The Death of Minnesota Nice?
I was born & raised in the Twin Cities Metro Area. I left Minnesota in 1997 when I joined the United States Air Force, going on to live in California, Texas, & Maryland for decades before returning home in 2021. While not the only reason for my return to the Land of 10,000 Lakes, seeing how my home was suffering in the wake of the George Floyd killing influenced my decision. I felt a need to be home.
For those who don’t know, I am a decorated veteran with no criminal history. I believe in helping people, even if it may be unpopular or put me in harm's way. I also believe in the 2nd Amendment & have a permit to carry. Because of those facts, I see myself in the death of Alex Pretti. Not only was a selfless man with no criminal history killed while he was committing no crimes, but - while I never met him personally - I recently learned that Alex was a friend of someone in my extended family.
What Happened to Alex Pretti?
Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse who cared for veterans like me, was killed on Saturday morning near a great donut shop in Minneapolis. He was legally recording ICE activities in the area & trying to help direct traffic. You may say, “That’s not his job!”…but Minnesotans often help even when it’s not our job. Someone trying to guide people driving through tight spaces or crowds is a common sight here.
Alex was in legal possession of a concealed firearm on Saturday, like an estimated 20 million Americans are every day. He never brandished his 9mm Sig Sauer P32 or acted in any way that would be threatening or inappropriate for someone entrusted to carry a firearm.
When ICE shoved two women, Alex Pretti’s nursing oath compelled him to come to their aid, putting himself between government agents & women he likely did not know.
From there…
Alex was sprayed in the face with OC spray, which is designed to disorient someone so they are either compliant or at least a less capable threat
Multiple government agents assaulted Alex, including hitting him in the head with a firearm
Alex was forcibly disarmed
AFTER Alex was no longer a threat - because he was no longer in possession of a firearm, had unclear vision, & was likely exhausted from having been manhandled my multiple government agents - he was shot 8-10 times at close range on a crowded public street in broad daylight. Video shows that several of those gunshots were fired into Alex’s no-longer-moving body
Want to know the worst part? (as if this isn’t all bad enough)…it appears that the reason Alex Pretti was killed was because the government agent who took away his Sig Sauer P32 also discharged a round into the ground near the scrum. That gunfire triggered one or more government agents to panic, shooting an unarmed US citizen to death on a public street in front of the entire world.
What Happened in the Wake of Alex Pretti’s Death?
In the wake of the homicide of Alex Pretti - a lauded ICU nurse with sparkling reputation for his quality of care at the local Veteran's Administration hospital - the same US Government that entrusted Alex to care for our veterans immediately labeled him a domestic terrorist. That public characterization of Alex as a dangerous threat to law enforcement & the community was made prior to any investigation, & thus without any evidence. Despite all we have learned about Alex - & all we have seen with our own eyes – the government continues to characterize Alex as a domestic terrorist.
The Parallels That Haunt Me
While I am not Alex Pretti, I cannot stop seeing the parallels between us. Alex was a selfless man with no criminal history who was killed while being quintessentially Minnesotan…& committing no crimes.
On the Saturday of Alex’s death, I also went to a donut shop near my home. I was not carrying a firearm on Saturday, but I could have been (I have a permit to carry). Government agents were not at my donut shop on Saturday, but they could have been in my neighborhood just as much as any other community in the Twin Cities Metro Area. If government agents HAD been at my donut shop while I was there, I could have been the guy documenting the activity & attempting to help direct traffic (I’ve been known to do both). Had I seen a woman shoved to the ground, I almost certainly would have been the guy to come to her aid.
From there…
I would have been sprayed in the face with OC spray
I would have been a disoriented man on the ground being pummeled by multiple government agents
I would have been forcibly disarmed by the same men who were beating me
I would have been shot and killed
I would have been called a domestic terrorist despite my clean record, years of service to the United States, and Top-Secret security clearance that required endless background checks
What Does This Mean?
I see Alex Pretti’s death as a window into how people - including friends & family - would respond if this HAD been me. It is heartbreaking to know that my rights would be overshadowed by questions about why I was there & opinions that I should have just surrendered & complied…even though Alex was killed AFTER surrendering & complying. The implications to all Americans, not just those of us in Minnesota, cannot be overstated:
If Americans who legally carry a firearm can be hit with baseless labels of being "heavily armed threats" with intent to “inflict maximum damage” AFTER they are killed by government agents, then the 2nd Amendment has no practical value
If the US government can dismiss calls to investigate agent-involved shootings while simultaneously obstructing outside law enforcement agencies from accessing the evidence needed to conduct thorough, independent investigations, then due process & equal justice under the law are fiction.
If recording government actions on public streets can be characterized as interfering & used to justify assaulting, detaining, or killing US citizens, then the 1st Amendment is as dead as my fellow Minnesotans Renee Good & Alex Pretti.
If government agents can invade private property - including the homes of US citizens – on an administrative warrant instead of the legally required judicial warrant, then the 4th Amendment is no longer respected by the United States Government.
If US citizens must choose between exercising their right to use deadly force to legally defend their homes against illegal invasions – or submitting to government searches & seizures of their private property in the hopes that they will not be harmed - then the 2nd Amendment is in no way a defense against tyranny.
If government error can result in innocent civilian deaths without accountability, then we are no longer the Land of the Free & Home of the Brave.
Never Downplay the Impact of Creeping Authoritarianism
As a law-abiding US citizen & a veteran who swore an oath to the US Constitution, I am horrified to have returned to Minnesota only to see my home state attacked rhetorically & physically by the government I served. It is devastating to see Americans whom I willingly volunteered to defend with my life only care about Constitutional protections for themselves. It is painful to accept that millions of Americans think “Don’t Tread on Me” doesn’t really mean “Don’t Tread on ANY OF US.”
If all of this sounds political, then you don't understand the relationship between politics & civics. If all of this sounds melodramatic, then you don't understand the realities in Minnesota today. If all of this seems like distant problems that could never happen in your hometown because “We’re not like you!,” then you should remember that mental gymnastics to defend the wrongs that we can all plainly see has historically encouraged expanding government overreach.
We Are Minnesota
Minnesota is not a foreign land of fraud, corruption, election stealing, communism, socialism, Sharia Law, or anything else that people have invented, exaggerated, & amplified to justify their actions. Those lies have done great harm to our state & our people for years while we tried not to pay much attention to the figments of other people’s imaginations…until government troops & violence arrived.
Minnesota is a diverse state known for our strong healthcare, education system, economy, low crime rates, & “Minnesota Nice.” Most of our residents are descendants of Vikings, meaning we unflinchingly endure brutal winters. What many outsiders don’t know is that we also have hot, humid, smothering summers filled with mosquitos that can carry away unattended small children. (OK, I made up that last part)
We are passionate about our sports franchises, despite being the American sports market that has suffered through the most consecutive combined seasons without a championship among the four major men’s sports.
We are the State of Hockey, the Land of 10,000 Lakes (which is an underestimation), the home of Bob Dylan & Prince, & the caretakers of the last pristine place in America - the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA).
Alex Pretti was “Minnesota Nice”…& the US Government killed him.
I am “Minnesota Now”…& I’m seething.