"But calling them “domestic terrorists” or “insurrectionists” is absurd. Even if they are organized in rudimentary ways, the administration has provided no evidence they are working together to hurt or kill any government officials or frontline ICE officers."
Just because the administration has not called you up and provided you with evidence doesn't mean it does not exist. The fact is that what these people were doing goes beyond protest. The agents were doing their job, arresting a dangerous criminal illegal alien who had broken multiple laws. These people are openly coordinating to interfere in that effort. That is NOT protest. I agree with some of what you say here, but like most liberals you are entirely too quick to presume there is no evidence when it suits you.
We haven’t heard from the two agents who fired. One trigger-happy rogue agent is always possible. But two? These guys drew and fired because they believed themselves to be in mortal danger from Pretti (who is being made out to be the next Mother Teresa). And how about the extra clip he was carrying? You don’t carry an extra clip unless you believe the 7, 8, 9 or more bullets already in your gun are not going to be enough.
Pretti was reportedly injured a week prior to his death with a rib injury due to his interference with Ice duties to arrest criminal illegal aliens. He was part of an organized anti ice group, not a protester. Ice is not trained for crowd control, not their job. Local LE is needed to protect the crowd & the feds by enforcing law. In order for Feds to do their job. The fact that local enforcement is told to stand down from any crowd control; while at the same time local politicians are whipping up the violence says a lot about who is responsible. In my mind the restraint the Feds have displayed while being so publicly mistreated is admirable. I’m hoping Trump’s reset in Minneapolis is successful. But the mayor has already stated he will continue to protect illegals, including the criminal ones.
There is new video from January 13 showing Pretti spitting on and shouting at officers in a vehicle. He then violently kicks the vehicle causing a tail light to fall off. It also appears that he may have been armed while committing a felony assault, an enhancement in sentencing.
This doofus is not just a "peaceful protester" and a "VA nurse," he's very violent and hateful.
Pretty’s return to the fray after a rib injury in connection with a previous engagement with ICE, coupled with the armament he brought to the second engagement strongly suggests to me he was ready to kill a whole lot of ICE agents. Most people would get the message from the rib injury and stay home.
"Ice is not trained for crowd control, not their job. Local LE is needed to protect the crowd & the feds by enforcing law. In order for Feds to do their job. The fact that local enforcement is told to stand down from any crowd control; while at the same time local politicians are whipping up the violence says a lot about who is responsible."
This is exactly what I have been saying. Mayors say they are not obligated to provide assistance for ICE and that doing so would pull police away from other important duties, and at the same time they egg on agitators to harass ICE. They refuse to provide police for crowd control, then they denigrate ICE for not being trained in controlling the crowds that they encouraged to harass them. This is all a sick game and once again they are pulling on the heart strings of a naive and decent public to try and win the "optics" battle.
Only thing I really agreed with in Alex's post was his criticism of Stephen Miller for claiming Pretti planned to assassinate federal agents, but given the information you shared, I'm not 100% sure that Miller was wrong. We'll see what other information comes out.
@Mark- he had TWO extra magazines (not clips), both fully loaded as was his gun. And no ID. YEs, he was allowed to carry but with rights comes responsibility. He was terribly careless.
What if you get excited and hit the clip release by mistake, having the second one might come in handy. I would say that most experienced carry people would have an extra clip if there was a way to carry it.
Having said that the is no way in hell I would get involved with law enforcement if I had a carry gun except to help if necessary.
This country is so lost, it’s so passive and indifferent, if someone took away our cell phones, we would see the widespread violence like at the end of the movie The Kingsmen, everybody attacking each other.
All I can say is, when it directly affects you, you’ll be on sites like this screaming “why isn’t there someone making a difference yesterday! “
If you have relatively young children or adults who are significantly dependent on you, and you’re sitting on your ass, I’d say shame on you, but most you don’t have any clue what the word “shame” means.
I will end with this, how many dead ICE agents do you have to see on the ground before you realize the left is beyond lost, make them flee, or bury them deeply.
Agree with your sentiment… it’s not the amount of ammo or number of magazines (not “clips”😉), it was his unlawful behavior interfering with law enforcement, and then being discovered to be armed.
You got me Carrie. I saw that after I posted it. I guess my mind maybe went back to Ft. Knox in the summer of 57 where I did my basic. I think the M1's used what was known as a clip.
By the way, does anybody else have the strength and integrity to say in so many words “I have no problem watching Minnesota burn to the ground, it’s beyond lost dangerous, and deceitful”.
Minneapolis, yes. Minnesota--NO. There is an entire state of red voters that are being held hostage by Minneapolis. Please do not give up on all of us. We NEED all of this fraud to be uncovered. What is happening here is going on all over the U.S., so this is not just a Minnesota thing and letting us "burn to the ground" does not solve the problem.
It is really hard to have sympathy for the alleged hostages of this leftist culture in these urban areas that just decimates your state.
So rise up and get rid of these scum, make them flee, or bury them deeply. It really is that simple. They’re not going away. They’re not going to just have a moment of realization and be cooperative.
And how do you propose that normal citizens do that? I get the media is brainwashing the country, but aren't we better than to throw away an entire state that is unwillingly being driven into the ground?
You’ll NEVER see honest caring committed accountable citizens rise up like they did in Iran and protest the sociopathic hate mongering leftist scum in these hellhole urban centers of decay and death.
Until these alleged majority “Americans” show by number and force they will genuinely risk dying on the hill of Freedom Independence Choice and Autonomy, shut the F up and continue kneeling to evil.
NO! I NEVER have any desire to see anything -especially anybody - burned to the ground. Stop!! the thought. Self-control? I want truth. I want law to be enforced wisely. I see band wagon mentality running amok in Twin Cities. I KNOW people there; measured thinkers, yet captured by Leftist 'justice'/'compassion' warriors. That ideology is operationally dangerous now. Don't need to meet at that level.
