One Wisconsin Republican congressman joined President Donald Trump in attempts to shift blame to Minnesota officials after the killing of an intensive care nurse by a federal officer in Minneapolis Saturday during Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Meanwhile, Wisconsin Democrats and protesters elevated calls for officers with Immigration and Customs Law Enforcement to get out of the city after a Border Patrol agent fatally shot Alex Jeffrey Pretti, 37, of Minneapolis. Pretti’s parents, who live in Wisconsin, said they were heartbroken and angry as top Trump officials suggested their son was a “domestic terrorist.”
The Department of Homeland Security said an agent fired “defensive shots” after the man approached federal officers with a 9 mm handgun and “violently resisted” when they tried to disarm him. The fatal shooting follows the killing of Renee Good by ICE earlier this month.
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In a social media post, Trump accused Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minn. Gov. Tim Walz of “inciting insurrection” in the state with their “pompous, dangerous and arrogant rhetoric” and diverting attention from the state’s fraud scandal.
U.S. House Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Prairie du Chien, indicated Walz played a role in the death of Pretti in response to a post that said Minnesota officials are fueling tensions with ICE.
“Walz is a moron who is getting people killed to cover up for the massive fraud he oversaw,” Van Orden said in a post on X.
Van Orden, who is seeking reelection in a competitive district, also likened the Minnesota governor’s comments on the immigration crackdown to “rhetoric the Confederates used against the Union prior to the Civil War,” calling it sedition. Trump praised similar remarks by former ICE Director Jonathan Fahey to Fox News. Fahey accused Minnesota leaders of engaging in a “complete subversion effort” against federal officers “the likes of which we have not seen, probably, since the Civil War.”
Gov. Tony Evers said, “Wisconsin stands with Minnesota,” in response to a social media post by Walz, who called on Trump to end the ICE operation in his city.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris said in a post that Pretti was protecting his community during his final moments, saying she was “enraged and heartbroken.”
“Alex and tens of thousands of Minnesotans have boldly defended their neighbors against the murderous occupation of an American city by the federal government,” Harris said.
Wisconsin Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin called on the Senate to “rein in this lawlessness.”
“ICE and DHS are out of control and making our communities less safe,” Baldwin said.
Pretti graduated in 2006 from Preble High School in Green Bay, according to the Green Bay Press Gazette.
Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich called for an independent investigation following the fatal shooting of Pretti.
“I mourn his tragic death with his friends and family, and join the chorus of Americans who are rightfully demanding the federal government change course and enforce immigration law in keeping with local, state, and federal laws and the U.S. Constitution,” Genrich said in a statement.
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