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In our lifetime, we face only a few moments where the decisions we make and the actions we take will shape our history for years to come. This is one of them. If we give up our freedoms after 250 years, we may never get them back...
Former President Bill Clinton has issued a statement following the killing of a US citizen by immigration agents in Minneapolis over the weekend.
Anger in Minnesota has reached new heights following the death of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse, who was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer on Saturday.
As happened after the killing of Renée Nicole Good, another 37-year-old American citizen, on January 7, the Trump administration has attempted to characterize the killing as an act of self-defense, claiming that Pretti attacked officers while carrying a firearm.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Pretti "arrived at the scene to inflict maximum harm on individuals and kill law enforcement."
Footage of the Minneapolis shooting shows several officers forcing Prett to the ground, after which one officer pulls a handgun from Prett's waistband and walks away from the fight. About a second later, the first shot is heard. Prett, a licensed gun owner, does not appear to be holding a gun in the footage.
Clinton's full statement
In X, Clinton posted a statement on Sunday saying: "In recent weeks, we have seen horrific scenes unfold in Minneapolis and other communities that I never thought would happen in America. People, including children, have been snatched from their homes, workplaces, and streets by masked federal agents. Peaceful protesters and citizens exercising their constitutional right to observe and document law enforcement have been arrested, beaten, tear gassed, and, worst of all, in the cases of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, shot and killed."
"All of this is unacceptable and should have been avoided. To make matters worse, at every turn, the people responsible have lied to us, told us not to believe what we saw with our own eyes, and have promoted increasingly aggressive and hostile tactics, including obstructing investigations by local authorities."
In our lifetime, we face only a few moments where the decisions we make and the actions we take will shape our history for years to come. This is one of them. If we give up our freedoms after 250 years, we may never get them back.
"It is up to all of us who believe in the promise of American democracy to stand up, speak out, and show that our nation still belongs to We, the People, " the former President said.
Reactions from the Obamas
Politicians and prominent figures have issued statements condemning the killing and calling for restraint and calm, including former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama.
In a joint statement posted on X on Sunday, they said: “For weeks, people across the country have been rightly outraged by the spectacle of masked ICE recruits and other federal agents operating with impunity and engaging in tactics that appear to be designed to intimidate, harass, provoke, and endanger the residents of a major American city. These unprecedented tactics, which even the former top attorney for the Department of Homeland Security in the first Trump administration has characterized as shameful, illegal, and cruel, have now resulted in the fatal shootings of two American citizens.”
And yet, instead of trying to impose some discipline and accountability on the agents they have sent, the President and current administration officials seem eager to escalate the situation while offering public explanations for the shootings of Mr. Pretti and Renee Good that are unsupported by any serious investigation — and that appear to be directly contradicted by the video evidence."
The Trump Administration's Response
President Donald Trump and other senior administration officials have said that Pretti was carrying the firearm when he was apprehended by ICE agents.
FBI Director Kash Patel said during a conversation with Maria Bartiromo on Fox News' Sunday Morning Futures that "you can't take a loaded firearm with multiple magazines to any kind of protest you want. It's that simple. You don't have the right to break the law and incite violence."
"I don't like any shooting. I don't like it," Trump said Sunday, adding, "but I don't like it when someone goes to a protest and has a very powerful gun, fully loaded, with two magazines full of bullets as well. That's not good either." /Adapted from Newsweek/
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