Gee, folks like you if you ran the attitudes and expectations of what this country was about 80 years ago, you’d ALL be speaking German on the East side of this country and Japanese on the West side…
Andy Ngo and others have infiltrated the organizations that are conducing this insurgency. (SIG) Also some foreign funding sources. Good pieces in Revolver News, REd State and X. ICE may not be enough to stop this color revolution.IMO
Just heard Mark Halperin make a sane suggestion. ICE should not have to provide SECURITY. No one should be in their space. Now, my words: 25' ft? (or more?) of their enforcement. Security should be by ?? police. IF municipalities refuse, THEY are responsible for impeding law enforcement. I think we saw Maple Grove insert police.
Duh... but they don't let the police help because they want these incidents to happen. Don't you understand what is happening? The people that show up to these scenes are gaslighting instigators. They are gang stalkers. Mayors refuse to provide police for crowd control and then denigrate ICE for not being trained in crowd control.
I DO understand the lies being told; and their desire for chaos, and for law to look 'mean'; desire to CAUSE error. The depth of coordination is becoming known. I KNOW how many on Left are NOT getting truth; haven't been for years. (People believe what they want to believe.) Yet, some still have open minds. It's very sad state of affairs to which our nation has come. Most people are not aware of the malevolent schemes and destructive plans Left is coordinating. Let that truth be EXPOSED and resound! When truth is on your side no need to be ugly/hateful/wish ill.
You are correct. This is well organized, along the lines of the Iraq insurgency: a head (the Lt. Governor), troops, spotters, cutouts, moles in hotels, rotating shifts and real-time access to license plate databases, as revealed by Andy Ngo. Minnesota is a test bed. If not destroyed, it will soon come to a city near you.
And Pretti was not carrying legally. If you carry, you Must also carry an i.d. Period.
And, Alex, ICE has a difficult time in a situation “….where the public is trying to frustrate them — possibly illegally….”
Ya THINK? Jonathan Turley has defended protestors. He flat out states that “observers” may not interfere/harass officers during protests. They may only legally observe. And most of the people out in the street seem not to be keen First Amendment types as they have forgotten the part about “peaceful assembly.”
According to several pieces I’ve read, Pretti sustained a broken rib from a previous protest he was a part of a week or so ago. No one wants him dead but he holds responsibility for a lot of this.
Not that it matters, but I’m about done with your political views. Don’t need them and not what I signed up for. It’s irritating.
@Barber- because it goes against the saint narrative. After all, he was a nurse! If anyone has been paying attention to the media, we have seen nurses getting fired right and left for their threats.
Did you see the nurse from VA? She made a video telling nurses to carry a syringe of medicine to knock out ICE officers. Her second recommendation was to soak poison oak leaves in water and put the poisoned water in a spray bottle to spray on the faces and hands of ICE officers. Her 3rd recommendation was to go on dating sites to find ICE officers, go on a date with them and put Ex-lax in their food. These people are f-ing nuts and psychopaths.
Yes I saw. I do not allow any health care from providers under the age of 50 unless they agree to be interviewed extensively. Anyone graduated from medical or nursing school in the last 20-30 years has been indoctrinated.
On behalf of nurses everywhere I apologize, and am appalled at some of the statements and actions of a handful. Statement where nurses threaten to hurt people and wish harm on patients is contrary to all we stand for. As a long time nursing instructor, we really do try and screen for this but you don't catch them all.
@Jan -it's not the nursing program that turns them. It's the peripheral studies courses and their progressive teachers and professors that do it. I was in nursing school. I saw it first hand.
You are spot on. Regrettably, in the Big Ten research university where I taught, there were plenty of "progressive" nursing faculty who encourage suicidal empathy.
It's real easy here. If the Ds were on the other side and something like this happened, the media wouldn't care in the slightest.
What I find more interesting is, according to the Left, Pretti could not have intended to commit a crime because he had a license to bear arms. Do they realize that they have just accepted the gun rights’ narrative (which happens to coincide with reality) that legal gun owners almost never commit crimes with their guns?
However, they also seem unclear about the fact that, even if you’re a licensed gun owner, that doesn’t mean you have a license to engage in illegal activity. They get it wrong at both ends.
Once again, on this topic, I feel like AB could've been more balanced by at least dedicating a paragraph to these two points. They are valid and would've helped make a more thorough case for his assertion.
They are highly organized. I'm baffled that Alex doesn't know this. The Lt Governor, Peggy Flanagan and one of Tim Walz's campaign staff are on the Signal Chat conspiring with other "protesters" to impede ICE while it's doing its job. They are actively participating in undermining the US government. Alex needs to wake up. Does he still think Antifa is just an "idea"?
Nancy Pelosi invented that term for the weak minded after January 6th. Now the dumbass republicans are misusing it as well ... insurrection? Really, a bunch of white liberal females are going to overthrow the government violently?
Yes...I think we all knew it was co-ordinated and being funded by far leftist. But what does that have to do with shooting a guy in the back while he was on the ground? Just something terribly wrong with that picture. And I think Pretti was a leftist activist but not sure he deserved a bullet in the back. And before you attack me....I am a staunch conservative and a Trump supporter most of the time. Supposedly the two officers in question discharged their weapons accidentally. Shooting someone in the back while laying on the ground does not sound like an accident to me. Convince me otherwise.
Did you not see Pretti gun went off first? On accident I presume. That's enough for any LEO to stop the threat that they were under. Everything happened within a few seconds. All the while whistles are blowing constantly, bullhorns blaring. It's chaotic and getting involved as a protestor with a gun is unhinged.
Bring a gun to a riot, you’re gonna end up getting shot or then shooting somebody and then being arrested. But you can all rationalize it to the end of time that people can carry guns around and there’s no consequences.
Training for concealed carry: If you encounter law enforcement inform them you are armed and where the gun is. Then follow instructions. Keep you hands plainly visible. Pretti was pretty stupid.
