Through the winter's ice and cold Down Nicollet Avenue A city aflame fought fire and ice 'Neath an occupier's boots King Trump's private army from the DHS Guns belted to their coats Came to Minneapolis to enforce the law Or so their story goes
Against smoke and rubber bullets In the dawn's early light Citizens stood for justice Their voices ringing through the night And there were bloody footprints Where mercy should have stood And two dead, left to die on snow-filled streets Alex Pretti and Renee Good
Oh, our Minneapolis, I hear your voice Singing through the bloody mist We'll take our stand for this land And the stranger in our midst Here in our home, they killed and roamed In the winter of '26 We'll remember the names of those who died On the streets of Minneapolis
Trump's federal thugs beat up on His face and his chest Then we heard the gunshots And Alex Pretti lay in the snow dead Their claim was self-defense, sir Just don't believe your eyes It's our blood and bones And these whistles and phones Against Miller and Noem's dirty lies
Oh, our Minneapolis, I hear your voice Crying through the bloody mist We'll remember the names of those who died On the streets of Minneapolis
Now they say they're here to uphold the law But they trample on our rights If your skin is black or brown, my friend You can be questioned or deported on sight In our chants of "ICE out now" Our city's heart and soul persists Through broken glass and bloody tears On the streets of Minneapolis
Oh, our Minneapolis, I hear your voice Singing through the bloody mist Here in our home, they killed and roamed In the winter of '26 We'll take our stand for this land And the stranger in our midst We'll remember the names of those who died On the streets of Minneapolis We'll remember the names of those who died On the streets of Minneapolis
ICE out (ICE out) ICE out (ICE out) ICE out (ICE out)
The names of those who died on the streets of Minneapolis:
On January 24, 2026, members of Donald Trump's ICE/DHS occupying force killed Alex Pretti, a US citizen, after disarming him.
The agents involved in the shooting have been transferred out of Minneapolis and are still working for ICE/DHS - moved out of the area for their safety.
She's head of Trump's DHS. If she didn't know the facts, she should not speak as if she did. If she did know the facts and yet said what she said, she's lying.
BTW, while he's seemingly calling for a full investigation into the shooting, Pennsylvania Senator Dave McCormick points the blame elsewhere (he also does not even bother to mention Alex Pretti's name or the manner of his death):
As I have often said, I support the Border Patrol, ICE, and the critical work they do to enforce our laws. Irresponsible rhetoric and a lack of cooperation from Minnesota’s politicians are fueling a dangerous situation.
I also agree with the NRA and others — we need a full…
Videos on social
media that were verified by The New York Times appear to contradict the
Department of Homeland Security’s account of the fatal shooting of Alex
Jeffrey Pretti, 37, by federal agents in Minneapolis on Saturday
morning.
The Department of Homeland Security said
the episode began after a man “approached US Border Patrol officers
with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun” and they tried to disarm him. The
statement did not specify whether the gun was in the man’s hands or
merely on his body.
Footage shows Mr. Pretti was clearly holding a phone, not a gun, before the agents took him to the ground and shot him.
Specifically:
A small group of protesters stands in the street, speaking to a federal
agent as whistles sound. Mr. Pretti appears to be filming the scene with
his phone and directing traffic.
An agent begins shoving the demonstrators, and squirts pepper spray at their faces.
At
this moment, Mr. Pretti has both hands clearly visible. One is holding
his phone, while he holds the other up to protect himself from pepper
spray. He moves to help one of the protesters who was sprayed, as other
agents approach and pull him from behind.
Several
agents tussle with Mr. Pretti before bringing him to his knees. He
appears to resist as the agents grab his legs, push down on his back and
strike him repeatedly.
The footage shows an agent approaching with empty hands and grabbing at Mr. Pretti as the others hold him down.
About
eight seconds after he is pinned, agents yell that he has a gun,
indicating that they may not have known he was armed until he was on the
ground.
The
same agent who approached with empty hands pulls a gun from among the
group that appears to match the profile of a firearm DHS said belonged
to Mr. Pretti.
