Minneapolis is boiling over once again after federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents fatally shot Alex Pretty, an ICU nurse and American citizen, on a treacherous icy road. This marks the second such killing in the area within weeks, igniting fresh outrage and demands for the Trump administration to halt ICE operations in the city.
The incident unfolded on Saturday amid heightened tensions. Video footage circulating widely shows Pretty capturing the chaos on his phone while directing traffic on the snow-covered street. Tensions escalated when an ICE agent shoved a female protester to the ground. Pretty intervened, spraying the agent with a chemical irritant.
Agents quickly tackled Pretty to the icy pavement. As they wrestled him down, one officer spotted what appeared to be a gun in his pants. In a split-second decision, another agent opened fire, striking Pretty. Even after he lay motionless, additional shots rang out from a distance.
Just weeks earlier, ICE officer gunned down 37-year-old Renee Good in her car, an event President Trump defended as self-defense. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) pointed to a pistol and ammunition found on Pretty, with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem labeling him as someone intent on spreading violence. The White House echoed this, branding Pretty a murderer.
But bystander videos paint a starkly different picture, raising serious questions about the federal narrative. Vice President JD Vance took to X, blaming local leaders for refusing to cooperate with ICE and fueling what he called ‘manufactured chaos’ by radical left activists.
Local leaders and protesters are uniting in condemnation, calling for an immediate end to ICE’s presence. ‘These agents are out of control,’ one demonstrator shouted amid chants outside city hall. As investigations loom, the clash underscores deepening rifts over immigration enforcement in Trump-era America.