Because Alex is still a leftist. He cannot help himself. Let's see how he would react as he is doing his job with people blowing whistles in his face, spitting on him, throwing things at him, having where he sleeps surrounded by people banging pots and destroying the lobby following him around all day and interfering with his doing his job. And above it all government officials AND the local police not helping in the least and instead calling him a nazi, gestapo and telling people to follow him with their cameras in his face instigating him to 'do something' like screaming 'shoot me' so the government can get footage they can use to PROSECUTE HIM FOR DOING HIS JOB!!!! That is what is going on. I have no sympathy for any of these people. Renee Good, there is an inappropriately named individual, and Alex Pretti would be alive today if they just minded their own business!!!!
These organized protesters think what they're doing is okay. They've been told by Walz and Frey that they have to do their job and impede ICE. Of course Walz and Frey are inside and safe because they have security. They don't care about the protesters or the illegal immigrants. It's about covering up the massive fraud in Minneapolis that they let go on for years. It's also about burning down the American government and way of life which is a marxist tactic.Alinsky's Rules for Radicals says it all.
Exactly. It is look at this shiny object over here. Walz and Frey and their minions are up to their necks in this theft. The somalis provide more than campaign funds they are are ensuring the continued riches of these corrupt democrat officials. It is time for the government to fan out to every state focusing on the democrat controlled ones because that is where the real corruption is and audit every agency. It is past time for the government to stop giving one DIME to any NGO. Let the NGOs raise money from private donations period. Paul just brought up they added $5.7 billion to the budget for REFUGEES. Paul is right the churches should go back to supporting 'refugees' with their own funds. THAT IS CHARITY. Charity is not forcibly stealing taxpayer money to give to democrat groups for their vote. Think what we could do without all that tax money. How about pay off our debt in only a few years.
Non Governmental Organization It sounds good, doesn't it? Now we know they use our tax dollars to fulfill government wishes they can't get through Congress
And with so many calling for death, doxxing the agents, etc, and then this guy with the gun on him, and it even going off even accidentally...? How could one blame an officer who in the moment thought Pretti was more of a threat than people are now saying? It's ridiculous, and I'd like to them how they'd act in the same situation.
Yes, they are indeed highly organized so much so that they make the professionals in the federal operation look like amateurs and they do this with cell phones and location apps. Our federal people are clueless when it comes to social media and social media operations.
"He was trying to defend a woman who was being pepper-sprayed. Then he was pepper-sprayed, thrown to the ground, and shot."
It's unfortunate he was shot, however you never should interject yourself in an interaction between law enforcement and someone. Even more so if you are carrying, as things can go sideways very quickly.
You are a rare example of sanity. I get discouraged reading many comments here and on X, even at the WSJ from people whose reactions are emotional and ideological. It's good to read the occasional rational take.
Michael, you say you “get discouraged reading many comments here and on X, even at the WSJ from people whose reactions are emotional and ideological.”
And to that I say, “Amen, brother!”
I am a longtime (46 years) subscriber to the WSJ, and am appalled at the abysmal quality of many, if not most, of the comments that have been posted in the WSJ over the past decade or so. They consist primarily of snarky and juvenile rants that are based on unsubstantiated opinions, beliefs, and emotions rather than on facts, logic, and reason.
WFF if you are a long time reader of the WSJ you must have noticed the change of direction of that newspaper after Emma Tucker took over bringing her long British liberal history with her, ( 20+ years at the Financial Times and then on to the British Times). I, like many others, couldn't stand it after a few years of her influence and cancelled my subscription. I get much better information from outside sources, many of them on Substack.
That POINT is in my opinion a major CRUX or problem today. So MANY continue to follow or trust the WRONG sources of media and reporting. As you mention its been obvious where main stream media as chosen to go, yet people continue to trust such corrupted political narrative!
THAT is a shocking NOT insignificant FACT of 'news' at U's. (Like CNN in airports. Leftist monopoly. Add in the literal Socialist leadership (National President ) now of our public libraries.
Alex, By far your worst contribution to Substack. I'm dumber after reading it. And like a bee who doesn't waste energy trying to convince a fly that honey is better than shit, I'm going to waste very little of my energy dismissing your cowardly assessment. Remember when you tried dunking on Dr. Robert Malone on the efficacy of Ivermectin, and then never admitted your error or rude treatment of him on Fox? This is worse and you appear complicit with reckless and deadly behavior that is getting people killed and putting law enforcement in peril, all just to feel good about yourself? Please. What possible good can come out of this tripe? Please consider pulling it down. My guess is the backlash is going to sting a bit. Yeah, you've stepped in it again. :(
Democrat politicians are encouraging their base to attack by smearing ICE as Nazi Gestapo. They are coordinating an insurrection on signal group chats. Democrat media covers up any context that Good and Pretti interfered with law enforcement and resisted arrest with deadly weapons. If the administration backs down, then federal laws will be considered null and void in all secessionist sanctuary cities. Here is the speech Trump needs to give about the insurrection act: https://yuribezmenov.substack.com/p/trump-state-of-union-2026-insurrection
Because he is an ignorant Jackal. It's so damn obvious. What bothers me is that the Govt (FBI) tracked down single individuals who protested, not in but near the capitol, for 2+ years but they can't seem to uncover the money source of all these anti ICE protests. Me thinks that Trump is fully engaged with the Greater Israel project. It would serve him right to get impeached and imprisoned after he loses the congress for supporting Israel as opposed to his promise of MAGA. Just saying.
@Eugene- everyone Tucker Carlson has interactions with, either interviewing or having on his shows, has gone off the rails like he has. Candace is under some kind of spell because DAYUM she's gotten weird. And dangerous.
They know the source. It's been traced through several NGOs. George Soros and Neville Roy Singham, an American living in Communist China are the main sources. Some of the money used is our own tax dollars that NGOs get for their "projects"
Team reality has fallen. Rudimentary Alex. Really? How wrong can you be ? These protesters are well financed, well organized, have a Nationwide infrastructure to conduct mayhem in any state and any city. Rudimentary is the last word that should be used to describe this scripted insurrection.
