CT Congress members speak out after second fatal Minneapolis shooting
Some of Connecticut's Democratic members of Congress are speaking out following another shooting involving federal agents that resulted in the death of 37-year-old Minneapolis resident Alex Pretti on Saturday.
Pretti was shot just over a mile from where an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Good on Jan. 7, sparking widespread protests, including in Connecticut. There have been rising tensions in Minneapolis after the Trump administration's mass mobilization of immigration agents to crack down on supposed illegal immigrants.
Information about what led up to the shooting was limited, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said.
“ICE agents continue to act with impunity, refusing to exercise any restraint – leaving a trail of death and violence in their path. It needs to end now,” said U.S. Rep. John B. Larson, D-1st District. "It is beyond horrifying to watch a second resident shot and killed by agents in Minneapolis. Local law enforcement must be allowed to fully investigate this shooting – with full cooperation from federal officials. We cannot allow these authoritarian abuses of power to go on for one minute longer in the United States of America – whether it is families being separated by armed, masked agents here in Connecticut or residents being killed in Minneapolis."
Larson said he is calling for the impeachment of Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and opposes any further funding of the department until ICE is reined in. He also has introduced legislation that would stop ICE officials from operating in communities without notifying state or local law enforcement.
Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that federal officers were conducting an operation and fired “defensive shots” after a man with a handgun approached them and “violently resisted” when officers tried to disarm him.
An official statement from the Department of Homeland Security states that Pretti approached officers with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun, and while O'Hara said Pretti was a licensed gun owner, videos of the incident appear to show Pretti holding his phone and not a firearm.
This comes after 50,000 Minnesota residents initiated a general strike, protesting against the ICE presence in the state.
U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-4th District, said in a statement Saturday that it is a moral imperative that all senators vote against further funding for DHS during this period.
"We are watching the relentless escalation of violence by a lawless authoritarian regime. It’s clear that the killing of Renee Good has further empowered the swaths of violent, masked DHS officers terrorizing our cities. This week, the Senate will vote on funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which includes funding for ICE. History will be unforgiving to those who capitulate to this immoral criminal administration. Every Senator must vote NO," Himes said.
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., also spoke out against ICE, calling the shooting "heartbreaking and outrageous."
"(It) directly reflects malign, lawless leadership. Trump, Noem, all responsible for fostering a culture of illegal brutality, must be held responsible," he said.
Immigrant organizations from across the state all jointly spoke out against the recent shooting. CT Students for a Dream, Danbury Unites for Immigrants, Colectivo de Defensa/Hartford Deportation Defense, Make the Road CT, New Haven Immigrants Coalition, Stamford Norwalk United For Immigrants, Unidad Latina en Acción all signed a joint letter condemning the shooting and ICE, calling for the abolishment of the organization in light of the recent incidents of violence.
"Barely one month into the new year, ICE has shot three community members in Minnesota and nationwide six of our immigrant neighbors have died in custody at the hands of ICE. We stand with Minnesotans as they continue to face the terror of state violence and illegal actions by federal agents. The facts have never been more clear – violent, untrained, masked agents patrolling our neighborhoods," the letter reads.
"We condemn the unnecessary and unlawful violence perpetrated by federal officials, and we call on mayors and governors to join us in condemning state-sanctioned violence. Our CT elected officials must ensure that Connecticut is not complicit in the federal government's abusive immigration enforcement tactics or its creeping authoritarianism. ... As organizations on the ground, we have seen first-hand ICE’s increasingly more violent tactics and the escalating number of detentions in CT and across the Northeast. Abolish ICE now."
The group Dare to Struggle also organized an emergency protest in downtown Hartford on Saturday evening at the corner of Main Street and Central Row, demanding the arrest and prosecution of the ICE officers involved in Saturday's shooting.