Alex Pretti was a 37-year-old ICU nurse who devoted his life to caring for veterans.
He was murdered in cold blood by the U.S. government.
His crime was daring to observe and record the actions of the masked, armed thugs that Donald Trump, Stephen Miller, Kristi Noem, Tom Homan, and Greg Bovino have sent to menace the people of Minneapolis.
He was wrestled to the pavement, beaten, and repeatedly shot. His last terrifying moments were captured on video. They conclusively show him to be peacefully, lawfully, and fearlessly bearing witness to protect his community.
The footage is hard to watch. Nauseating. Repugnant. And it clearly reveals Pretti to be an innocent victim.
Stephen Miller, architect of the brutal campaign the Trump Administration is waging against the American people, called Pretti a terrorist. But Pretti was a hero.
It is Miller who is the terrorist.
Two decent, law-abiding American citizens have been gunned down in the streets of Minneapolis by Trump’s DHS criminals with badges. First, Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother. Now Pretti. They are, however, far from the only victims. Others have died nationwide in ICE custody, at the hands of ICE and CBP agents. Thousands more have been tormented, arrested without cause or due process, rounded up and sent to inhumane, ill-equipped facilities—or illegally deported.
Trump and his lackeys lie shamelessly about their actions. But thanks to the work of people like Pretti, our rogue government’s lies are undone. That is why he and others like him are now being targeted.
In the wake of Saturday’s shooting, more and more people in Minneapolis have taken to the streets. With each abuse, the people are mobilizing more. Trump wanted to make an example of the city; perhaps in that he is succeeding, although not as he intended.
People now see Minneapolis as the front line in a war between the citizens of the United States and the monsters who currently control our government. But they also recognize ICE watchers and the law-abiding demonstrators as the most effective resistance movement America has seen since Trump returned to office and initiated his campaign to strip away the fundamental rights of Americans and to trample the law in pursuit of his perceived political enemies.
Trump and his high command have sought to make criticizing them a crime punishable by death. They regularly seek to suggest that those who condemn their efforts are “insurrectionists.” It is a transparent ploy to set the stage for them to send troops into American cities. They want to make it illegal to oppose Trump. They want to fully transform America into a police state.
But just as watcher videos reveal what is really happening at the hands of Trump’s goons, so too do Americans remember the videos of January 6, 2021. We know—and were reminded this past week by former Special Counsel Jack Smith—that it was Trump who incited the one real insurrection this country has seen in its modern history.
We know that Trump’s MAGA insurrection has continued as the January 6 attackers were pardoned. We know that today some of the Proud Boys and other mouth-breathing hate-mongers who participated in that attack are now part of the DHS army—a paramilitary force with a budget greater than that of the militaries of all but a tiny handful of countries on earth. We know that they are the ones who have twisted our top federal law enforcement agencies into mechanisms of retribution, of obstruction and abuse.
We know that today our government is the most dangerous enemy the American people face.
We know that is true around the world as Trump insults our allies and embraces our enemies. We know that is true as he and those close to him illegally and immorally profit from their positions of power. (Just this week, The New York Times reported that Trump has already made $1.4 billion by profiting—in violation of the Constitution—from the presidency.)
Try as they might, they cannot hide these facts from us. There are people like Alex Pretti out there, people like Renee Nicole Good, decent Americans who are standing up and saying, “We are here. We will reveal the truth. We will not be intimidated. We are not afraid.”
Elected officials are starting to recognize that they must stop the abuses and hold Trump’s Gestapo to account. We heard that today from Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker. While their stances should be stronger and contain more urgency and resolve, they are recognizing that the status quo cannot be maintained. Other governors, mayors, members of Congress and law enforcement officials must stand with them. So too must the courts.
There are, thanks to the courage of the people of Minneapolis and the serial abuses of federal authorities, signs that may happen–more and more people are speaking out, and Senate Democrats are now saying, as they should, that they will not vote to fund DHS. But what next? What happens when states start prosecuting federal officers? What pushback will we get from our wannabe dictator and his enforcers? How will they react as more people take to the streets as Americans realize that this is what is called for now?
Tragically, more bloodshed is almost certain to follow. 2026 is likely to be a year of dangerous unrest in America. But make no mistake, the danger would be greater if there were fewer or smaller examples of the public’s commitment to save our country. Make no mistake, the fear of future violence from Trump’s agents must not be allowed to produce silence or even hesitation from those who recognize the threat we are facing.
Some will say that demonstrations play into the hands of Trump, Miller & Company because they will use them to justify their use of new strongarm tactics and perhaps to block or disrupt the midterm elections in November. Rest assured, demonstrations or none, they will seek to do that anyway.
As the world demonstrated in its rejection of Trump’s threats against Greenland earlier this week, there is only one way to stop Trump. He must face unified, courageous, unwavering resistance.
This will be hard for some in America’s opposition party who are more inclined to practice the politics of yesterday. They do not understand the different requirements that come with being in the minority in a functioning government and actively having to mobilize to stop the existential threat to their country. The seven Democrats who voted this week to fund DHS clearly fall into this category of misguided non-leaders. So too do some of their colleagues with fancy titles.
But they must see that this is a country in profound crisis right now. They must recognize that halfway measures, aggrieved speeches, and strongly worded letters are no longer adequate. They must accept that the President of the United States and those close to him are no longer good-faith actors. They must show that the American people will not accept murderers and agents of pain wrought upon our cities.
In short, the future of this country depends on the fact that more people at every level of our society appreciate, respect, and emulate the courage and resolve of genuine heroes like Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good. We must demonstrate that they did not die in vain by showing we understand why they showed up and stood up when they did, seeking to aid their neighbors and to defend not only their communities but the idea of an America that is today more at risk than it has been at any time in our lifetimes.
The post Opinion: Trump’s Goons Are the Terrorists. This Is What We Must Do Now appeared first on The Daily Beast.