Your analysis is totally wrong, Alex. Trump didn't back down at all, Walz caved after being served. Also the leftist terrorists aren't just "organized in rudimentary ways". Their Signal command has been exposed and it lead right to the top of Walz's administration. Trump has Walz by the balls, hence his sudden cooperation of full police cooperation, State Police protection for ICE agents and turning over every illegal alien the city and state have arrested.
PS, I find it amusing that regular people have done more to expose the corruption, fraud and truth about Minnesota than our worthless far-left corporate media shills. We don't hate the media enough!
He’s totally ignored the signal chat no matter how many times it’s brought up to him and has mocked counterinsurgency experts who bring it up. It’s the gellman amnesia effect in action, trusting the same media on this that he knows for a fact is wrong on areas he’s an expert in. Very frustrating but also kinda amusing to witness!
I was not aware of the "gellman amnesia effect". I see it was coined by Michael Chrighton, a great author and conservative. Thank you for introducing me to it. Yeah, Alex is obviously an intelligent man, but willfully blind.
You were wrong then and you are wrong now. Protesters become terrorists when they begin using violence (Good hiring the officer with her vehicle) or the threat of violence (Pretti carrying at a protest, whether concealed or open).
These are tragic incidents to be sure, but as is evidenced by non-violent operations in dozens of other states, these incidents are entirely the fault of people assaulting ICE officers. If they want to go and be confrontational, fine. But do so without violence or the threat of it.
Carrying is not a threat of violence. Happens ALL THE TIME at Midwest protests. You should’ve seen the long guns people were carrying at a Covid protest in WI back in May 2020.
Did they redirect traffic and get in fights with cops? Oh my goodness, it’s rule 1 2 and 3 or open carry and concealed carry not to get into fights when you’re armed, especially not with cops. You have to know this by now.
But go ahead, next time you’re at the scene of a car accident with cops and firefighters, just park your car next to the sirens, get out, and start waving the cars around yourself. Then when the cops come to arrest you, tell them, it’s ok, I’m armed! We’ll all chip in for your legal defense…
I am responding to the comment above in which JT states protestors become terrorists when they carry at a protest. NO they do not. That is the only context in which my comment applies. You're adding facts.
@Chick- but with rights comes responsibility. Pretti was terribly irresponsible. His death may not be 100% his fault but he contributed to it. I wonder if it was on purpose. I wonder if he had had enough of this world and wanted someone to do the dirty work.
Refer to my response to Adrian...I understand that but that's not what my comment referred to. I doubt Pretti intended to have 10 bullets put in him that day.
It’s amazing with all the smart people in media that they keep blaming ICE. Both of these shootings were Border patrol, an entire different department. Border patrol are the ones leaving Minneapolis. But if federal law isn’t a real thing to these people what does it matter.
Smart people? They are not smart, they are idealogues incapable of thought or reason. They don't listen to arguments except for Scott Jennings every one is a far left crud. I don't know if they are lying willfully or just so indoctrinated and stupid they are incapable of thought. Either way they are vile and despicable and they are working to destroy my country so they can run everything. Only they won't be running anything. They will be the first to go when the muslims they think they are using to get power actually take power. The muslims re using the democrats whom they despise for the useful idiots they are. Why do you think all of this is happening in Minnesota first.
Agree, but I'm not sure who will win, Muslims or Chinese Communists. Communists have a name for people like this, useful idiots and they are the first to go. Chinese seem to embrace globalism with CCP on top.
Anyone who has taken an LTC or Concelead Carry course is very clearly instructed to avoid any and all confrontation - more so than someone who doesnt carry because the ramifications are multiplied exponentionally when something goes wrong. And it did.
I admired your work on Covid and marijuana for years and have subscribed for years. I purchased and read your book on marijuana and Covid.
I wrote a note with my cancellation today of my subscription, which I summarize here: You are to be commended for your courageous and insightful work. But this article is deeply offensive: not because you are necessarily wrong on the facts, but because you pivoted to recommend the immoral policy that has brought America to its knees: Amnesty.
I very much appreciate your reply. But I have watched politicians, big business, leftists, and yes, violent agitators push for amnesty, for 40 years, beginning with the amnesty granted in 1986 and signed by President Reagan. Both parties push hard and use every opportunity to excise lawlessness by illegal aliens.
But let an an American break the law and publicly refuse to pay taxes-they won’t spend one dime of political capital to grant amnesty to that person.
(Mass legal immigration from 1965 until today has had devastating negative effects-despite massive public opposition from voters. Immigrants are even granted special legal privileges, including affirmative action and massive welfare programs.)
Mr. Berenson was a beacon of courage on Covid and marijuana. To read this piece and see the same position taken by so many others on illegal aliens was the Rubicon for me. Perhaps it’s my age and seeing what has happened to my country that has so deeply affected me.
My family legally adopted a child from another country. But she deserves better too.
Excellent posts. I was fully against the amnesty of Reagan--mere millions at the time ...and I remember EVERYONE agreed it would never happen again, and here we are again. I know they want me to die because I contribute to collective memory. They count on the dumbing of the American mind and the Universities and the toxic sin of empathy. I think Alex' point most closely adheres to where we are at and the Feds will have to back down in some manner. I think Alex gets some of these facts wrong but you must know by now that facts don't matter. Look at how stupid Americans are becoming as the polls show further and further erosion of sanity stances. Most Americans ir seems now disapprove of ICE! I never thought they'd ever get millions out---we cannot even get the worst of the worst out of Minneapolis. But this will embolden all the other wads for sure. Why wouldn't they press their advantage? And every day we get NO HELP from Congress and the courts on the issues that are eroding the country--birth citizenship, chain migration, the 1965 Kennedy amendment and the Islamification of the West. At this point only Europe is doing a better job of erasing itself.
