Good article. I generally agree in regard to the response from the administration. It would have been prudent to suggest a full investigation. Complete understanding of the events that occurred are essential. I would also add that these individuals are clearly impeding law enforcement and are threatening them verbally and physically every step of the way. Why doesn’t the Governor and mayor assist law enforcement instead of encouraging aggressive behavior. Peaceful Protestors hold signs, they don’t make physical contact with law enforcement in tense situations with guns on the belt.
A "classic terrorist" sneak attacks unsuspecting civilians, they don't try to run over a lone police officer. Vance's comment was ludicrous.
It was totally lawful for Pretti to carry a loaded weapon, in general, but 'resisting arrest while armed' was not. Being shot was the result of a series of unfortunate events.
It appears the Pretti's weapon discharged by itself after one officer yelled "gun, gun" and took it from him. (That particular weapon has a reputation of unintentional discharge) The officer who shot him heard "gun, gun" and then a shot. He thought (erroneously) Pretti was shooting, and responded accordingly.
I don't think blame can be clearly attributed to any one thing or person.
The RHETORIC on both sides is, at BEST, irresponsible.
we can safely attribute blame to Pretti, who went in direct opposition to everything you're instructed to do when you get a CCW, and is an unfortunate victim of himself committing felony murder.
the official statements on the Pretti shooting really pollute the narrative. he wasn't there to massacre cops. he was there to interfere with them, and assaulted an officer. ultimately, that is what got him shot.
he pushed one of the officers from behind before getting between them and the woman and trying to drag her away from them (dearrest). so he assaulted and interfered with an officer.
One division that I notice in both shootings is that some people approach the situation by asking, "Were the victims genuine threats?" If the answer is no, then the officers were wrong to shoot them, and guilty of murder. On the other hand, other people approach this by asking, "Was it reasonable for the ICE agents to perceive a threat?". If you frame the issue by different questions you'll get very different narratives.
One other division that I notice in both shootings is that some people are comfortable with evaluating and incorporating all possible evidence into their judgement, even information that was not available to the officers at the time of the event. The alternative viewpoint limits the discussion to only the information that the officers had. Again, two different viewpoints on this issue will produce radically different narratives.
I certainly agree that the rhetoric coming from the likes of Vance and Noem are almost as irresponsible as the Hitler shouting of Tim Walz. In fact, I've just about concluded that Noem should be sacked. She's become part of the problem. It was ridiculous to call either Good or Petti a "domestic terrorist." But on the other hand, there are some pretty bad actors out there who are actively encouraging violent resistance to ICE operations, and one gets the impression that they don't really mind a few blood sacrifices.
The larger issue is that neither activists nor state and local officials can be permitted to exercise a veto over the enforcement of federal law. That skates perilously close to insurrection and frankly I'm surprised that Trump hasn't pulled the trigger on the Insurrection Act. And in that connection, I wonder if the Left realizes that "resistance" cuts both ways. How would the comrades like it if the draconian gun control laws they demand got enacted but then were violently resisted by Second Amendment activists?
900 illegal weapons were confiscated by local law enforcement in Minneapolis last year... without a single injury reported.
Perception and judgments are affected by identity and belief - those who claim immediate and complete clarity are almost always mistaken (though may never admit it).
ICE agents have little training or education relevant to the tasks they are being assigned.
The most important prerequisite to building trust is to be trustworthy. Those in positions of power have an even greater responsibility than others to tell the truth and avoid making preposterous claims.
Just where were these mobs when the shootings happened? We are talking about situations happening in a major city full of people in broad daylight. We are not talking about San Francisco’s Market Street or Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue, but there will be plenty of people who will be working and living in the area.
Are you kidding? How can you possibly failed to notice the mobs of crack-brained activists who’ve been harassing and interfering with federal law enforcement officers in Minneapolis? And this guy who got shot? Yes, sure, he was legally in possession of a firearm. But it was plain stupid of him to carry it while participating in a protest. That goes against all best practices of concealed carry. And it was even stupider of him to interfere with officers who were attempting to detain someone else while carrying a firearm. Contrary to what the comrades claim, cops aren’t obligated to let a potential threat to take the first shot.
Like Renee Good, this guy Petti made a series of bad decisions that cost him his life.
I am assuming that you saw one of the videos of Mr. Pretti’s murder. The police escalated the situation by deliberately increasing the violence. Both Pretti and the woman shoved into the snow bank were doing nothing illegal including Pretti. Even if he was doing something unwise, it does nothing to justify his murder.
Pretti intervened in the situation, which was both illegal and a prize piece of stupidity on his part, especially given the fact that he was carrying a firearm. As for you, claiming that the officers escalated the violence and calling his death a murder is just as reckless as irresponsible as Kristi Noem calling him a domestic terrorist. No more than her do you know what actually happened or why the officers reacted as they did. Only one thing seems certain: Had he not been carrying a firearm, he’d be alive right now. This is not to say that his shooting was righteous. Even if it wasn‘t a crime, it could be a violation of policy.
