DL Open Thread: Sunday, January 25, 2026

It was bound to happen–Trump and the ICEstapo would do something so heinous that we couldn’t even take a break to enjoy a Sunday morning respite.

The government-sanctioned murder of Alex Jeffrey Pretti hit me so hard that it was difficult to think of anything else.  Here’s a profile of the person who ICE killed in cold blood:

The man fatally shot by Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis was Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a U.S. citizen with no criminal record, officials said.

Mr. Pretti, who was 37, was a registered nurse who worked in the intensive-care unit at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Minneapolis, according to interviews and public records, and lived in an apartment in Minneapolis a short drive away from where he was killed.

He had a firearms permit, required by state law in Minnesota to carry a handgun, officials said.

Colleagues and acquaintances of Mr. Pretti were stunned by his death, recalling a friendly neighbor and hardworking professional who was devoted to his patients.

Dr. Dimitri Drekonja said that the two had worked together for years. Mr. Pretti was capable, competent and friendly, he said, the kind of person who cared deeply about his work and his patients.

“He was a really great colleague and a really great friend,” he said. “The default look on his face was a smile.”

Ruth Anway, who worked with Mr. Pretti, described him as a passionate colleague and kindhearted friend with a sharp sense of humor.

Ms. Anway, a nurse, said she first met Mr. Pretti around 2014 when he was a research assistant at the hospital. She said she had encouraged him to pursue nursing.

“He really thrived in that environment,” she said in a phone interview on Saturday. “He wanted to be helpful, to help humanity and have a career that was a force of good in the world.”

In his free time, she said, Mr. Pretti loved to bike the trails around Minneapolis, and spent time with his dog, Joule.

Ms. Anway said Mr. Pretti followed the news closely and cared deeply about social justice and fighting for fairness.

“I’m not surprised he was out there protesting and observing,” she said.

Trump’s Ministry Of Propaganda and ICE are flat-out lying about the circumstances of his murder:

Video analysis: Footage of the shooting and the moments preceding it posted to social media and verified by The Times shows Mr. Pretti stepping between a woman and an agent who is pepper spraying her. Other agents then pepper spray Mr. Pretti, who is holding a phone in one hand and nothing in the other. His weapon remains concealed until federal agents find and take it from him. Concealed or open carry is legal for permit holders in Minnesota.

A doctor who lives near the scene where Alex Jeffrey Pretti was shot and killed by federal agents in Minneapolis on Saturday described in a sworn court filing how agents initially hesitated and asked for proof of a medical license when the doctor tried to approach and render aid. And a person who said they were standing near Mr. Pretti disputed the Department of Homeland Security’s account of that incident in another sworn court filing.

Pretti appears to have been shot in the back.  From an attending physician:

Suddenly, an ICE agent shoved him to the ground. My view of the altercation was partially obstructed, but after a few seconds, I saw at least four agents point guns at the man. I then saw the agents shoot the man at least six or seven times.

As I approached, I saw that the victim was lying on his side and was surrounded by several ICE agents. I was confused as to why the victim was on his side, because that is not standard practice when a victim has been shot. Checking for a pulse and administering CPR is [sic] standard practice. Instead of doing either of those things, the ICE agents appeared to be counting his bullet wounds.

The victim had at least three bullet wounds in his back. I asked the ICE agents to turn the victim from his side to his back. From that position, I saw an additional gunshot wound in the victim’s upper left chest and another possible gunshot wound on his neck.

Call it tyranny, call it fascism, call it anything you want.  But (and remind me if this phrase sounds familiar) jack-booted storm troopers are wantonly killing American citizens right here in America.  Shooting them in the back.  Why?  Somali corruption? Democratic obstructionism?  There is no justifiable explanation.

Even the local police are accusing ICE of a cover-up:

The filing details how Minnesota law enforcement (the BCA in particular) rushed to the scene of a reported shooting, as is their job. It notes that:

Preliminary investigatory measures normally include: establishing a perimeter; preserving the scene; taking photographs and measurements; identifying those involved and witnesses; taking statements; and collecting physical evidence.”

However, upon arrival “federal personnel purported to order BCA personnel to leave.”  Further, the BCA believes federal officers already seized and removed evidence from the scene: “federal personnel may have seized cell phones, taken other evidence from the scene, and detained witnesses.” The filing then makes this stunning allegation:

“Then just a few hours after the shooting, federal personnel left, allowing the perimeter to collapse and potentially spoiling evidence. From a law enforcement perspective, this is astonishing. The federal government’s actions are a sharp departure from normal best practices and procedure, in which every effort is taken to preserve the scene and the evidence it contains. Instead, by first attempting to bar BCA and then letting the scene collapse, the federal government appears to have taken measures that directly led to the destruction of evidence.”

The Minnesota law enforcement acknowledges the irregularity of this, stating flatly that, “This TRO should not be necessary.” In a normally functioning American democracy it would not be necessary. However, “unfortunately, events today suggest this Court’s intervention is essential to preserving the status quo and to protecting the State’s sovereign powers to investigate a fatal shooting.” Any presumption of regularity is gone. In the words of filing: “What happened today was not normal.”

That last paragraph is worth rereading.  Over and over.

From The Ministry Of Propaganda:

DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that agents fired “defensive shots” after “an individual approached U.S. Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun.” McLaughlin said the officers attempted to disarm the subject but the person “violently resisted.”

Greg Bovino:

Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino said at a press conference Saturday afternoon that agents were engaged in a “targeted operation against an illegal alien” when a man approached armed with “a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun.” Bovino said the man “violently resisted” when agents attempted to disarm him. “This looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement,” Bovino said, a narrative Walz later called “nonsense.” The man also had two loaded magazines, according to Bovino, who said he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Demonstrably untrue.  Trump’s response:

Trump said on Truth Social that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, both Democrats, “are inciting Insurrection, with their pompous, dangerous, and arrogant rhetoric!” adding “these sanctimonious political fools should be looking for the Billions of Dollars that has been stolen from the people of Minnesota, and the United States of America.”

Demonstrably unhinged.

One Positive Development:

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said that Democrats will oppose legislation to fund multiple parts of the government – risking a partial shutdown – if the spending package includes funding for the Department of Homeland Security.

This comes as Immigration and Customs Enforcement under the Trump administration has descended on Minneapolis ostensibly to conduct an immigration crackdown on the city’s Somali-American community, but has also led to unrest and the killing of Renee Good earlier this month. (Which didn’t lead to Schumer’s threat.)

“What’s happening in Minnesota is appalling — and unacceptable in any American city. Democrats sought common sense reforms in the Department of Homeland Security spending bill, but because of Republicans’ refusal to stand up to President Trump, the DHS bill is woefully inadequate to rein in the abuses of ICE. I will vote no.”

I suppose you could say that this is progress.  But the thought that supine Democrats were prepared to approve funding for this criminal operation until the latest murder illustrates why the supine Democrats need to go.

What do you want to talk about?