@Brad- My BIL and his family escaped Cuba in '63 and were actual refugees. They quickly embraced the American way of life. All three kids have Masters/Doctorate in Education. Technically, they were illegal but made themselves legal. I'm probably your age and have seen a lot, too. But I try to listen to all sides and try to understand where they're coming from. Some simply can't see beyond their own noses, unfortunately.
The development of the signal chat groups shows beyond doubt that the agitators are not protestors and have a much more nefarious agenda than protest. I think the words "domestic terrorist" have a lot more weight when this information is factored in, and the fact that higher ups in the Minnesota government are involved in the organization makes these groups even more dangerous.
Alex Pretti did have a right to own and carry a firearm, but all that is voided when he is actively confronting lawful operations of Immigration enforcement. I have no doubts that these agitators feel the laws do not apply to them, and they act as if that were true. When push finally comes to shove, 2 of them have died in the commission of their felonies.
I am personally not upset about it.
Our country will quickly unravel if the 2 tiered justice system is allowed to continue.
As a reasonable thinker, I would have no expectation of safety if I acted as Alex Pretti had in a confrontation with armed officers.
WHY DO WE MAKE EXCEPTIONS FOR THESE PEOPLE THAT WE WOULDN'T EXPECT FOR OURSELVES???
Good question, because we do. I often think about that. Things that were normal 20 years ago are now problematic; laws that were normal then are now broken with impunity and the lawmakers and enforcers are the bad guys.
The liberals have built a very clever psychological system where the laws and the rules of society should make everything easy and permissible for everyone with very little effort on their part. And anyone asking for excellence and for rules to be followed is the bad guy. It's classic bad parenting to the nth degree, society wide.
Creating dependency is anti-American in every sense.
What if we selected immigrants for citizenship who have never collected welfare (and that means for their children too)?
The type of immigrant we need is someone who values self-reliance and who would not want to collect welfare. So, what if we used that as a criteria for citizenship for those non-violent illegal immigrants who are looking for a better life?
All dependent illegal immigrants would not be eligible for citizenship.
Problem is, a LOT apply for their children to receive welfare, making the birthright citizenship a huge issue.
I get it and I agree. 8 USC Section 1325 is very clear - do not come here illegally.
But, we have a big problem b/c so many did come here, so in an effort to clear the herd a bit, I think that criteria would probably reduce those numbers bigly, b/c so many illegals apply for SS numbers for their children born here, as I found in my research.
well, a proper reading of the 14th amendment would clear up the false notion of "birthright citizenship" which means these families don't have to be separated and can all leave together holding hands
Not on your life. I want every illegal and their spawn out of the country. Gone. Deported. I don't care if they have been here for 20 years they are criminals and leeches. They do not pay taxes I am so tired of hearing that garbage. And they are taking money from me in taxes. So no no SS number for any of them. I have had it I am done.
My maternal grandparents grew up in Canada. Grandpa was born in MN (ancestry to Mayflower). They fled drought and tornado to his Iowa family when my Mom was 2. I remember many times hearing of my Grandma's pride to LEARN and become a US Naturalized citizen. I LOVE legal immigrants.
So do I! I've worked with a number of legal immigrants and they've said the same thing - to get citizenship is costly, takes a lot of time but worth it and they are so glad to be American citizens. But, they are not happy that they did it the right way when so many others do not.
This is the first time I was appalled. Alex spoke of tone-deafness. This post is the best example, and that line that many of his readers won't like it is condescending, to say the least. It implies he's saying something for our own good.
Yes, a contrary viewpoint is often helpful. It opens up the horizon, but when there's an accompanying attitude of condescension whatever good the message contained will usually be swept away.
That’s the only reason I finished reading his wildly inaccurate article. But I did Unsubscribe.
Hopefully he reads the links many Commenters here provided and does some basic work before just barfing out a post like this in the future. Disappointing 👎🏼
"But calling them “domestic terrorists” or “insurrectionists” is absurd. Even if they are organized in rudimentary ways, the administration has provided no evidence they are working together to hurt or kill any government officials or frontline ICE officers."
What evidence would satisfy you Alex? Seriously?
https://x.com/ComfortEagle1/status/2015788635275079912
Just because the administration has not called you up and provided you with evidence doesn't mean it does not exist. The fact is that what these people were doing goes beyond protest. The agents were doing their job, arresting a dangerous criminal illegal alien who had broken multiple laws. These people are openly coordinating to interfere in that effort. That is NOT protest. I agree with some of what you say here, but like most liberals you are entirely too quick to presume there is no evidence when it suits you.
We haven’t heard from the two agents who fired. One trigger-happy rogue agent is always possible. But two? These guys drew and fired because they believed themselves to be in mortal danger from Pretti (who is being made out to be the next Mother Teresa). And how about the extra clip he was carrying? You don’t carry an extra clip unless you believe the 7, 8, 9 or more bullets already in your gun are not going to be enough.
Pretti was reportedly injured a week prior to his death with a rib injury due to his interference with Ice duties to arrest criminal illegal aliens. He was part of an organized anti ice group, not a protester. Ice is not trained for crowd control, not their job. Local LE is needed to protect the crowd & the feds by enforcing law. In order for Feds to do their job. The fact that local enforcement is told to stand down from any crowd control; while at the same time local politicians are whipping up the violence says a lot about who is responsible. In my mind the restraint the Feds have displayed while being so publicly mistreated is admirable. I’m hoping Trump’s reset in Minneapolis is successful. But the mayor has already stated he will continue to protect illegals, including the criminal ones.
There is new video from January 13 showing Pretti spitting on and shouting at officers in a vehicle. He then violently kicks the vehicle causing a tail light to fall off. It also appears that he may have been armed while committing a felony assault, an enhancement in sentencing.
This doofus is not just a "peaceful protester" and a "VA nurse," he's very violent and hateful.
