MattMunnell.com

I’m going to rant a little bit here. I’m hoping that getting this down on paper (screen) and out of my head will help. I’m furious about what happened yesterday in Minneapolis. Furious, confused, and honestly just exhausted by what feels like a complete breakdown of professionalism and truth.

What happened to Alex Pretti was a murder. Full stop. And I don’t understand how anyone can watch the videos and come away with a different conclusion.

I don’t understand what’s happening in this country. I don’t understand what ICE is doing. I don’t understand what this administration is thinking. And I especially don’t understand how they continue to justify the unjustifiable.

You can debate why people are protesting. You can argue about why Minneapolis is different from other cities (and there are reasons for that…I guess). But none of that matters when it comes to basic law-enforcement professionalism – something that seems to be completely absent here.

This has nothing to do with the governor. Nothing to do with the mayor. It has everything to do with the individual actions of ICE and Border Patrol agents and their leaders. Two U.S. citizens have now been killed in that city. That fact alone should stop everyone in their tracks.

The administration’s claim that Alex Pretty “attacked agents” during a “targeted law-enforcement activity” is simply false. The videos show exactly what happened. They don’t lie.

Here’s what we know or at least what has been widely reported: ICE was attempting to apprehend an undocumented individual. That individual ran into a donut shop. I’ve heard that the shop locked the door and refused entry. Let’s assume that’s true for a moment.

You know what law enforcement does then?

They don’t escalate.

They don’t shove civilians.

They don’t start beating people in the street.

They surround the building. They secure the scene. They send someone to get a judge and obtain a judicial warrant. That’s how this is supposed to work.

That’s not what happened.

Alex Pretti was walking down the street recording and seemingly directing traffic. He saw an agent shove a woman to the ground. At that point, the agent should have disengaged. Period. Instead, the agent escalated.

Pretti went to check on the woman. Agents pursued him and sprayed him with chemical irritant. He turned away from them – away – to continue attending to her. Then they attacked him, dragged him away, beat him, and shot him.

Then they shot him again.

And again.

And again.

Ten shots total, many as he lay there, motionless.

Why? If he was truly a threat, which he clearly was not, why continue firing? The videos don’t support the story being told by this administration, no matter how many times they repeat it.

And watching Border Patrol leadership stand at a podium today and continue to lie about this is infuriating. Watching Kristie Noem yesterday was infuriating. Reading Stephen Miller’s tweets…well…why do I torture myself. Do they not realize that when they lie about something that is so obvious it leads us to disbelieve everything that comes out of their mouths?

This reminds me of Renee Good. People rushed to justify that shooting too. “She was aiming at the agent,” they said. She wasn’t. And even if she had been (she wasn’t), firing into a moving vehicle does not neutralize a threat, it creates more danger. You get out of the way. Which the agent did…easily. You don’t shoot.

Same pattern. Same excuses. Same result.

Here’s the thing – most people understand that ICE has a purpose. We want violent criminal undocumented individuals out of the country. There’s no serious debate about that.

But this – what is happening in Minneapolis – this is not what we want. This is not what we need. And this is not how a country governed by laws is supposed to operate.

Every leader – ICE, Border Patrol and DHS – should resign. Their “leadership” has lead to two US citizens being murdered. Failing that, ICE should pull out of Minneapolis immediately. Honestly, they should cease operations nationwide and reassess how they’re doing their jobs, because whatever this is, it’s broken.

The agents involved should not be on duty. Administrative leave? Fine. Paid leave? Fine. But they do not belong on the street while an investigation is ongoing. Something in their minds told them it was acceptable to fire ten shots at an unarmed man who posed no threat. That alone disqualifies them from carrying a badge right now.

Yes, Minneapolis is protesting. And frankly, we all should be. A nationwide shutdown. A nationwide strike. I don’t know how that gets organized but we better start figuring it out.

Because this is crazy.

And it needs to stop.

Nobody should defend what happened yesterday. Nobody should excuse it. And nobody should pretend this is normal or acceptable. Do not attempt to create a strawman argument to deflect. Stick to the events that happened.

Create an environment that allows success to happen? That’s my tagline on this blog. I don’t know how to do that right now because whatever environment we’re living in right now is doing the opposite.