News Item Feb. 2026
Anti-ICE Protests in Minneapolis
First: The deaths of two people at the hands of federal agents in Minneapolis is a terrible outcome, and most people, regardless of political bent, hope there will be no additional deaths. But people have taken sides – this is a very divisive and partisan topic. Both sides have used some extreme language in describing the ICE surge, protests, and the tragic shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
Second: “mainstream” (left-wing) media reports are extremely partisan and emotional. It is horrible that people were killed, but these same media sources seem to have no empathy for the thousands of US citizens who have been killed by illegal aliens. Or, to relate it to people who are killed by law enforcement, I have seen no emotional stories about drug traffickers or bank robbers who are killed while struggling with law enforcement. But, it could well be argued, Good and Pretti were not serious criminals like bank robbers. They were not. But, even if someone is stealing just a pack of gum, and a shop owner calls the police, and the robber resists arrest and physically fights with the police, and dies … Did he deserve to die for just stealing a pack of gum? Certainly not. But engaging in a fight with law enforcement professionals is always dangerous, and potentially deadly. Does the bank robber deserve to die? No, and police don’t respond to a call (whether for robbery or any other crime) with a plan to kill the suspect. Now, some will say: but Good and Pretti were not even committing crimes (some say they were). Would it matter? Do the facts matter?
Is anyone interested in the (fact-based) truth anymore?
Let’s first look at the shootings, in a fact-based way, if you can separate yourself from the strong feelings you may have (either way):
5 Facts related to the Renee Good shooting:
- She was shot and killed by an ICE agent, and, before the shooting:
- Her car was stopped, at an angle, in the street
- Her “wife” was outside of the vehicle recording video of their interaction with federal agents
- She accelerated forward while the ICE agent was in front of the vehicle
- The ICE agent was struck by the vehicle
Before the facts were known, no one should have been calling her a terrorist (or declaring what her motive was) and no one should have been calling the ICE agent a murderer.
5 Facts related to the Alex Pretti shooting:
- He was shot and killed by two Border Patrol officers (not an ICE agent) and, before the shooting:
- He was recording a video of federal agents physically struggling with a woman on the sidewalk
- He walked past the federal agents (physical contact uncertain) and grabbed and pulled on the woman’s arm
- A federal agent sprayed him with a chemical irritant, and he turned and moved his hand toward the agent (a video seen in slow motion shows his hand stayed open and it appears he did not strike the agent; some say he was merely trying to block the spray, but that calls for a conclusion about intent)
- Multiple agents wrestled with him and pushed him to the ground (he was then shot, but that’s point one; the details of who had a gun, and who grabbed the gun are very important, but this list is just the known facts immediately after the shooting)
Other facts later emerged about Pretti’s previous violent encounter with federal agents, but, before these facts were known, no one should have been calling him a terrorist, and no one should have been calling the federal agents murderers (and certainly not saying an ICE agent was a murderer in this case; two federal agents shot him, neither of them were ICE agents).
The main point I want to make in an appeal to rational, truth-seeking people, is that both sides leaned heavily into the motives and history of the deceased, and the context of the scenarios.
The left-wing media claimed ardently that both “victims” were our neighbors, our community members, peacefully protesting when ICE agents shot and killed them, with the motive offered (by both media and local leaders, before these shootings) that ICE is going after people because of the color of their skin. The Hennepin County Sheriff stated that they (ICE) are going after people “solely because of the color of their skin” and then repeated the word “solely”.
The right claimed that both “assailants” put themselves into these situations with the intent of interfering with law enforcement, and then lost the physical fight with federal agents.
The language was immediate and hyperbolic on both sides. With both sides leaning heavily on the motives, or thoughts of the deceased. We can’t be sure exactly what these people were thinking, but the 4 facts (other than that each was shot) listed above are indeed fact, they are telling, and even more is now known about both of the deceased.
In the case of Renee Good, she had recently moved to Minneapolis, and was part of an organized network called “ICE Watch” (or some such thing). Media reports from the left showed many interviews with people who loved and miss her (and I have no reason to doubt them) and what a nice person she was. The left-wing media spent far more time presenting these emotional presentations than they did reporting facts. I think this is a media technique. But the implication was that she was an innocent victim and was not doing anything wrong. The right (and the Homeland Security Secretary) claimed that she was part of a network of professional protesters intentionally interfering with law enforcement. Wouldn’t it be important to be able to discern which description is closer to the truth? Federal investigators have made the accusation that many protesters are communicating on an encrypted network for the purpose of impeding arrests of illegal aliens. An examination of the phones used by these people would show if they were indeed involved in such activity.
