Hundreds gathered at the Pentacrest in Iowa City in freezing temperatures Sunday to protest the Trump administration’s expanded federal immigration enforcement operations in the Twin Cities.
The demonstration came after a federal officer shot and killed U.S. Citizen and VA nurse Alex Pretti. Videos show multiple federal agents swarming Pretti, punching him and bringing him to his knees. Several rounds of gunfire can be heard while Petti stiffens and lies on the ground.
“I just don’t understand how there are news outlets out there claiming that he was trying to kill these agents, trying to harm them,” said University of Iowa student Jeimy Panduro Orellana. “The video is clear, and the evidence has always been clear. If you look at these videos, if you’re really doing your research, you can just tell the lies that are going around.”
After eyewitness videos of Pretti’s death began circulating on social media and major news outlets Saturday morning, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Pretti approached DHS officers with a gun. Officials said he had a 9mm handgun in his possession. No videos have shown Pretti draw his weapon, but they do show he was disarmed moments before shots ring out.
“I was just devastated by the fact that we’ve gotten to this point as a country where we’re excusing this—where we’re seeing this man who spent his life helping veterans, helping others, helping a woman who had been tear gassed—and we have members of our community saying this is something that’s not a problem,” said Lily Froehlich, another demonstrator and student at the university.
The shooting is under federal investigation, but Minnesota officials have been fighting for the state to be able to conduct its own review of the shooting. A federal judge granted a temporary restraining order barring the federal government from altering or destroying any evidence related to the shooting.
Other protestors described feeling disgust, terror and anger after watching the videos.
“It’s nauseating, you know. There’s not a good word for it,” said Heather Moran. “I was in shock a little bit...you see his body lying there, and you see that he was not armed. I mean, he might have had a gun on his person, but that’s not illegal. So it was sickening and it was scary and it pissed me off.”
Several pointed out the close historical ties between Iowa and Minnesota, emphasizing the demonstration’s solidarity with the Twin Cities.
“I lived there for 15 years, and I think it’s just terrible that the federal government has gone to a peaceful place and turned it into an unpeaceful place,” said Chris Jones, who is a candidate for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture.
Iowa City council member Oliver Weilein said Minneapolis’ well-organized community resistance, which utilizes mutual aid and provides coordinated responses to ICE operations, provides a lesson in having the backs of your community members.
“What they’re doing right now is actually lifesaving,” Weilein said. “And we see it comes at a cost, with people putting themselves in harm’s way — being killed, being maimed, being arrested. But if we are going to actually fight back against something like this, this is a risk people need to calculate in their head, and I think it’s worth taking. It’s putting your body on the line for the dignity of yourself and your community.”
