Barack and Michelle Obama blast Trump and ICE conduct

Former President Obama and Michelle Obama called on Americans to recognize the dangers of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s increasingly violent crackdown following the fatal shooting of an intensive care nurse in Minneapolis.

“The murder of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy,” the Obamas wrote in a lengthy statement posted to social media. “This should also be a wake-up call to all Americans, regardless of party, that many of our core values ​​as a nation are increasingly under attack.” »

Pretti, a 37-year-old Department of Veterans Affairs nurse, was seen using his cellphone to record ICE members deployed Saturday morning in a snowy Minneapolis neighborhood. Videos from witnesses show ICE agents shoving a woman and Pretti coming to her aid. He was then pushed and sprayed with chemical spray, then slammed to the ground. He was shot 10 times.

On Sunday, demonstrations took place across the country to protest the tactics of ICE agents and comments made by President Trump and other members of his administration. Several administration officials appeared to blame Pretti for his death because he was carrying a weapon at a protest.

Minneapolis police said Pretti had a permit to carry a concealed weapon; Gun rights groups have denounced some of the administration’s rhetoric and called for a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding Pretti’s death.

On Sunday, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara all but begged for calm for his city that has seen hundreds of ICE agents move in. O’Hara told CBS News that “it’s not sustainable” and that his agents were at their wit’s end trying to contain “all of this chaos.”

“This must stop,” the Obamas wrote.

“Federal law enforcement and immigration officials have a difficult job,” the Obamas wrote. “But Americans expect them to carry out their duties lawfully and responsibly, and to work with, rather than against, state and local officials to ensure public safety.”

“This is not what we see in Minnesota. In fact, we see the opposite,” the former first couple wrote.

On Sunday, protests intensified as people watched cellphone video captured by bystanders of Pretti’s shooting.

Pretti’s parents, Susan and Michael Pretti, in a statement reported by the Assoc. Press, described their son as “a kind soul who cared deeply for his family and friends, as well as the American veterans he cared for as an intensive care nurse at the VA hospital in Minneapolis.”

Her shooting comes less than three weeks after an ICE agent fatally shot an unarmed mother, Renee Nicole Good, in another Minneapolis neighborhood. The agency said she was trying to harm an ICE agent, although video of the incident appeared to show her steering the wheel of her SUV away from the agent when he shot her in the face.

“For weeks now, people across the country have been rightly outraged by the spectacle of masked ICE recruits and other federal agents acting with impunity and engaging in tactics that appear designed to intimidate, harass, provoke, and endanger the residents of a major American city,” the Obamas wrote, calling the methods “unprecedented tactics.”

“The President and current administration officials appear eager to escalate the situation, while offering public explanations for the shootings of Mr. Pretti and Renee Good that are not based on any serious investigation – and which appear to be directly contradicted by video evidence,” the Obamas wrote.

“This must stop,” the Obamas wrote.

They called on Trump administration officials to “reconsider their approach” and work constructively with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and other state and local officials “to avoid further chaos and achieve legitimate law enforcement goals.”

“In the meantime, every American should support and be inspired by the wave of peaceful protests in Minneapolis and other parts of the country,” the Obamas wrote. “They are a timely reminder that ultimately it is up to each of us, as citizens, to speak out against injustice, protect our fundamental freedoms, and hold our government accountable.”