Pretty’s return to the fray after a rib injury in connection with a previous engagement with ICE, coupled with the armament he brought to the second engagement strongly suggests to me he was ready to kill a whole lot of ICE agents. Most people would get the message from the rib injury and stay home.
There’s a video circulating of Pretti spitting on ICE and kicking out the rear taillight of what I assume is their vehicle.
"Ice is not trained for crowd control, not their job. Local LE is needed to protect the crowd & the feds by enforcing law. In order for Feds to do their job. The fact that local enforcement is told to stand down from any crowd control; while at the same time local politicians are whipping up the violence says a lot about who is responsible."
This is exactly what I have been saying. Mayors say they are not obligated to provide assistance for ICE and that doing so would pull police away from other important duties, and at the same time they egg on agitators to harass ICE. They refuse to provide police for crowd control, then they denigrate ICE for not being trained in controlling the crowds that they encouraged to harass them. This is all a sick game and once again they are pulling on the heart strings of a naive and decent public to try and win the "optics" battle.
Only thing I really agreed with in Alex's post was his criticism of Stephen Miller for claiming Pretti planned to assassinate federal agents, but given the information you shared, I'm not 100% sure that Miller was wrong. We'll see what other information comes out.
@Mark- he had TWO extra magazines (not clips), both fully loaded as was his gun. And no ID. YEs, he was allowed to carry but with rights comes responsibility. He was terribly careless.
In Minnesota you are required to have ID and your permit on you to legally carry. He had neither.
@David- yes
What if you get excited and hit the clip release by mistake, having the second one might come in handy. I would say that most experienced carry people would have an extra clip if there was a way to carry it.
Having said that the is no way in hell I would get involved with law enforcement if I had a carry gun except to help if necessary.
This country is so lost, it’s so passive and indifferent, if someone took away our cell phones, we would see the widespread violence like at the end of the movie The Kingsmen, everybody attacking each other.
All I can say is, when it directly affects you, you’ll be on sites like this screaming “why isn’t there someone making a difference yesterday! “
If you have relatively young children or adults who are significantly dependent on you, and you’re sitting on your ass, I’d say shame on you, but most you don’t have any clue what the word “shame” means.
I will end with this, how many dead ICE agents do you have to see on the ground before you realize the left is beyond lost, make them flee, or bury them deeply.
By the way…
https://thefederalist.com/2026/01/28/trump-has-failed-his-nullification-crisis-other-states-will-follow-minnesotas-example/
Trump is a political hack in the end. Vote for that, losers and frauds of Repugnocant agendas.
Again, sociopaths and cowards, that’s whatcha votin’ fo…
Agree with your sentiment… it’s not the amount of ammo or number of magazines (not “clips”😉), it was his unlawful behavior interfering with law enforcement, and then being discovered to be armed.
You got me Carrie. I saw that after I posted it. I guess my mind maybe went back to Ft. Knox in the summer of 57 where I did my basic. I think the M1's used what was known as a clip.
There’s plenty of guns I’m not very knowledgeable about, especially the ones that use clips. Thank you for your service!
Always have 2, 4 is better for mouse guns.
By the way, does anybody else have the strength and integrity to say in so many words “I have no problem watching Minnesota burn to the ground, it’s beyond lost dangerous, and deceitful”.
Minneapolis, yes. Minnesota--NO. There is an entire state of red voters that are being held hostage by Minneapolis. Please do not give up on all of us. We NEED all of this fraud to be uncovered. What is happening here is going on all over the U.S., so this is not just a Minnesota thing and letting us "burn to the ground" does not solve the problem.
It is really hard to have sympathy for the alleged hostages of this leftist culture in these urban areas that just decimates your state.
So rise up and get rid of these scum, make them flee, or bury them deeply. It really is that simple. They’re not going away. They’re not going to just have a moment of realization and be cooperative.
Kill or be killed, frame it how it works for you.
And how do you propose that normal citizens do that? I get the media is brainwashing the country, but aren't we better than to throw away an entire state that is unwillingly being driven into the ground?
You’ll NEVER see honest caring committed accountable citizens rise up like they did in Iran and protest the sociopathic hate mongering leftist scum in these hellhole urban centers of decay and death.
Until these alleged majority “Americans” show by number and force they will genuinely risk dying on the hill of Freedom Independence Choice and Autonomy, shut the F up and continue kneeling to evil.
IT IS THAT SIMPLE!!!!
NO! I NEVER have any desire to see anything -especially anybody - burned to the ground. Stop!! the thought. Self-control? I want truth. I want law to be enforced wisely. I see band wagon mentality running amok in Twin Cities. I KNOW people there; measured thinkers, yet captured by Leftist 'justice'/'compassion' warriors. That ideology is operationally dangerous now. Don't need to meet at that level.
“Don’t need to meet at that level”…
Gee, folks like you if you ran the attitudes and expectations of what this country was about 80 years ago, you’d ALL be speaking German on the East side of this country and Japanese on the West side…
Sounds like he had 21 bullets ready to shoot since his gun was fully loaded…🤔😟
Here you go…
https://open.substack.com/pub/khmezek/p/who-was-alex-pretti?r=13eyc2&utm_medium=ios&shareImageVariant=overlay
Key point from Karen Hunt’s article here…
ICE — but has been the subject of more than 100 allegations that it has a defect that allows it to fire "uncommanded."
Authorities shared a picture of Pretti's loaded handgun in the wake of Saturday's shooting, showing a fully loaded magazine.
The weapon appears to be a high-end custom variant, a P320 AXG Combat, which comes with three 21-round
magazines. The gun retails for $1,100 to $1,300.
Andy Ngo and others have infiltrated the organizations that are conducing this insurgency. (SIG) Also some foreign funding sources. Good pieces in Revolver News, REd State and X. ICE may not be enough to stop this color revolution.IMO
Just heard Mark Halperin make a sane suggestion. ICE should not have to provide SECURITY. No one should be in their space. Now, my words: 25' ft? (or more?) of their enforcement. Security should be by ?? police. IF municipalities refuse, THEY are responsible for impeding law enforcement. I think we saw Maple Grove insert police.
