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    Obamas say Alex Pretti killing a ‘tragedy’ as calls mount for full investigation

    Former president and first lady say killing should be ‘wake-up call’ and federal agents are not operating in lawful wayPressure mounted on Donald Trump’s administration on Sunday to fully investigate the previous day’s killing by federal immigration officers of 37-year-old nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.Calls for an investigation have come from all sides of the political divide after video analysis showed officers had removed from Pretti a handgun he was reportedly permitted to carry – and which he was not handling – before fatally shooting him. Continue reading… More

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    Fundraiser for Alex Pretti family raises nearly $700,000 day after fatal shooting

    GoFundMe campaign quickly surpasses goal of $20,000 a day after federal agents killed US citizen in MinneapolisAn online fundraiser benefiting the family of Alex Pretti had raised nearly $700,000 by Sunday afternoon, a day after federal agents killed the US citizen and nurse in Minneapolis in a shooting that ignited another round of street protests against Donald Trump’s administration and its immigration crackdown in the city.In a substantial indication of public sentiment, the “Alex Pretti is an American Hero” campaign on the GoFundMe platform surpassed its goal of $20,000 quickly after organizer Keith Edwards launched it on Saturday. Continue reading… More

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    Schumer: Democrats will block funding package if it includes homeland security money

    Announcement comes as anger toward DHS – which oversees ICE – intensifies after Alex Pretti fatally shotIn the wake of another fatal shooting of a US citizen in Minnesota by a federal officer, the Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, said his party would block a funding package next week if it includes money for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).The announcement, which dramatically escalates the potential for another partial government shutdown, comes as anger towards homeland security, which oversees ICE, intensifies among the party after a group of federal agents violently restrained and then fatally shot 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Continue reading… More

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    Alex Pretti did not brandish gun, witnesses say in sworn testimony

    Pair testify that Pretti did not hold weapon and was trying to help woman federal agents had shoved to the groundTwo witnesses to the killing of Alex Pretti have said in sworn testimony that the 37-year-old intensive care nurse was not brandishing a weapon when he approached federal agents in Minneapolis on Saturday, contradicting a claim made by Trump administration officials as they sought to cast the shooting of a prone man as an act of self-defense.Their accounts came in sworn affidavits that were filed in federal court in Minnesota late Saturday, just hours after Pretti’s killing, as part of a lawsuit brought by the ACLU on behalf of Minneapolis protesters against Kristi Noem and other homeland security officials directing the immigration crackdown in the city. Continue reading… More

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    Video contradicts Trump’s claim man killed in Minneapolis was a ‘gunman’

    Video evidence reviewed by Guardian shows Alex Pretti, killed by agents in Minneapolis, held a phone, not a gunVideo recorded by witnesses to the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis on Saturday shows that the 37-year-old registered nurse was holding a phone, not a gun, when he was tackled and shot, directly contradicting the claims of senior Trump administration officials that he threatened to “massacre” officers.In the aftermath of the killing, which was recorded by multiple witnesses, the Department of Homeland Security released an image of a handgun, which Donald Trump referred to as “the gunman’s gun” in a social media post. Kristi Noem, the DHS secretary, said at a briefing that Pretti had “approached US border patrol officers with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun”, though she later declined to say whether or not Pretti pulled the gun out. Continue reading… More

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    ICE raids turn life into a daily terror for Minneapolis schoolkids: ‘This is a generational trauma’

    As Trump-deployed agents pervade the region, students struggle to carry on with lessons while carrying grief and fear that they or their loved ones will be takenIn south Minneapolis, a special education student logged on for their online class from the basement. They were hiding because immigration agents were banging at the door.A second grader started having a panic attack in the middle of art class because agents had arrested his dad. His teacher had to ask a colleague to watch the other students, bring him outside, and hold him for half an hour to help calm him. Continue reading… More