Minneapolis residents, angry and anxious, resolve to fight on as they mourn Alex Pretti | Minneapolis

TThe temperature hovered around zero degrees as news crews and mourners stopped at the site where another Minneapolis resident was shot and killed by federal agents flooding the city to carry out the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

People erected makeshift barriers in the street immediately after Saturday’s shooting, blocking traffic with wooden pallets, trash cans and furniture. The city later erected a perimeter around the area following the shooting and protests against immigration officials, which saw agents shooting chemical irritants and flash bangs at people. Some remains of these weapons were still visible in the streets.

But on Sunday morning, the streets were calm, the makeshift barriers removed, even though several police vehicles were idling in the neighborhood. The city ended the security perimeter that had cordoned off the area and reopened traffic, canceling the presence of the National Guard troops to which it had requested help. Overnight, the area was “calm and peaceful,” the city said.

At the scene, a tribute continued to grow — flowers, candles and signs planted in the snowbank and on the asphalt — for Alex Pretti, the 37-year-old nurse who was observing ICE when he was killed. Her death came less than three weeks after Renee Good, also 37, was killed by a federal agent in the city. In Minneapolis, the scene of a growing vigil is now all too common.

Spray paint reading “ICE OUT” and “Fuck ICE” could be found throughout the area, on highway overpasses and on the sides of buildings. “RIP Alex,” read signs at the scene of the shooting. People huddled in thick winter coats, one wrapped in a blanket, to pay their respects and watch over the memorial.

A vigil Saturday evening in the neighborhood attracted several hundred people in subzero temperatures. They lit candles and mourned Pretti’s death and the unrest the officers caused in the city. Across the state, people gathered in parks and on street corners to light candles in his memory. His death sparked protests across the country.

“Last night, thousands came out to pay their respects to Alex Pretti and Renee Good,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said on Twitter. “The commemorations and gatherings were peaceful, and there were no arrests or reports of burglaries or fires. »

Glam Doll Donuts, across the street from the shooting, posted a photo of its front windows, lined with signs saying ICE was not welcome but everyone else was, on social media Sunday morning. The video of a passerby from this location spread widely the day before. The homeowners wrote that this view from their windows, which they have had for nearly 13 years, “will never be the same.” They said the store would be open for a few hours on Sundays, with “minimal donuts,” as a place for anyone who needs warmth and community.

“The tragedies we continue to experience together are horrible, but our people are beyond beautiful and we don’t take your bullshit,” they wrote.

Minneapolis officials immediately went to court Saturday after the shooting, seeking an immediate ruling on a temporary restraining order aimed at halting the activities of federal agents in the city. On Sunday morning, new videos surfaced showing federal agents brawling with observers in a north Minneapolis building — a sign that ICE isn’t stopping, but neither are Minneapolis residents.

“You guys are so bad,” one person told an agent in the video as car horns and whistles blared to alert residents that ICE was on the lookout. “You’re going to be in so much fucking jail.”

The relentless federal campaign against the city has sparked anger and anxiety among residents, determined to fight back but aware that their resistance continues to become more dangerous after the deaths of two observers. Beyond those who have worked the streets tracking, documenting and alerting residents to officers, an unofficial network of neighbors numbering several thousand continues to grow to take children to school, deliver groceries and supplies to people who cannot leave their homes, and arrange rides for those who do not drive for fear that officers will arrest them.

RT Rybak, the former mayor of Minneapolis, wrote that this global exposure to the city can show people how to unite in a “common goal”: to protect each other. “A community united around the idea that everyone has their place does not cry alone,” he wrote.

The federal government has shown no signs of wanting to slow or stop its siege on the state, and it has defended the agents’ actions without investigation, offering explanations that contradict the extensive video evidence gathered by residents. They blamed local authorities, including the governor and mayor, for not cooperating with the agents.

Attorney General Pam Bondi sent a letter to Gov. Tim Walz on Saturday outlining demands for the state, including reporting data on food assistance programs, ending sanctuary policies and turning over the state’s voter rolls.

Brian O’Hara, the Minneapolis police chief, told Face the Nation on Sunday that his officers were “incredibly thin” and the situation was untenable.

“This is the second American citizen killed, the third shooting in three weeks,” he said. “People have been speaking out, saying this is going to happen again. And I think everyone is kind of waiting for people on both sides to come together and figure this thing out. It’s not sustainable.”