Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s daughter, Hope Walz, recently took a strong stance against the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, describing it as a “horrible Gestapo” that should not receive funding. Her comments came in the wake of a controversial incident involving a Border Patrol agent-involved shooting.
Hope Walz voiced her concerns through a TikTok video, where she addressed the tragic death of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old resident of the Twin Cities. Pretti, a nurse at the Veterans Hospital, was shot by an agent in a situation that has sparked significant public outcry. Hope expressed her deep sense of “profound sadness” and “a lot of anger” regarding the incident.
In her video, Hope Walz criticized ICE for what she characterized as the “brutal beating and murder” of Pretti, suggesting that it was an execution carried out in “broad daylight.” She accused the agency of subsequently covering up the event with falsehoods.
She urged viewers to take action by contacting their senators to oppose funding for ICE, emphasizing the importance of making their voices heard. “This horrible Gestapo, essentially, should not be funded, cannot be funded,” she asserted. “So, call your senators—call all the senators, and tell them not to fund ICE, because it is deplorable at this point.”
Adding complexity to the situation, NBC News reported that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claimed the agent shot Pretti in self-defense after he allegedly resisted disarmament efforts. However, eyewitness video footage from multiple angles reportedly contradicts key parts of DHS’s account of the events, raising further questions about the incident.
The statement says agents were “conducting a targeted operation in Minneapolis against an illegal alien wanted for violent assault.” While conducting the operation, a man approached “U.S. Border Patrol officers with a 9mm semiautomatic handgun.”
Officers tried to disarm the man but he “violently resisted.”
NBC News reported that while DHS has stated that “an agent shot Pretti in self-defense after he violently resisted attempts to disarm him,” video footage from eyewitnesses “from various angles appear to contradict elements” of DHS’s “account of events”:
The encounter was recorded by eyewitnesses, and video circulated widely on social media throughout the weekend. DHS has said an agent shot Pretti in self-defense after he violently resisted attempts to disarm him. But eyewitness videos taken from various angles appear to contradict elements of the department’s account of events.
A DHS spokesperson reportedly confirmed to the outlet that “investigators are reviewing body-camera videos from immigration agents” during the recent shooting.
The shooting comes after Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE agent. Good was accused of having “weaponized her vehicle” against ICE officers.