In the case of Alex Pretti, the left-wing media has reported that he was an amateur journalist (yes, some reports actually said that) or a “constitutional observer” (I can’t find that one in my law dictionary) and was just there to record the activities of law enforcement. Again, they make emotional reports of what a nice person he was, that he worked as a nurse, and showed interviews of people who knew him. And, video was played many times on news reports of him being shot (which is a horrible and emotional thing to see whether or not he was shot in self-defense). Again, some on the right claimed that he was a “domestic terrorist” and was there to cause harm. And again, wouldn’t it be important to know whether he was there with the intent of interfering with law enforcement? If he had the “Rapid Response” app on his phone or had been to training sessions showing how to free a suspect from federal agents would that be indicative about his purpose for being there?
And, in the case of Pretti, the details of who pushed whom first, or what the legal status of the woman was, are argued about, but are not really germane. Once Pretti is involved in a physical struggle with law enforcement agents, this is called hand-to-hand combat. In the first moments of this struggle, no one had drawn a gun. From the initiation of this struggle to the moment that Pretti is shot, is a time-span of about one second – 2 seconds at the most. As Pretti is forced to the ground, he is twisting, moving his arms, and the arms of multiple federal agents are moving around over him. If it isn’t exactly clear what happened when you view a slow-motion version of a video, imagine having to make a life or death decision in one second, seeing a hand pulling a gun out from the assailant’s belt and hearing one of your fellow officers yelling “gun, gun”. You may still think that the decision to shoot was wrong, but the fact that two agents shot is evidence (though not proof) that they made the right decision.
Somehow in the case of Pretti, the left also wants to talk about whether he was shot in the back. Apparently some people fully understand the rules of a shootout in the old west (or western movies) but know little about real life or death struggles. In real life, there are occasions where an assailant is justifiably shot in the back. They may be running away with law enforcement running after them, and then the suspect turns slightly, reaches an arm back, and points a gun at the officers; the officers will then shoot (as they must) possibly resulting in the suspect being shot in the back. There was an incident in Minneapolis years ago, wherein a call was made about a domestic assault in progress and police responded. The assailant was confronted, and when police tried to take him into custody, he fought with them. Two policemen were losing the physical fight and one of them shouted that the suspect was grabbing his gun. The other officer shot the suspect in the head. Now, does it matter whether he was shot in the front of his head or the back of his head? Or, is the real issue the fact the he was wrestling with police and had grabbed a gun? Once you engage in a physical struggle with law enforcement, regardless of the reason, and you have a gun hidden on your person (or have grabbed hold of an officer’s gun) that’s a recipe for getting shot.
The left says ICE is being overly aggressive (some politicians have called ICE actions “unlawful”). “Mainstream” media reports peaceful protesters being exposed to teargas or pepper spray and being pushed by ICE agents. ICE officials say agents are outnumbered by large groups that seem to gather very quickly and interfere with arrests. Reports from the right say training manuals and training sessions show protesters how to pull a potential detainee away from ICE agents. Some very emotional reports from the left show (released) detainees complaining about inhumane conditions. One said (among other things) that the floors were hard. The man appeared to be crying. That, of course, has no relevance to the realities of crime and law enforcement. But, these are effective emotional “arguments”.
The right says the same tactics are being used as during the Obama administration. Recall that shortly after Trump became president in 2016, left-wing media “reported” that illegal aliens were being held in deplorable conditions, and Time magazine published a picture of children kept in “cages”. Ironically, the picture was taken while Obama was president. Previous administrations deported illegal aliens using the same tactics and conditions as still exist today, but there is Trump’s “Metro Surge” operation said to be due to rampant fraud of federal money going to fake charities. But another difference is that the Trump administration is trying to capture released criminals who were not only let into the country by the Biden administration, but also transported to the sanctuary city of their choice, often put up in hotels, and given spending money (that’s not conspiracy theory stuff; this is documented). Mayor Frey has declared Minneapolis a sanctuary city. Governor Walz has declared Minnesota a sanctuary state.
Conservatives have accused Democrats of wanting more illegal aliens in the country to get the votes (and, yes they can vote if no ID is required) but, in Minneapolis there is also the massive fraud, much of it tied to the Somali community. The Democrats can thus conflate these issues, claiming that Trump is “going after people just because of the color of their skin”. And, by amplifying ICE-related issues and getting people pumped up emotionally, they create a distraction. Note also that TSA has observed suitcases full of cash (many millions of dollars) being carried out of the country by people said to be connected with the fraud. Once it’s in cash, it could go anywhere … or to anyone. I think that’s something to be concerned about too, but that’s a whole other story.