The police had the power in that situation and the choice was made to rapidly escalate in less than a minute from being unhappy being filmed to putting bullets into a prone and unarmed man.
They chose to attack the woman. They chose to assault Pretti with pepper spray and a heavy flashlight. They chose to hit him. And at no point was the man anything, but an annoyance with the main annoyance being to help a woman up. They created they very situation that use to justify at least to themselves, bluntly, a homicide, which is what I would call when an unarmed man is shot in the back and then multiple times when unmoving and prone. The man never had a weapon in his hand and the conflict started when an ICE officer was mad at the woman for filming him.
In this situation, putting all the blame onto a single individual, who had done nothing illegal is wrong. Being the police does not mean that you not responsible for your own actions. To the contrary, having a gun and the full power of the state behind you, it makes you more responsible for your actions and to be an adult than any other person. It means to stay calm and deescalate the situation.
In this responsibility, the ICE officers **failed**. They lost control and let the emotions of anger and frustration, then fear, to make their decisions for them. To quickly use violence instead of using words and having patience. And denying that reality merely encourages people who want to increase our growing conflict’s violence.
Around 15,000–17,000 people were murdered in 2025 (undocumented immigrants account for perhaps around 1–2 % of those murders), so while both deaths are certainly very tragic, why are those the two people specifically who you feel people should be raising voices for?
On the subject of accountability of government officials, I remember one of the three lesbian assistant fire chiefs in Los Angeles stating that if a female firefighter was unable to rescue a man, it was the man's fault for being there. It's easy to see how she kept her job: Mayor Bass is also a Marxist feminist.
I was pointing to what I see as moral relativity coming from the Left. It seems that they mourn some, while celebrating the deaths of others, while being indifferent to the deaths of other still, depending on the victim’s race/sex/political beliefs, etc, and the murderer’s race/sex/political beliefs.
I agree with you that government officers need to be held to higher standards of accountability. That would include Michael Byrd, who claimed “self-defense”, after he shot and killed Ashli Babbitt through the window of a locked door.
Good article. I generally agree in regard to the response from the administration. It would have been prudent to suggest a full investigation. Complete understanding of the events that occurred are essential. I would also add that these individuals are clearly impeding law enforcement and are threatening them verbally and physically every step of the way. Why doesn’t the Governor and mayor assist law enforcement instead of encouraging aggressive behavior. Peaceful Protestors hold signs, they don’t make physical contact with law enforcement in tense situations with guns on the belt.
A "classic terrorist" sneak attacks unsuspecting civilians, they don't try to run over a lone police officer. Vance's comment was ludicrous.
It was totally lawful for Pretti to carry a loaded weapon, in general, but 'resisting arrest while armed' was not. Being shot was the result of a series of unfortunate events.
It appears the Pretti's weapon discharged by itself after one officer yelled "gun, gun" and took it from him. (That particular weapon has a reputation of unintentional discharge) The officer who shot him heard "gun, gun" and then a shot. He thought (erroneously) Pretti was shooting, and responded accordingly.
I don't think blame can be clearly attributed to any one thing or person.
The RHETORIC on both sides is, at BEST, irresponsible.
we can safely attribute blame to Pretti, who went in direct opposition to everything you're instructed to do when you get a CCW, and is an unfortunate victim of himself committing felony murder.
Maybe, but it will be hard to get a conviction... (just like trying to convict someone of suicide)
🙏🙏🙏😞😞😞
the official statements on the Pretti shooting really pollute the narrative. he wasn't there to massacre cops. he was there to interfere with them, and assaulted an officer. ultimately, that is what got him shot.
He was there to assault the cops? I have to ask is the assumption being made that merely being near someone is assault?
he pushed one of the officers from behind before getting between them and the woman and trying to drag her away from them (dearrest). so he assaulted and interfered with an officer.
One division that I notice in both shootings is that some people approach the situation by asking, "Were the victims genuine threats?" If the answer is no, then the officers were wrong to shoot them, and guilty of murder. On the other hand, other people approach this by asking, "Was it reasonable for the ICE agents to perceive a threat?". If you frame the issue by different questions you'll get very different narratives.
One other division that I notice in both shootings is that some people are comfortable with evaluating and incorporating all possible evidence into their judgement, even information that was not available to the officers at the time of the event. The alternative viewpoint limits the discussion to only the information that the officers had. Again, two different viewpoints on this issue will produce radically different narratives.
True. Agree. 😞🙏
I certainly agree that the rhetoric coming from the likes of Vance and Noem are almost as irresponsible as the Hitler shouting of Tim Walz. In fact, I've just about concluded that Noem should be sacked. She's become part of the problem. It was ridiculous to call either Good or Petti a "domestic terrorist." But on the other hand, there are some pretty bad actors out there who are actively encouraging violent resistance to ICE operations, and one gets the impression that they don't really mind a few blood sacrifices.