Duh... but they don't let the police help because they want these incidents to happen. Don't you understand what is happening? The people that show up to these scenes are gaslighting instigators. They are gang stalkers. Mayors refuse to provide police for crowd control and then denigrate ICE for not being trained in crowd control.
I DO understand the lies being told; and their desire for chaos, and for law to look 'mean'; desire to CAUSE error. The depth of coordination is becoming known. I KNOW how many on Left are NOT getting truth; haven't been for years. (People believe what they want to believe.) Yet, some still have open minds. It's very sad state of affairs to which our nation has come. Most people are not aware of the malevolent schemes and destructive plans Left is coordinating. Let that truth be EXPOSED and resound! When truth is on your side no need to be ugly/hateful/wish ill.
Why is Andy Ngo doing Kash Patel's job?
You are correct. This is well organized, along the lines of the Iraq insurgency: a head (the Lt. Governor), troops, spotters, cutouts, moles in hotels, rotating shifts and real-time access to license plate databases, as revealed by Andy Ngo. Minnesota is a test bed. If not destroyed, it will soon come to a city near you.
And Pretti was not carrying legally. If you carry, you Must also carry an i.d. Period.
And, Alex, ICE has a difficult time in a situation “….where the public is trying to frustrate them — possibly illegally….”
Ya THINK? Jonathan Turley has defended protestors. He flat out states that “observers” may not interfere/harass officers during protests. They may only legally observe. And most of the people out in the street seem not to be keen First Amendment types as they have forgotten the part about “peaceful assembly.”
According to several pieces I’ve read, Pretti sustained a broken rib from a previous protest he was a part of a week or so ago. No one wants him dead but he holds responsibility for a lot of this.
Not that it matters, but I’m about done with your political views. Don’t need them and not what I signed up for. It’s irritating.
Why is there not more publicity about the fact that Pretti was a KNOWN agitator, not a good Samaritan???
@Barber- because it goes against the saint narrative. After all, he was a nurse! If anyone has been paying attention to the media, we have seen nurses getting fired right and left for their threats.
Did you see the nurse from VA? She made a video telling nurses to carry a syringe of medicine to knock out ICE officers. Her second recommendation was to soak poison oak leaves in water and put the poisoned water in a spray bottle to spray on the faces and hands of ICE officers. Her 3rd recommendation was to go on dating sites to find ICE officers, go on a date with them and put Ex-lax in their food. These people are f-ing nuts and psychopaths.
Yes I saw. I do not allow any health care from providers under the age of 50 unless they agree to be interviewed extensively. Anyone graduated from medical or nursing school in the last 20-30 years has been indoctrinated.
On behalf of nurses everywhere I apologize, and am appalled at some of the statements and actions of a handful. Statement where nurses threaten to hurt people and wish harm on patients is contrary to all we stand for. As a long time nursing instructor, we really do try and screen for this but you don't catch them all.
@Jan -it's not the nursing program that turns them. It's the peripheral studies courses and their progressive teachers and professors that do it. I was in nursing school. I saw it first hand.
You are spot on. Regrettably, in the Big Ten research university where I taught, there were plenty of "progressive" nursing faculty who encourage suicidal empathy.
Video clip from a BBC newscast a from a couple of weeks ago showing the friendly ICU nurse acting like a domestic terrorist is now making the rounds
It's real easy here. If the Ds were on the other side and something like this happened, the media wouldn't care in the slightest.
What I find more interesting is, according to the Left, Pretti could not have intended to commit a crime because he had a license to bear arms. Do they realize that they have just accepted the gun rights’ narrative (which happens to coincide with reality) that legal gun owners almost never commit crimes with their guns?
However, they also seem unclear about the fact that, even if you’re a licensed gun owner, that doesn’t mean you have a license to engage in illegal activity. They get it wrong at both ends.
Once again, on this topic, I feel like AB could've been more balanced by at least dedicating a paragraph to these two points. They are valid and would've helped make a more thorough case for his assertion.
Yes and with the 2A right and privilege to carry, he left out the responsibility to carry ID.
They are highly organized. I'm baffled that Alex doesn't know this. The Lt Governor, Peggy Flanagan and one of Tim Walz's campaign staff are on the Signal Chat conspiring with other "protesters" to impede ICE while it's doing its job. They are actively participating in undermining the US government. Alex needs to wake up. Does he still think Antifa is just an "idea"?
for accuracy. Is Flanagan FORMER LT Gov? Pray for continued EXPOSURE!!!!!
Looks more like a color revolution than peaceful protests. https://open.substack.com/pub/amuseonx/p/color-revolution-tactics-why-the?r=nl3ud&utm_medium=ios
What is a color revolution?
Yep
Nancy Pelosi invented that term for the weak minded after January 6th. Now the dumbass republicans are misusing it as well ... insurrection? Really, a bunch of white liberal females are going to overthrow the government violently?
Are you saying Jeffrey7 is ignorant? The one who posted links to evidence of coordination?
Yes...I think we all knew it was co-ordinated and being funded by far leftist. But what does that have to do with shooting a guy in the back while he was on the ground? Just something terribly wrong with that picture. And I think Pretti was a leftist activist but not sure he deserved a bullet in the back. And before you attack me....I am a staunch conservative and a Trump supporter most of the time. Supposedly the two officers in question discharged their weapons accidentally. Shooting someone in the back while laying on the ground does not sound like an accident to me. Convince me otherwise.
Did you not see Pretti gun went off first? On accident I presume. That's enough for any LEO to stop the threat that they were under. Everything happened within a few seconds. All the while whistles are blowing constantly, bullhorns blaring. It's chaotic and getting involved as a protestor with a gun is unhinged.
Bring a gun to a riot, you’re gonna end up getting shot or then shooting somebody and then being arrested. But you can all rationalize it to the end of time that people can carry guns around and there’s no consequences.
