ICE Killing of Nurse Reveals True Purpose of Trump’s Immigration Enforcement
On January 24, 2026, federal Border Patrol agents executed Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse, in broad daylight in Minneapolis. Pretti, a legal gun owner with no criminal record, was attending a protest against ICE enforcement and attempting to document federal agents’ actions when he was attacked, pepper-sprayed, tackled to the ground by multiple agents, and shot multiple times in the back. Video evidence from multiple angles, analyzed by Reuters, the BBC, Wall Street Journal, and Associated Press, contradicts every claim made by federal officials. This was not self-defense. This was an extrajudicial killing. It was state murder.
Kazmierczak’s Hate Speech Exposed –> Anthony Kazmierczak
The Official Lies and the Video Evidence
The Department of Homeland Security claimed that Pretti “violently resisted” attempts to disarm him and that agents fired in self-defense. Trump’s Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller characterized Pretti as “a would-be assassin” attempting “maximum damage.” Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino stated that Pretti was responsible for a “preventable tragedy” because local officials had “vilified” agents. These narratives crumble when confronted with video evidence. Bystander footage verified by major news organizations shows Pretti holding a cell phone to film the scene, not a weapon. When federal agents pushed women to the ground, Pretti moved to help them. An agent pepper-sprayed Pretti. He did not “violently resist”he moved to shield himself from chemical weapons. Multiple agents then surrounded him and forced him to the ground.
The Murder Captured on Video
The most damning evidence emerges in the final seconds. Video shows one federal agent removing a gun from Pretti’s waistapparently Pretti’s legally-owned firearmand stepping away with it. This is crucial: it means Pretti was disarmed before he was shot. Immediately thereafter, an officer points a handgun at Pretti’s back and fires four shots in rapid succession. A second agent then fires additional shots. Pretti was shot in the backmultiple timeswhile pinned to the ground by federal agents who had already disarmed him. This is not a gray area. This is cold-blooded murder.
The Broader Killing Spree
Pretti’s murder is not an isolated incident. It is one of at least nine shootings conducted by ICE and Border Patrol agents since September 2025. According to Al Jazeera’s investigation, at least 12 people have been shot by DHS immigration officers during the Trump administration’s crackdown. Four people have been killed. Beyond lethal shootings, at least six immigrants have died in ICE custody in 2026 alone, with 32 deaths reported in ICE custody in 2025. Families report abuse, medical neglect, and conditions suggesting deliberate harm. This is not enforcement. This is a campaign of terror.
The Precedent: Renee Good
Seventeen days before Pretti’s murder, ICE agent Jonathan Ross killed Renee Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen, by shooting her three times as her car passed him during an immigration enforcement operation. Trump claimed Good had “viciously run over” Ross, but video evidence contradicted this lie. Good briefly reversed her car, then moved forward. She posed no threat. Ross shot her for the crime of briefly moving her vehicle in a direction he did not approve of. Two Americans, both 37 years old, both killed by federal agents in the same city within weeks, both killings preceded by official lies that video evidence immediately contradicted. This is a pattern.
The Ideological Purpose of Murder
To understand the killings of Pretti and Good, one must understand that Operation Metro Surge is not aimed at immigration enforcement. It is aimed at political suppression. Trump announced this explicitly when he declared “THE DAY OF RETRIBUTION AND RECKONING IS COMING” to Minnesotaa state that rejected him in three consecutive presidential elections. He froze childcare payments citing fraudulent allegations targeting Somali immigrants. He attacked the Somali community by name, deploying dehumanizing language that mirrors historical genocide rhetoric. The federal occupation of Minneapolis is a campaign of political terror designed to punish a Democratic city for opposing the Trump administration. Al Jazeera’s analysis documents how Trump’s assault on Minnesota escalated following his electoral losses in the state, combining rhetoric about Somali criminality with actual federal violence. Pretti died not because he violated immigration lawhe was a U.S. citizenbut because he stood in the way of this political terror campaign.
The Fascist Logic
This is fascism: the state uses violence against civilians to intimidate political opposition. The state lies about the violence. The state media apparatus amplifies the lies. Official investigations are blocked to prevent accountability. Trump refused to allow state and local investigators to examine the shootings. The FBI revoked Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension access to the investigation into Renee Good’s killing, preventing local oversight. This is the logic of authoritarian rulethe federal state monopolizes violence and immunity from prosecution.
The Absence of Justice
As of late January 2026, neither Jonathan Ross (who killed Renee Good) nor the Border Patrol agent who killed Pretti has been arrested or charged with a crime. Trump has called for investigations into Omar’s finances but not into the murder of U.S. citizens by federal agents. Rep. Robin Kelly introduced articles of impeachment against DHS Secretary Kristi Noem for obstruction of congressional oversight, refusal to provide due process, and abuse of power. But impeachment requires Republican votes. The Republican-controlled House will not hold Trump’s administration accountable for murder. This is the crisis of liberal democracy under fascism: the institutions designed to provide justice have been captured by the perpetrators.
Resistance in Grief
Despite this absence of formal justice, Minneapolis residents and activists have responded with resistance. Thousands attended candlelight vigils. An online fundraiser for Pretti’s family reached $1 million. The NBA postponed a Timberwolves game to honor Pretti’s death. Residents organize daily at the site where he was murdered. On social media, people wear “ICE OUT” pins and declare “Resisting ICE is not a crime.” This grassroots resistance cannot secure legal accountability, but it can preserve truth. It can refuse to normalize state murder. It can build the power necessary for future justice.
The Precondition for Revolution
History teaches that moments of state violence against ordinary peopleespecially violence captured on video and contradicting official narrativesbecome flashpoints for systemic change. Pretti’s death, combined with Good’s, has radicalized thousands in Minneapolis and nationally. It has exposed the true nature of Trump’s immigration agenda: not enforcement of law, but deployment of state terror. It has demonstrated that the federal government will murder U.S. citizens to suppress political opposition. This knowledge, painful as it is, is the precondition for revolution. In the coming months and years, the question will be whether the resistance building in Minneapolis can spread nationally and force systemic change. The killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good will either be forgotten, or they will be remembered as the moment America chose fascism or democracy. The choice is ours.
