United States Border Patrol agents shot and killed 37-year-old intensive care nurse Alex Pretti in Minnesota’s capital Minneapolis, on January 24. The shooting took place just 24 hours after mass protests and strikes were held across the state against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) attacks and 17 days after Renee Good was shot by ICE agent Jonathan Ross at a protest on January 7.
Videos show Pretti coming to the aid of a woman protester tackled by ICE and BP agents. He was then attacked by agents, thrown to the ground, pummeled and shot in the back.
ICE officials alleged afterwards that Pretti “brandished” a gun and was shot by agents in “self-defense”.
Bystander videos recorded 10 shots being fired. While Pretti was reportedly legally carrying a gun on his person, according to footage, prior to the shooting, he had a mobile phone in one hand and his other hand was empty.
Despite sub-zero temperatures, hundreds of protesters gathered at the scene. Federal agents used tear gas and flash-bang grenades to disperse the crowd. According to media reports, the scene was described by some observers as a “war zone”.
Pretti’s killing sparked renewed conflict between local officials and the federal government, as well as clashes between protesters and ICE/Border Patrol thugs.
Democratic state governor Tim Walz demanded a state-led investigation into Pretti’s death, saying the federal government could not be trusted to investigate itself. Walz also called on the Trump administration to immediately pull all ICE agents out of Minnesota.
Backlash
Stephen Miller, a senior White House official and well-known white supremacist, declared after Pretti’s murder that he was a “domestic terrorist”. He also called Good a “domestic terrorist” following her death.
President Donald Trump initially blamed the city and state local leaderships for "inciting insurrection" and defended the agents as "patriots".
However, in response to public backlash and pressure from within his own party, Trump announced a tactical shift in his mass deportation operations, removed Border Patrol commander, Greg Bovino from his job, and sent in his “border czar” Tom Homan to assume command of the federal deployment, according to The Atlantic.
Meanwhile, a major ICE operation has been launched in Maine, where a sizable Somali community lives and Democratic congressperson Ilhan Omar — who has a Somali background — was assaulted at a town hall meeting in Minneapolis on January 27, as she called for ICE to be abolished.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has launched an investigation into Pretti’s death — after saying the agents were innocent — and has denied state investigators access to collected evidence, including his mobile phone.
Tensions continue to rise across the state and country as Trump’s authoritarian regime violates the rights of millions of residents as well as US citizens. They are mainly Black and Brown, but whites who speak out are also under threat, as Minneapolis shows.
Trump is using a force of federal armed agents — without identification and fully masked — to carry out his policies across the country. State rights and citizens’ basic rights are being trampled.
Mass action, statewide strikes
Mass, peaceful, nonviolent actions and a one-day strike took place on January 23, in the wake of Good’s death and against the federal ICE/Border Patrol attacks. More than 50,000 people marched and rallied in Minneapolis. Smaller demonstrations and walkouts took place in solidarity in more than 100 cities across the country.
The “no work, no school, no shopping” day of protest was kicked off by community and church leaders and trade unions.
The Day of Truth and Freedom protest demanded: that ICE leave Minnesota, that the ICE officer who killed Good be held accountable, an end to additional federal funding for ICE, and for the agency to be investigated for human rights and constitutional violations.
Hundreds of local businesses across the state were closed in solidarity. Thousands of people stayed home from work to join the action, while others participated by not shopping.
The Minneapolis city council endorsed the day of action and general strike and art centres and museums closed for the day.
Protesters braved freezing conditions (minus 20⁰C with wind chills) and the day of action culminated in an afternoon march in downtown Minneapolis, which ended with a rally inside a sporting arena.
According to video footage posted by Faith in Minnesota, about 100 members of the clergy were arrested by police during an action at the Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport protesting airlines such as Delta and Signature Aviation, which are regularly used to deport people detained by ICE agents.
‘Racial profiling’
Ahead of the January 23 day of action, Chelsie Glaubitz Gabiou, president of the Minnesota Regional Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, told the Guardian that while Trump officials claim that ICE is targeting undocumented immigrants with criminal records, “There is no rhyme or reason besides racial profiling for how people are being picked up in this community.”
Recently, federal prosecutors opened an investigation into Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey over an alleged conspiracy to impede immigration agents.
According to Reuters, during a visit to Minneapolis on January 22, Vice President JD Vance said "’far-left agitators’ and uncooperative local officials are to blame for chaos on the streets”. He also repeated the lie that Good had “rammed an ICE officer with her car".
Thousands of Minnesota residents, including many who do not identify as activists, have protested the federal government’s actions in the weeks since DHS sent agents into Minnesota.
There are reports that federal agents have detained US citizens, pulled people from their cars, appeared to stop people based only on race or the language they speak, and used chemical irritants on people demonstrating against or monitoring their work.
Time to ‘stand up’ is now
As reported in the Washington Post, JaNaé Bates Imari, auxiliary minister at Camphor Memorial United Methodist Church in St Paul, told a media conference on January 13: “We cannot allow this to continue.”
“If you ever wondered for yourself, ‘When is the time that we do something different, when is the time that we stand up?’ … The time is now.”
DHS claim to have made 3000 arrests in Minnesota over the past six weeks. Trump put 1500 soldiers on standby for possible deployment to the state, in addition to the 3000 immigration officers dispatched to the state.
Nationwide, immigrants with no criminal records continue to make up the largest group in US immigration detention, which is at record levels.
A New York Times/Siena poll released on January 23 found that 61% of registered voters said ICE’s tactics had “gone too far”. The only exceptions were from registered Republicans, the core of Trump’s base. They responded with 80% saying ICE’s tactics were “About right” (56%) or “Not enough” (24%).
A Wall Street Journal poll published on January 17 found that 54% think deploying ICE to US cities had “gone too far” and 52% of voters disapproved of how Trump is handling immigration.
The polls took place following Good’s death and before Pretti was killed.
Americans are tired of being gas lit by the Trump government. The state terror is not working. Even a New York Times editorial on January 25 said the “lying” must stop and called on Congress to act.
As Trump’s authoritarian regime shows its true colours, more people are hitting the streets and demanding accountability.