1 of 5 | Protesters confront federal officers following the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by Customs and Border Protection agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Saturday. Photo by Craig Lassig/EPA
Jan. 25 (UPI) — Target and UnitedHealth are among dozens Minnesota-based companies’ CEOs calling for the “immediate deescalation of tensions” amid the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s “Operation Metro Surge” in the state.
The letter, released Sunday, features the signatures of over 60 CEOs, including Michael Fiddelke, William Brown, Brian Sikes and Stephen Hemsley, who helm Target, 3M, Cargill and UnitedHeath Group, respectively, CNBC reported.
“In this difficult moment for our community, we call for peace and focused cooperation among local, state and federal leaders to achieve a swift and durable solution that enables families, businesses, our employees and communities across Minnesota to resume our work to build a bright and prosperous future,” they wrote.
The plea follows the second fatality of a U.S. citizen at the hands of federal agents in Minneapolis in three weeks.
Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care unit nurse, was killed Saturday as he appeared to help a woman shoved to the ground by Border Patrol agents, according to video footage of the incident.
Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino claimed on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday morning that Pretti was a “suspect” who “put himself in that situation.”
Bovino suggested that Pretti, who was licensed to carry the gun he had on him, “wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.”
Video evidence of the event shot from multiple angles and analyzed by news organizations directly contradicts this claim.
He was holding a phone, apparently recording agents, not brandishing a firearm.
When agents pushed a woman to the ground, he stepped between officials and the woman, videos show. He was then sprayed and wrestled to the ground.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem claimed that officials shot Pretti several times because the agent who fired at him was “fearing for his life and for the lives of his fellow officers.”
In footage taken from several different angles, Pretti does not appear to attempt to use a firearm, and as officials remove the gun he was carrying his hands can be seen before at least one agent shoots him several times.
The Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus has also spoken out, saying “there has been no evidence produced indicating an intent to harm the officers.”
“Every peaceable Minnesotan has the right to keep and bear arms — including while attending protests, acting as observers, or exercising their First Amendment rights,” they said. “These rights do not disappear when someone is lawfully armed, and they must be respected and protected at all times.”
State of the Union’s Dana Bash asked Bovino if he was “saying it’s not okay for him to exercise his Second Amendment right, not to mention his First Amendment right to be there in the first place, and if you do you can be shot by federal law enforcement?”
“No, I didn’t say that, Dana. I never said that. What I’m saying is we respect that Second Amendment right. But those rights don’t count when you riot and assault, delay, obstruct and impede law enforcement officers,” he said.
So far, President Trump and his administration have ignored Gov. Tim Walz’s pleas for them to leave the state, but Attorney General Pam Bondi has said that if Minnesota hands over its voter rolls and public assistance information, they will see “law and order” restored to Minnesota.
“The answer to Attorney General Bondi’s request is no,” said Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon.
“It is deeply disturbing that the U.S. Attorney General would make this unlawful request a part of an apparent ransom to pay for our state’s peace and security. More broadly, the federal government must end the unprrecedented and deadly occupation of our state immediately.”
Activists at the Mariachi Plaza in Boyle Height, Los Angeles, rally on Saturday night to protest the Minneapolis shooting death of ICU nurse Alex Pretti, 37, by Customs and Border Protection officers. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo