Demonstrations were reported in Minneapolis, New York City, San Francisco, Boston, Washington, D.C., and Providence, Rhode Island, with protesters condemning ICE operations and demanding accountability for Pretti’s death.
In Minneapolis, crowds again braved extreme cold, chanting “F... ICE, ICE out,” according to livestreams, and later gathered at the site of the shooting, where a growing memorial honored Pretti.
In New York City, thousands rallied in Union Square, shouting, “Say it once, say it twice, we will not put up with ICE!”
Addressing the crowd, New York City Council member Chi Ossé called for abolishing ICE, saying: “We need Nuremberg trials for the people of ICE, for the people who are committing crimes against humanity here in our country.”
Elsewhere, hundreds gathered outside the Department of Homeland Security headquarters in Washington, D.C., chanting “shame,” while protesters in San Francisco, Boston and Providence marched and demanded justice, also invoking the recent killing of Minneapolis resident Renee Good.
Pretti, a US citizen who worked in the intensive care unit at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System, was shot multiple times during an encounter with federal officers.
Video footage circulating online shows Pretti being taken to the ground by officers before shots were fired, though the Department of Homeland Security said he “approached US border patrol officers with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun” and that officers tried to disarm him.
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Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said Pretti was a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry, which is allowed under Minnesota law.
The protests come amid an ongoing ICE operation in Minnesota ordered by the Trump administration, described by officials as a public safety effort, but criticized by community leaders who say migrants without criminal records and US citizens have also been detained.
“We want ICE out of Minnesota, and we want ICE out of every state, with their extreme overreach,” said Bishop Dwayne Royster of Faith in Action.