Alex Pretti Murder: A Grim Turning Point in Minneapolis

By this point, you’ve probably seen the videos – or at ⁣least heard about what’s⁣ in them. ⁢They show a man named Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse who is filming ICE activity in ⁢Minneapolis, intervening when federal agents assault a ⁤woman. In response,the agents grab Pretti,force him too the ground,beat ‍him,and⁢ ultimately shoot the ⁣defenseless man repeatedly. Pretti was pronounced dead on the scene.

The footage of Pretti’s killing, shot from diffrent angles by different bystanders, looks‍ disturbingly similar to scenes in places like ⁤Syria and Iran – where people rising up against authoritarian regimes were silenced by baton and bullet. The resonance is especially chilling given the Trump management’s response.

In a well-functioning liberal democracy, acts of official brutality against citizens are taken ⁤seriously by public officials.⁤ Yet the Trump administration responded almost instantly by smearing Pretti and lionizing his killer.In its statement on the incident, the Department of Homeland⁢ Security‍ claimed that Pretti was armed and was “violently resisting” arrest – that the officer⁤ who killed the man “fired defensive shots.” Stephen Miller called Pretti “a domestic terrorist [who] tried to assassinate federal law enforcement.”

These are verifiable lies⁣ -⁢ the same kind of lies deployed against Renee Good when she too was killed by federal agents. While Pretti was indeed armed, carrying a gun openly ⁣is⁤ legal in Minnesota, and he⁢ had a permit to do so. at the beginning⁢ of the incident, he is holding a cell⁣ phone; at no point⁤ does he draw his gun. Actually, independent analysis of ‍the footage confirmed that federal agents‍ had secured Pretti’s gun before firing on him.

So its not only that federal agents kill an American⁤ citizen like authoritarian thugs, but their ⁢superiors in Washington justified⁢ that killing with the kind of bald-faced⁢ lie that recalls Tehran and Moscow.

These resonances suggest America is at a grim tipping point. The Trump⁢ administration’s actions augur an increasingly violent crackdown, ‍one in ‍which they attempt to secure power less‍ by legal manipulation than by submission of⁣ brutal force.

It is now undeniable that this kind of violence ‍is the direct outcome of sending ⁤a paramilitary force to occupy⁤ an unwilling city. if the⁢ Trump administration wished to avoid the appearance of democratic crisis,they would both⁣ change their policy and pursue⁣ real accountability for the agents involved.

Pulling back ICE and conducting a real inquiry into ‍Pretti’s killing would be the more strategic approach if they wished to go the Orbánist route: It would help them maintain the democratic veneer that is so vital to legitimizing subtle ⁢power grabs.

But⁣ the immediate ⁣defense ‍by administration figures of the immigration officers involved⁣ in the ⁢shooting, without even⁤ a credible pretense of mobilizing government resources to conduct an impartial investigation, clearly suggests a doubling down on brazen repression.

In such a context, Stephen⁢ Miller’s recent comments on global politics – that the “iron laws” of the world mean it is one “that is governed by‍ strength, that is ⁤governed by force, ‍that is governed by power” – take on a sinisterly domestic cast.

An authoritarian America, both bloody and brittle

The Trump⁤ administration’s most effective moves to consolidate power, like using regulatory power to help the billionaire Ellison family control a growing chunk of the american media,‍ have all followed in Orbán’s⁣ footsteps. By contrast, the thuggish⁣ ICE deployments have⁤ done ⁤little to repress⁢ dissent – and much to inflame⁢ public sentiment against the⁢ government.

This is true in Minnesota, obviously, but also in Los Angeles, Chicago, DC,⁢ and othre major ‍cities.⁢ In each ⁤case, an organizational infrastructure