“The events of this weekend in Minneapolis are terrifying, deeply disturbing, and heartbreaking — with yet another U.S. citizen losing their life while taking part in the time-honored and Constitutionally protected activity of being present to observe and peacefully advocate for their beliefs,” attorney Antonio Romanucci said in a statement.
Good, a 37-year-old mother and Minneapolis resident, was shot and killed by a federal agent on Jan. 7. Federal officials say that the agents acted in self-defense after Good tried to ram them with her car in what they have labeled an act of domestic terrorism. Local officials have disputed that characterization.
Romanucci’s statement comes a day after a 37-year-old man was shot and killed Saturday morning in Minneapolis, the second shooting of a U.S. citizen this month by federal agents in the city.
The Department of Homeland Security alleged that Pretti approached Border Patrol agents with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun, and “violently resisted” when agents tried to disarm him. Local officials have disputed that characterization.
“We urge all Americans to trust their own eyes as they interpret the horrific video, and to call for an absolute end to ICE activity in Minneapolis,” Romanucci said. “ICE agents can leave Minneapolis. The residents of Minnesota cannot. We call for a complete and immediate end to the ICE invasion of this beautiful American city.”
In an interview with ABC News’ Minneapolis affiliate KSTP, a childhood friend of Alex Pretti, the 37-year-old man shot and killed by a federal agent in Minneapolis, reflects on growing up with him.
Travis Vanden Heuvel said “tragedy became devastation” when he found out that it was Pretti, an ICU nurse at a VA hospital, who was fatally shot by a Border Patrol agent Saturday morning.
“He was someone who was extremely kind, who was always putting himself in service to others. I mean, even as an 11,12-year-old boy, he was someone who asked how you were doing,” Vanden Heuvel said.
“He was someone who could light up a room. People gravitated towards him and his energy. … It didn’t surprise me years later to learn that he would go on to become a nurse and continue to serve people in, you know, a loving and giving spirit that I knew of him when we were just kids,” Vanden Heuvel added.
Vice President JD Vance shared a post on X on Sunday, placing blame on Minnesota officials for the ongoing unrest in the state surrounding immigration enforcement.
He claimed that when he was in Minneapolis, he was told a story of federal agents being mobbed by protesters when they were dining at a restaurant.
“This is just a taste of what’s happening in Minneapolis because state and local officials refuse to cooperate with immigration enforcement,” Vance wrote.
The vice president referenced the second fatal shooting this month of an American citizen in Minneapolis at the hands of a federal agent. Alex Pretti, 37, an ICU nurse at a VA hospital, was fatally shot by a Border Patrol agent Saturday morning.
“They have created the chaos so they can have moments like yesterday, where someone tragically dies and politicians get to grandstand about the evils of enforcing the border,” Vance said of state and local officials.
The National Basketball Players Association, the union for active NBA players, issued a statement on Sunday defending protesters’ rights to free speech in Minneapolis and expressing condolences to the families of Alex Pretti and Renee Good.
“Following the news of yet another fatal shooting in Minneapolis, a city that has been on the forefront of the fight against injustices, NBA Players can no longer remain silent,” the Players Association statement said. “Now more than ever, we must defend the right to freedom of speech and stand in solidarity with the people of Minnesota protesting and risking their lives to demand justice.”
The group added, “We refuse to let the flames of division threaten the civil liberties that are meant to protect us all.”