said in a statement as he urged Americans to “stand up, speak out.” “If we give our freedoms away after 250 years, we might never get them back.”
‘Joint’ probe
Their comments came after multiple senators from Trump’s Republican Party called for a thorough probe into the killing, and for cooperation with local authorities. “There must be a full joint federal and state investigation,” Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana said. The Trump administration controversially excluded local investigators from a probe into Good’s killing.
Minnesota’s Democratic Governor Tim Walz posed a question directly to the president during a press briefing Sunday, asking: “What’s the plan, Donald Trump?” “What do we need to do to get these federal agents out of our state?”
On Sunday, business leaders from 60 corporations headquartered in Minnesota – including retailer Target, food giant General Mills and several professional sports franchises – signed an open letter “calling for an immediate de-escalation of tensions and for state, local and federal officials to work together to find real solutions.”
Court order
Thousands of federal immigration agents have been deployed to heavily Democratic Minneapolis for weeks, after conservative media reported on alleged fraud by Somali immigrants. Trump has repeatedly amplified the racially-tinged accusations, including on Sunday when he posted on his Truth Social platform: “Minnesota is a Criminal COVER UP of the massive Financial Fraud that has gone on!”
The city, known for its bitterly cold winters, has one of the country’s highest concentrations of Somali immigrants. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison pushed back against Trump’s claim, telling reporters “it’s not about fraud, because if he sent people who understand forensic accounting, we’d be having a different conversation. But he’s sending armed masked men.”
Since “Operation Metro Surge” began, many residents have carried whistles to notify others of the presence of immigration agents, while sometimes violent skirmishes have broken out between the officers and protesters. Local authorities have sued the federal government seeking a court order to suspend the operation, with a first hearing set for Monday.
Recent polling has shown voters increasingly upset with Trump’s domestic immigration operations, as videos of masked agents seizing people off sidewalks – including children – and dramatic stories of US citizens being detained proliferate.
