Major protests spread across US after Alex Pretti fatally shot by federal agents | Minneapolis
Massive protests spread across US cities including Minneapolis, New York City, Boston and Providence, Rhode Island, on Saturday after 37-year-old Alex Pretti, a registered nurse living in Minneapolis, was shot and killed by federal agents.
The wave of demonstrations came just a day after thousands of people marched through the streets of Minneapolis to protest US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Protesters once again braved extreme cold to speak out against the agency and show support for Pretti and others hurt by the influx of immigration agents who descended on the city last week.
The crowd was heard chanting “Fuck ICE, get ICE out” in live broadcasts From Saturday night’s show.
Thousands of people marched in Union Square in New York City. images demonstrators chanted “Say it once, say it twice, we won’t stand for ICE!” It shows him shouting.
New York city council member Chi Ossé addressed The crowd in freezing temperatures called for the abolition of ICE.
“We need Nuremberg trials for the people of ICE, for the people in our country who are committing crimes against humanity. I refuse to call them law enforcement. They are agents of chaos. They are destroying the fabric of our country,” Ossé shouted at the group in front of him.
Hundreds in Providence showed He protested in front of the local headquarters of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Some protesters shouted “Shut down, shut down, shut down,” while others held signs reading “No Bullies, No Kings” and “ICE is the worst of the worst.”
Crowds marching on the streets in Boston Demonstrators chanted slogans en masse: “One, two, three, four, no more ICE arrests! Five, six, seven, eight, end terrorism and hate!”
Pretti, a US citizen who worked in the intensive care unit of the Minneapolis VA Healthcare System, which serves veterans, was shot multiple times during an interview with law enforcement.
Viral video footage of the incident showing Pretti being tackled to the ground by law enforcement before he was shot. Pretti was captured coming to the defense of an observer who was pushed to the ground by a federal officer. The officer then sprayed Pretti with chemicals multiple times and then threw him into the street with other agents. At least one analyst recommended Some footage showed Pretti’s gun being taken away from him before the shooting.
DHS and its secretary, Kristi Noem, have repeatedly claimed that Pretti “approached U.S. border patrol officers with a 9mm semiautomatic pistol” and that “officers attempted to disarm him,” despite all video evidence showing that Pretti did not have a gun. Additionally, Minneapolis police Chief Brian O’Hara said Pretti was a legal gun owner with a permit to carry. Minnesota law allows citizens to obtain a permit to carry a handgun in public. The law does not require these weapons to be concealed.