The agents appear to have him under their control, with his arms pinned near his head.
As
the gun emerges from the melee, another agent aims his own firearm at
Mr. Pretti’s back and appears to fire one shot at close range. He then
appears to continue firing at Mr. Pretti, who collapses.
A third agent unholsters a weapon. Both agents appear to fire additional shots into Mr. Pretti as he lies motionless.
In total, at least 10 shots appear to have been fired within five seconds.
ICU nurse Alex Pretti, a US Citizen who had no criminal record was shot at least 10 times after he was disarmed and after he was beaten by Trump's ICE/DHS ground troops currently occupying a US city.
I frame my criticism of recent ICE incidents in contrast to
The Fourth Amendment:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and
effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated,
and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or
affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the
persons or things to be seized.
And I will continue to do so as the amendments are part of the constitution of
the United States is the law of the land.
In that blog post I referenced an incident where agents of U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement "bashed open a door" without a warrant -
in seeming violation of The Fourth Amendment.
After reminding US Senator Dave McCormick of
his oath of office, I ask if The Fourth Amendment still applies.
And this is how he responded (image of the full email response at the end of
this blogpost).
He wrote:
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a component of the Department
of Homeland Security, is responsible for enforcing the nation’s immigration
laws. Within ICE, Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) identifies,
arrests, and detains noncitizens who violate the Immigration and Nationality
Act (P.L. 82-414). Under federal law (8 U.S.C. §§ 1226 and 1357), immigration
officers have the authority to apprehend and detain individuals who are
unlawfully present in the United States.
And:
The federal government has a responsibility to enforce immigration laws. I
support President Trump’s efforts to restore order at the southern border,
uphold the rule of law, and protect American communities. This includes
detaining and removing inadmissible individuals who pose a threat to public
safety and national security. My office remains committed to ensuring that
established standards and appropriate due process are upheld through careful
oversight and ongoing engagement with DHS.
You'll note that there's no mention of The Fourth Amendment - a
part of the constitution that the federal government also has a
responsibility to respect.
I was in the middle of writing this when I learned about this:
Ok, Senator - how does this fit into your office's efforts to ensure
established standards and appropriate due process regarding ICE/DHS.
DHS posted this:
At 9:05 AM CT, as DHS law enforcement officers were conducting a targeted
operation in Minneapolis against an illegal alien wanted for violent
assault, an individual approached US Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm
semi-automatic handgun, seen here.
Explain something to me, Senator. It's obvious from the video that the soon-to-be bulletted man was already on the ground and was in the midst of taking a taking a serious beating. Hadn't the ICE-trained officers disarmed him by the time they were beating him?
Why kill him, then?
How much more of this do you have to see before you stand up for the people of the country and for the constitution and for the rule of law, Senator?
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers,
and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be
violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause,
supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place
to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Federal immigration agents bashed open a door and detained a U.S.
citizen in his Minnesota home at gunpoint without a warrant, then led
him out onto the streets in his underwear in subfreezing conditions,
according to his family and videos reviewed by The Associated Press.
ChongLy
“Scott” Thao told the AP that his daughter-in-law alerted him on Sunday
afternoon that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were
banging at the door of his residence in St. Paul. He told her not to
open it. Masked agents then forced their way in and pointed guns at the
family, yelling at them, Thao recalled.
“I was shaking,” he said. “They didn’t show any warrant; they just broke down the door.”
Federal immigration officers are asserting sweeping power to forcibly enter people’s homes without a judge’s warrant, according to an internal Immigration and Customs Enforcement memo
obtained by The Associated Press, marking a sharp reversal of
longstanding guidance meant to respect constitutional limits on
government searches.
The Fourth Amendment still applies, doesn't it?
Every Senator in the US Senate takes an oath that starts with this:
I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same...
In an email response to me, Senator Dave McCormick once wrote:
I support ICE officers and other federal law enforcement personnel who
risk their lives daily to protect our communities and uphold the rule of
law.
I am wondering if he still supports ICE in light of this assault on The Fourth Amendment.
I suppose I'll have to go to his contact page and ask him.
