Large protests spread across US cities on Saturday – including Minneapolis, New York City, San Francisco, Boston and Providence, Rhode Island – after 37-year-old Alex Pretti, a registered nurse living in Minneapolis, was shot dead by federal agents.
The wave of demonstrations come just one day after thousands marched through the streets of Minneapolis to protest against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Protesters again braved the extreme cold to speak out against the agency and show support for Pretti and others who have been harmed by the surge of immigration agents who have flooded the city in recent week.
“Fuck ICE, ICE out,” a crowd could be heard shouting in livestreams of the demonstration on Saturday night.
Thousands more rallied in Union Square in New York City, with footage showing demonstrators shouting: “Say it once, say it twice, we will not put up with ICE!”
New York city council member Chi Ossé addressed the crowd in freezing temperatures to call for the abolishment of ICE.
“We need Nuremberg trials for the people of ICE, for the people who are committing crimes against humanity here in our country. I refuse to call them law enforcement. They are agents of chaos. They are destroying the fabric of our country,” Ossé shouted to the group before him.
In Washington DC, a giant crowd formed outside the headquarters of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Video footage captured cries of “shame” ringing out through the cold air on Saturday night as hundreds of people gathered in the dark.
Across the country in San Francisco, hundreds of people gathered in the city’s downtown as the sun began to set. Footage on social media showed large crowds holding signs and chanting slogans such as “stand up fight back”. Protesters held aloft banners admonishing ICE and demanding justice for Renee Good, another Minneapolis resident who was shot and killed by an immigration officer earlier this month.
In Providence, hundreds showed up to protest in front of the local headquarters of DHS.
“Shut it down, shut it down, shut it down,” some protesters screamed, while others held signs reading “No Tyrants & No Kings” and “ICE is the worst of the worst”.
Marching the streets in Boston, droves of demonstrators chanted en masse: “One, two, three, four, ICE detention no more! Five, six, seven, eight, end the terror and the hate!”
Pretti, a US citizen who worked in the intensive care unit at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System, which serves veterans, was shot multiple times during an exchange with law enforcement officers.
Viral video footage of the incident showrf Pretti being wrestled to the ground by the law enforcement officers before he was shot. Pretti was apprehended after appearing to come to the defense of an observer who was shoved to the ground by a federal officer. That officer then sprayed Pretti with a chemical agent, repeatedly, before tackling him to the street along with other agents. At least one analyst suggested that some footage showed Pretti had a gun taken away from him before the shots were fired.
The DHS and its secretary, Kristi Noem, have repeatedly asserted that Pretti “approached US border patrol officers with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun” and that “officers attempted to disarm” him, despite all available video evidence showing Pretti without a gun in his hand. Additionally, Brian O’Hara, the Minneapolis police chief, said Pretti was a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry. Minnesota law allows citizens to obtain permits to carry handguns in public. The law does not require the concealment of those weapons.
Back in Minneapolis, protesters converged at the scene of Pretti’s shooting despite dangerously cold weather.
As dark fell, hundreds of people gathered quietly by a growing memorial at the spot where the nurse was killed. Some carried signs saying “Justice for Alex Pretti”. Others chanted Pretti’s and Good’s names. A doughnut shop and a clothing store nearby stayed open, offering protesters a warm place as well as water, coffee and snacks.
Caleb Spike said he came from a nearby suburb to show his support and his frustration. “It feels like every day something crazier happens,” he said. “What’s happening in our community is wrong, it’s sickening, it’s disgusting.”
Agencies contributed reporting
