Barack Obama makes rare political statement condemning Trump’s administration over Alex Pretti’s Minnesota shooting

Barack Obama made a rare political statement condemning the Donald Trump administration for the shooting deaths of two US citizens by immigration officers in Minnesota.

The former president wrote to X after Sunday’s latest horror: ‘The murder of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy.

‘The fact that many of our core values ​​as a nation are increasingly under attack should be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party.’

Obama placed the blame for Pretti’s death, as well as the shooting death of Renee Nicole Good in the same city, squarely on the shoulders of the ICE and Border Patrol officers involved and the Trump administration officials who defended them.

The Democratic politician said federal agents caused deaths using “shameful, unlawful and cruel tactics” that endangered US citizens.

He also criticized government officials for being ‘willing to escalate the situation while offering public statements that are not informed by any serious investigation into the shooting and directly contradict video evidence’.

Pretti, who was armed, was shot and killed during a scuffle with Border Patrol officers in Minneapolis on Saturday, while Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, was killed by ICE agents who opened fire on her car windshield on January 7.

Both victims are believed to have been protesting increasingly aggressive tactics used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to deport immigrants, and their deaths sparked an avalanche of rallies against the agency.

“The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy,” the former president wrote to X in the wake of Sunday’s horror, before placing blame squarely on the shoulders of ICE and Border Patrol agents as well as the Trump administration officials who defended them.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the agents acted in self-defense in both incidents, while President Trump blamed Good and Pretti for their own deaths, claiming they were “domestic terrorists.”

Obama’s statement brushes aside Trump officials’ claims and praises demonstrators who participated in “peaceful protests” across America despite violent crackdowns.

The 44th US President acknowledged that although federal law enforcement has a ‘tough job,’ they are expected to ‘carry out their duties in a lawful and accountable manner.’

‘This is not what we see in Minnesota,’ he wrote. ‘We’re actually seeing the opposite.’

Obama added that people are “rightfully outraged that masked ICE officers and other federal agents are operating with impunity and engaging in tactics that appear designed to intimidate, harass, provoke and endanger the residents of a major American city.”

The former president noted that these tactics even angered John Mitnick, the former top DHS attorney during the first Trump administration.

“This needs to stop,” Obama wrote.

This is also answered by Obama’s rare political statement, which condemns Trump officials like Kristi Noem and praises those participating in “peaceful protests” across America.

Alex Pretti was shot and killed by US immigration agents trying to detain him in Minneapolis.

Renee Nicole Good, 37, was shot and killed by ICE agent Jonathan ‘Jon’ Ross in Minneapolis.

‘I am hopeful that in the wake of this latest tragedy, administration officials will reconsider their approach and begin to find ways to work constructively with Governor Walz and Mayor Frey, as well as state and local police, to prevent further chaos.

‘In the meantime, every American should support and be inspired by the wave of peaceful protests in Minneapolis and other parts of the country.

‘These are a timely reminder that it is ultimately up to each of us as citizens to speak out against injustice, protect our fundamental freedoms, and hold our government accountable.’

Obama’s statement was published on the X account along with his wife, former First Lady Michelle Obama.

Pretti’s death occurred Saturday amid protests against a federal immigration crackdown.

The ICU nurse was armed with a loaded Sig Sauer P320 9mm pistol, which he was legally permitted to carry, when he allegedly tried to stop agents from arresting a woman before a scuffle broke out.

Footage of the incident shows Pretti filming the agents on his phone, then standing between an officer and a woman they pushed to the ground.

The agents responded by wrestling Pretti to the ground before an officer shot him multiple times. The name of the officer who opened fire was not disclosed.

Eyewitness video shows an agent removing a gun from Pretti just before the other agent shoots him. He does not appear to be holding the gun at any point.

Screenshot of the ordeal as enforcement officers descended on Pretti in an attempt to detain him during a federal immigration sting operation

Seventeen days earlier, ICE agent Jonathan ‘Jon’ Ross fatally shot Renee Nicole Good, a Minneapolis mother of three, in a tragic incident that was also caught on camera.

The video showed Good blocking ICE agents inside his car.

While he was heard talking to a masked agent from inside the vehicle, his wife, 40-year-old Rebecca Good, also pressured him to ‘show his face’.

As tensions increased, Good was told to get out of the car, but he ignored orders. He started the engine and took off as the Trump Administration said it was part of a protest against the planned detention of Somali immigrants in the area.

Ross’s camera then shook. It’s unclear whether the car hit him or he jumped out of the way.

The ICE agent fired three shots, including into the windshield of the Honda, which struck and killed Good.