After several hours have passed and several videos have surfaced, we know exactly how federal agents murdered Alex Pretti. Even the stupid New York Post has mostly backed off claiming that agents were forced to shoot Pretti in self-defense, although it’s still implying Pretti deserved to be shot, somehow. (Most recently, they’re blaming the firearm itself.) See video analysis from CNN,
Outside of the Trump Administration and Murdoch Media, there is near unanimity about what happened yesterday. As agents approached Alex Pretti, he was holding nothing but a phone. He did not try to interfere with the arrest they were making. Instead, he tried to come to the aid of a bystander who had been shoved to the ground. An agent sprayed pepper spray toward Pretti’s face. Then agents grabbed Pretti and shoved him to the ground, on his knees. Seven agents surrounded him. One agent struck Pretti several times with a pepper spray cannister. Then an agent pulled a gun that had been holstered on Pretti’s waistband. The agent walked away, holding Pretti’s gun. Pretti was completely restrained — and unarmed — and hunched over on his knees when an agent fired four shots into him at close range. Then another agent started firing. Together they fired at least ten shots. By that time the agent who had taken Pretti’s gun was across the street. And by that time, Alex Pretti must have been dead.
There really isn’t any ambiguity here. The federal agents had no reason to kill Alex Pretti, but they did.
Note that AG Pam Bondi reacted to the shooting by demanding that Minnesota turn over its voter registration rolls, now. Talk about not reading the room.
There has been an unexpected development, which is that a number of gun-rights organizations and activists are objecting to the Administration’s claim that Pretti must have been a bad guy because he was armed with a gun. (See also Gun Rights Advocates Want Answers About the Minneapolis Shooting at NOTUS.) In particular, a comment by U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli to the effect that federal authorities are “highly likely” to be “legally justified” in shooting anyone who is armed has set off some alarms. Their thing for years has been to “normalize” the sight of armed civilians in day-to-day life. And they see themselves on the side of law & order. And y’all probably already know I think this is hooey. But, as I said, it’s an interesting development.
For the perspective of a gun-rights activist, see Minneapolis Is a Second Amendment Wake-Up Call by Tyler Austin Harper at The Atlantic. Before reading it do note that Harper says a lot of things I find objectionable. The historical record does not support his belief that the “core purpose” of the Second Amendment is “to prevent government tyranny” but to protect the state militias. It was the decision to depend on state militias rather than a standing federal army for defense that was the protection against tyranny. But since the militia was self-armed — members were required to own their own muskets — the Second was written to be sure no authority interfered with the militia being armed. Since we now have a rather formidable standing military, the original purpose of the Second has evaporated. Further, the Second Amendment has never done a bleeping thing to make the other amendments possible, as Harper writes. And there is considerable data showing that having an armed population does not reduce crime or otherwise make us safer but just increases the likelihood of getting shot.
Still, Harper’s opinion may be representative of gun-rights activists, including the older ones who were radicalized by Ruby Ridge and Waco. They thought the Trump Administration was on their side. Now, they have doubts. And the Administration needs to learn to keep its propaganda stories straight.
Another interesting development is that, all of a sudden, DHS funding is being questioned again. House Dems failed to challenge DHS funding in the current budget bill and sent it on to the Senate. But now Senate Democrats are in revolt against DHS funding. Even Chuck Schumer has vowed that “Senate Democrats will not provide the votes to proceed to the appropriations bill if the DHS funding bill is included,” Don’t back down, Chuck.
The long-anticipated mega-snowfall started here in the early morning hours. It appears we’re not going to get the ice here, just snow. And yesterday the weather app was saying there could be two feet of accumulation, but now it’s saying six to eight inches. So I’m hopeful we won’t be snowed in here for very long. But the apartment complex show plough truck — which is parked just outside my apartment — won’t start. It’s 6 degrees outside. Some poor schmuck has been trying all morning to get it started, and failing. But since I’m too poor to own a car, I don’t have to worry about it. Nyah nyah.
Update: At some point another snow plough truck came along and gave the stalled truck a jump. The snow stopped about 5 pm EST, and I understand we got 14 inches. But no ice.
Shorter NYP: "His gun was no angel"
Pretti wasn't murdered because he had a gun. He was murdered because he was kind. He held a mirror up to the ICE thugs, and they couldn't stand what they saw. It distills the meanness of the right in one succinct episode.
Respectfully, I disagree with the motives of the murdering thugs. On their worldview, might makes right. They have the power, the guns, and the endorsement of their president. All power is theirs, and they cede the power of the little people to weep and moan over the cruelty they delight in.
Alex Pretti, if you judge him by his last moments, was a good guy. I agree with the right to own a gun for hunting, target, and self-defense. There's no evidence by association, or evidence, that Alex intended to hurt anyone – he was prepared to defend strangers. The Second Amendment presumes that is your intent, or it would allow the state to defang all citizens.
IMO, ICE, or Border Patrol was enraged by the sight of a gun because it threatens their supremacy. They are always outnumbered by protesters. The shutdown from the day before the shooting illustrated how vastly outnumbered and unpopular they are. But they cling to the legitimacy of power – the power to commit murder. The presence of a gun on a protester implies THEY could be murdered for the mahem they are inflicting.
