No ICE protest lures dozens of demonstrators

By DOUGLAS W. MOTLEY

Senior Writer

 

Last Sunday Jan. 25, a No ICE protest demonstration on Lake Gregory Drive, across the street from Goodwin’s Market, attracted scores of demonstrators, between 12 and 3 p.m., with an average of five out of six passing motorists using their horns to signal tacit approval.

This aggressive demonstration was fueled by Saturday’s shooting death of 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Minneapolis, Minn.

Pretti was described as being an avid outdoorsman who loved mountain biking and is understood to have joined protests after Renee Good, also 37, was shot dead by an ICE agent in her car earlier in the month. Conflicting accounts have emerged concerning the moments leading up to Pretti’s untimely death.

According to a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesman, an agent fired in self-defense after Pretti, who they claim had a handgun, resisted attempts to disarm him. Some eyewitnesses and officials, as well as Pretti’s family, have challenged that account.

A U.S. District Court will hold a hearing on Monday, Jan. 26, after Minnesota officials sued in federal court to vindicate their right to access evidence, including the names of agents involved in Pretti’s shooting.