Former President Barack Obama directly condemned President Trump for the death of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis – saying “this has to stop,” and accusing his successor of being “eager to escalate the situation” — in a rare overt critique on the current administration.
“The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy,” Obama said in a statement posted to Xon Sunday. “It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.”
“People across the country have been rightly outraged by the spectacle of masked ICE recruits and other federal agents acting with impunity and engaging in tactics that seem designed to intimidate, harass, and provoke and endanger the residents of a major American city,” the former president wrote.
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Obama’s statement came a day after protestor Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, was shot dead by Border Patrol agents in a hail of bullets on a Minneapolis street.
Pretti was allegedly carrying a loaded firearm when he put himself between the feds and a woman they were pepper spraying. Agents were attempting to arrest him and pulled the gun from his belt, then they fired a burst of about 10 shots at him.
Obama went on to concede that immigration agents have a “tough job,” but accused the Trump admin of encouraging lawless tactics among agents.
“The President and current administration officials seem eager to escalate the situation, while offering public explanation for the shootings of Mr. Pretti and Renee Good that aren’t informed by any serious investigation – and that appear to be directly contradicted by video evidence,” Obama wrote.
His statement was the first he’s made on the Minneapolis chaos that was sparked earlier in January when ICE agents killed American Renee Good, who appeared to be blocking immigration officers with her car when she drove forward and nearly hit an agent who then opened fire and killed her.
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