The twin cities were supposed to be overwhelmed with fear and awe. They aren't. ICE can't back down so they are dialing up the violence. I expect it to get worse. Eventually, if the crowds don't legitmize ICE by committing murder themselves, the courts will tell ICE to stand down and withdraw. When Trump calls on the military, they will have a legal excuse to refuse. And this will end.
ICE, or Border Patrol was enraged by the sight of a gun
Or possibly frightened?
ICE & Border Patrol are the big bad boys; nobody messes with them. Oh my God, he's got a gun!
Ten shots seems more panic than anything else.
We solve nothing when the problems related to the solution of another problem exceed the strife of the original problem. In Minnesota we have the textbook example of such an excess of strife caused by a faulty solution.
This is why the end does not justify the means in morality and ethics.
A leader can be a moral moron and pass a cognitive test. At most intelligence measures include some items related to social judgement. Even with poor scores on this factor, {if measured at all) overall intelligence can be at or above normal.
A person can pass a blood pressure test and still be a moral moron just as one can pass a cognitive or an intelligence test and still be a moral moron. Neither is a valid measure of that which might be referred to as a void in social judgement that is somewhat extreme.
It is hard to argue though, that what ICE is doing in Minnesota is a result of an administration which Has a Void in social judgement that is extreme. Other independent examples also support such a judgement. They too suggest shallow levels of understanding in social situations. "The depth of his shallowness is infinite" was the wording Maureen Dowd used yesterday. Moral moron administration is my attempt to communicate unambiguously. To validate the moral blindness most of us can see. Even those who might not have eyes at all. For even the blind are capable of developing moral and social judgement while some cannot.
OT, my latest YT find, Tiana Thompson, Why Millions of Americans Vote Against Their Own Self-Interests. She's a young American expat living in France, who often has to explain us to her bewildered peers. Her understanding is deep and clear, and she's good at communicating it succinctly
As current events unfold in MN, I arrived at the suspicion that there is a much darker series of events taking place… and an operational and strategic plan with much more meticulous and long-term planning. It looks like the fascists are specifically leveraging the contingency plans put into place by 9/11 for border control and security to take complete control and de facto re-write the constitution without popular consent. The whole immigration issue as a long-term political stance is not primarily as a way to enjoy cruelty to brown people and to reinstate Jim Crow (although this perversion is a huge side benefit to them), but as unrest bait and a red herring to distract the populous from the final coup de grace. In my gloomy estimation, we are only at the beginning of the misery. Stay safe and sane, friends.
I'm surprised, but glad, the gun folks are turning out. I suspect it helps that Pretti was a VA nurse, well regarded, a licensed gun owner who practiced everyday carry and (whispered) white.
I know, #notallwhitepeople, #notallwhitegunpeople, but, #toogoddamnedmanywhitegunpeople.
Dem AGs are invoking Ruby Ridge, and "there is no statute of limitations on murder." I'm glad they're speaking the right language.
We'll be hard pressed to survive as a democratic society if they get away with murdering Alex Pretti. There must be accountability for the way he was accosted, had his gun taken away and then two "federal agents" stand over him, defenseless, and execute him. If there are no consequences for this, then its open season on American citizens by their own "government." The conservatives who used to fantasize about jack booted government thugs and second and fourth amendment rights to defend against the kind of tyranny we're experiencing now, are silent now that they themselves are those thugs, and those they hate are its victims. Now they suddenly no longer respect the second amendment they used to say was foundational. This tells all we need to know about who these horrible people are.
So now they are blaming the gun after years and years of them whining about all of us blaming gun deaths on too many people having too many guns. "It's not the gun it's the person" is something we've been hearing forever but now they claim it was the fault of the presence of a gun? Shit, they don't even listen to themselves anymore.
"Administration’s claim that Pretti must have been a bad guy because he was armed with a gun"
Remember the good old days when an "armed society was a polite society "? I guess not so much anymore !
I'm reading that at least some of the gun rights people are mightily pissed off about any claims Pretti was a terrorist because he was carrying a gun.
Yeah I'm reading the same, apparently it's ok to kill a lefty protester but don't mess with his gun! Diaper don will never relent but they really need to get these people out of this role. Border Patrol and ICE are not trained to do what they are doing. I have a relative who was CBP he was trained to "process people art the border and conduct surveillance, they are not cops they don't have that sort of training. Unfortunately diaper don and more specifically Stephen goebbels will never admit that. Hopefully a judge will order them to get these fucking thugs out of our cities soon!
quote of the day:
"The only thing that’s safe in America right now are the Epstein files."
quote seen on the intertubes lately
"It was not Hitler or Himmler who abducted me, beat me and shot my family. It was the shoemaker, the milkman, the neighbor, who received a uniform and then believed they were the master race."
Karl Stojka, Auschwitz survivor
Psycho diaper don is saying he and Gov. Waltz had a good conversation and he is sending Tom (50,000 cash in a bag) Homan to access the situation. A good conversation with Waltz today after just yesterday stump said Waltz was:“inciting Insurrection, with his pompous, dangerous, and arrogant rhetoric.”. It really seems that since Pretti had a gun they are going to take a second look, fucking unbelievable, an unarmed mother of three gets shot in the face and they stick to the story, if only she had a gun in the car? Me thinks cosplay NAZI chief Bovino will be taking fall for this one, I predict he'll be resigning so the CBP can "focus can be on the mission of rounding up the worst of the worst" he'll be out by the end of the week!