Gov. Kevin Stitt said “Americans don’t like what they are seeing” in Minneapolis.
On Saturday, a 37-year-old apparently unarmed man was shot at least three times in the back while on the ground in the city, after masked federal agents appeared to take a gun he had been carrying at his waist. Alex Pretti, a nurse, is the third person to be wounded or killed by the government in the unrest in Minneapolis, a very liberal city that officials say is being targeted by the Republican Trump administration not for immigration enforcement but for a campaign of retribution, chaos, and fear.
Videos taken by bystanders who felt compelled to document the actions of federal agents, ostensibly searching the city for undocumented immigrants, show a “free-for-all” response from officials, according to expert analysis.
Stitt told CNN that President Donald Trump was elected to reform the country’s immigration system after a record number of people attempted to cross the Southwest border under President Joe Biden. Stitt said Trump is getting “bad advice” though.
“I think the death of Americans, what we’re seeing on TV, it’s causing deep concerns over federal tactics and accountability,” Stitt said. ” “Americans don’t like what they’re seeing right now.”
Stitt is one of a handful of Republicans voicing concerns. Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana called Pretti’s shooting “incredibly disturbing” in a social media post. Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina asked for an impartial investigation. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, Rep. Michael McCall of Texas, and Rep. Andrew Garbarino of New York have made statements of concern or pressed for more information. Vermont Governor Phil Scott called the shooting “unacceptable."
Republican Chris Madel, an attorney who offered legal advice to the ICE agent who killed another observer, Renee Good, earlier this month, today ended his campaign for governor of Minnesota, saying in a strongly worded video message that he couldn't get behind the "unmitigated disaster" happening in Minneapolis.
"I cannot support the national Republicans' stated retribution on the citizens of our state," Madel said. "Nor can I count myself a member of a party that would do so."
A fight over funding for the Department of Homeland Security, the employer of Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents involved in the violence, is shaping up in Washington, D.C.
