They denounce the “repugnant lies” of federal authorities against Alex Pretti.
Michael and Susan Pretti, parents of nurse Alex Pretti, who was killed Saturday during a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation in Minneapolis, have criticized the “repugnant lies” of federal authorities regarding their son’s intentions when he was shot by an agent and emphasized that he “did not have a weapon in his hand” when the incident occurred.
“The repugnant lies that the Administration has told about our son are reprehensible and sickening. It is evident that Alex did not have a weapon in his hand when he was attacked by Trump’s murderous and cowardly ICE thugs,” they said in a statement posted on social media.
What he was holding in his right hand, and which can be seen in the videos of the incident, was his cell phone, the deceased’s parents explain. “He had his phone in his right hand and his left hand, empty, raised to try to protect the woman that ICE had just thrown to the ground, all while he was being pepper-sprayed,” Pretti’s parents recounted.
They therefore demand “to get to the truth” about what happened to their son, who “was a good man.” Susan and Michael Pretti say they are “heartbroken, but also very disgusted” by the death of the young man, “a kind soul who cared for his family and friends and also for U.S. military veterans as an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis Veterans Hospital.”
“Alex wanted to make the world a better place. Sadly, he won’t be with us to see the impact he had. I don’t use the word hero lightly. However, his last thought, his last action, was to protect a woman,” they emphasized. Following the family’s statement, U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche assured that “we have nothing but solidarity for the family,” but warned that “we will do everything necessary to protect the men and women of ICE.”
He also criticized Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, both Democrats, for their “misleading and appalling” remarks. “Nobody wants lives to be lost, but we are doing very important work under very difficult circumstances,” he asserted, before emphasizing that federal agents act “humanely” in these types of operations.
Pretti died Saturday when a Border Patrol agent shot him repeatedly while he was being apprehended during an ICE operation to arrest a foreign national in downtown Minneapolis. Federal authorities maintain that Pretti was carrying a weapon at the time of the incident and invoked the agents’ right to self-defense. However, Pretti had a valid gun license.
The actions of the agents, such as the death of Reneé Good on January 7, who was also shot, and the arrest of a five-year-old child, have sparked outrage among the state’s population. Municipal and state authorities have ordered the withdrawal of the additional federal forces and an end to the “occupation.”