The larger issue is that neither activists nor state and local officials can be permitted to exercise a veto over the enforcement of federal law. That skates perilously close to insurrection and frankly I'm surprised that Trump hasn't pulled the trigger on the Insurrection Act. And in that connection, I wonder if the Left realizes that "resistance" cuts both ways. How would the comrades like it if the draconian gun control laws they demand got enacted but then were violently resisted by Second Amendment activists?
900 illegal weapons were confiscated by local law enforcement in Minneapolis last year... without a single injury reported.
Perception and judgments are affected by identity and belief - those who claim immediate and complete clarity are almost always mistaken (though may never admit it).
ICE agents have little training or education relevant to the tasks they are being assigned.
The most important prerequisite to building trust is to be trustworthy. Those in positions of power have an even greater responsibility than others to tell the truth and avoid making preposterous claims.
The difference is that in those 900 cases, there were no mobs of activists attempting to prevent the cops from doing their job.
Just where were these mobs when the shootings happened? We are talking about situations happening in a major city full of people in broad daylight. We are not talking about San Francisco’s Market Street or Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue, but there will be plenty of people who will be working and living in the area.
Are you kidding? How can you possibly failed to notice the mobs of crack-brained activists who’ve been harassing and interfering with federal law enforcement officers in Minneapolis? And this guy who got shot? Yes, sure, he was legally in possession of a firearm. But it was plain stupid of him to carry it while participating in a protest. That goes against all best practices of concealed carry. And it was even stupider of him to interfere with officers who were attempting to detain someone else while carrying a firearm. Contrary to what the comrades claim, cops aren’t obligated to let a potential threat to take the first shot.
Like Renee Good, this guy Petti made a series of bad decisions that cost him his life.
I am assuming that you saw one of the videos of Mr. Pretti’s murder. The police escalated the situation by deliberately increasing the violence. Both Pretti and the woman shoved into the snow bank were doing nothing illegal including Pretti. Even if he was doing something unwise, it does nothing to justify his murder.
Pretti intervened in the situation, which was both illegal and a prize piece of stupidity on his part, especially given the fact that he was carrying a firearm. As for you, claiming that the officers escalated the violence and calling his death a murder is just as reckless as irresponsible as Kristi Noem calling him a domestic terrorist. No more than her do you know what actually happened or why the officers reacted as they did. Only one thing seems certain: Had he not been carrying a firearm, he’d be alive right now. This is not to say that his shooting was righteous. Even if it wasn‘t a crime, it could be a violation of policy.
The police had the power in that situation and the choice was made to rapidly escalate in less than a minute from being unhappy being filmed to putting bullets into a prone and unarmed man.
They chose to attack the woman. They chose to assault Pretti with pepper spray and a heavy flashlight. They chose to hit him. And at no point was the man anything, but an annoyance with the main annoyance being to help a woman up. They created they very situation that use to justify at least to themselves, bluntly, a homicide, which is what I would call when an unarmed man is shot in the back and then multiple times when unmoving and prone. The man never had a weapon in his hand and the conflict started when an ICE officer was mad at the woman for filming him.
In this situation, putting all the blame onto a single individual, who had done nothing illegal is wrong. Being the police does not mean that you not responsible for your own actions. To the contrary, having a gun and the full power of the state behind you, it makes you more responsible for your actions and to be an adult than any other person. It means to stay calm and deescalate the situation.
In this responsibility, the ICE officers **failed**. They lost control and let the emotions of anger and frustration, then fear, to make their decisions for them. To quickly use violence instead of using words and having patience. And denying that reality merely encourages people who want to increase our growing conflict’s violence.
It's curious that many of those on the Left celebrated Charlie Kirk's murder, and were silent on the murders of Laken Reilly and Iryna Zarutska.
Around 15,000–17,000 people were murdered in 2025 (undocumented immigrants account for perhaps around 1–2 % of those murders), so while both deaths are certainly very tragic, why are those the two people specifically who you feel people should be raising voices for?
On the subject of accountability of government officials, I remember one of the three lesbian assistant fire chiefs in Los Angeles stating that if a female firefighter was unable to rescue a man, it was the man's fault for being there. It's easy to see how she kept her job: Mayor Bass is also a Marxist feminist.
I was pointing to what I see as moral relativity coming from the Left. It seems that they mourn some, while celebrating the deaths of others, while being indifferent to the deaths of other still, depending on the victim’s race/sex/political beliefs, etc, and the murderer’s race/sex/political beliefs.
I agree with you that government officers need to be held to higher standards of accountability. That would include Michael Byrd, who claimed “self-defense”, after he shot and killed Ashli Babbitt through the window of a locked door.