Training for concealed carry: If you encounter law enforcement inform them you are armed and where the gun is. Then follow instructions. Keep you hands plainly visible. Pretti was pretty stupid.
No it was not the one I replied to. He is correct in his statement. It was another poster I was referring to.
@Eugene (see what I did there?)- That's why I always tag the person I'm replying to. That way there is no confusion.
@kittynana thanks for the tip.
The violent protesters are highly organized and they are calling for the death of LEO. Cannot understand how you wrote what you did.
Because Alex is still a leftist. He cannot help himself. Let's see how he would react as he is doing his job with people blowing whistles in his face, spitting on him, throwing things at him, having where he sleeps surrounded by people banging pots and destroying the lobby following him around all day and interfering with his doing his job. And above it all government officials AND the local police not helping in the least and instead calling him a nazi, gestapo and telling people to follow him with their cameras in his face instigating him to 'do something' like screaming 'shoot me' so the government can get footage they can use to PROSECUTE HIM FOR DOING HIS JOB!!!! That is what is going on. I have no sympathy for any of these people. Renee Good, there is an inappropriately named individual, and Alex Pretti would be alive today if they just minded their own business!!!!
These organized protesters think what they're doing is okay. They've been told by Walz and Frey that they have to do their job and impede ICE. Of course Walz and Frey are inside and safe because they have security. They don't care about the protesters or the illegal immigrants. It's about covering up the massive fraud in Minneapolis that they let go on for years. It's also about burning down the American government and way of life which is a marxist tactic.Alinsky's Rules for Radicals says it all.
Exactly. It is look at this shiny object over here. Walz and Frey and their minions are up to their necks in this theft. The somalis provide more than campaign funds they are are ensuring the continued riches of these corrupt democrat officials. It is time for the government to fan out to every state focusing on the democrat controlled ones because that is where the real corruption is and audit every agency. It is past time for the government to stop giving one DIME to any NGO. Let the NGOs raise money from private donations period. Paul just brought up they added $5.7 billion to the budget for REFUGEES. Paul is right the churches should go back to supporting 'refugees' with their own funds. THAT IS CHARITY. Charity is not forcibly stealing taxpayer money to give to democrat groups for their vote. Think what we could do without all that tax money. How about pay off our debt in only a few years.
Non Governmental Organization It sounds good, doesn't it? Now we know they use our tax dollars to fulfill government wishes they can't get through Congress
And with so many calling for death, doxxing the agents, etc, and then this guy with the gun on him, and it even going off even accidentally...? How could one blame an officer who in the moment thought Pretti was more of a threat than people are now saying? It's ridiculous, and I'd like to them how they'd act in the same situation.
Yes, they are indeed highly organized so much so that they make the professionals in the federal operation look like amateurs and they do this with cell phones and location apps. Our federal people are clueless when it comes to social media and social media operations.
"He was trying to defend a woman who was being pepper-sprayed. Then he was pepper-sprayed, thrown to the ground, and shot."
It's unfortunate he was shot, however you never should interject yourself in an interaction between law enforcement and someone. Even more so if you are carrying, as things can go sideways very quickly.
You are a rare example of sanity. I get discouraged reading many comments here and on X, even at the WSJ from people whose reactions are emotional and ideological. It's good to read the occasional rational take.
Michael, you say you “get discouraged reading many comments here and on X, even at the WSJ from people whose reactions are emotional and ideological.”
And to that I say, “Amen, brother!”
I am a longtime (46 years) subscriber to the WSJ, and am appalled at the abysmal quality of many, if not most, of the comments that have been posted in the WSJ over the past decade or so. They consist primarily of snarky and juvenile rants that are based on unsubstantiated opinions, beliefs, and emotions rather than on facts, logic, and reason.
WFF if you are a long time reader of the WSJ you must have noticed the change of direction of that newspaper after Emma Tucker took over bringing her long British liberal history with her, ( 20+ years at the Financial Times and then on to the British Times). I, like many others, couldn't stand it after a few years of her influence and cancelled my subscription. I get much better information from outside sources, many of them on Substack.
That POINT is in my opinion a major CRUX or problem today. So MANY continue to follow or trust the WRONG sources of media and reporting. As you mention its been obvious where main stream media as chosen to go, yet people continue to trust such corrupted political narrative!
Keep in mind that WSJ became free for staff and faculty at universities like Yale in the last decade. They have all day to comment while working.
THAT is a shocking NOT insignificant FACT of 'news' at U's. (Like CNN in airports. Leftist monopoly. Add in the literal Socialist leadership (National President ) now of our public libraries.
He should not have been there and neither should the chardonnay drinking Karens.
Once you resist arrest, your right to carry is legally gone
There probably was a smidgen of contributory negligence but also it’s kind of knee jerk for us midwesterners to help people.
Wow, just reading this mini thread above, it’s beyond hope that people around here like this are really going to save this country.
What is evil folks?
Relentless lying and shameless hypocrisy
Narratives of death destruction and decay.
No remorse for consequences caused.
Mocking and disdaining, healthy accepted boundaries set by society for generations
and finally, coordinating with the cowards whores and avoidants who will do nothing and allow evil to thrive, a crucial element to evil itself.
Get a definition and get a plan to deal with it, otherwise, lay down and be crushed
@Chick- there are helpers in every single state
Alex, By far your worst contribution to Substack. I'm dumber after reading it. And like a bee who doesn't waste energy trying to convince a fly that honey is better than shit, I'm going to waste very little of my energy dismissing your cowardly assessment. Remember when you tried dunking on Dr. Robert Malone on the efficacy of Ivermectin, and then never admitted your error or rude treatment of him on Fox? This is worse and you appear complicit with reckless and deadly behavior that is getting people killed and putting law enforcement in peril, all just to feel good about yourself? Please. What possible good can come out of this tripe? Please consider pulling it down. My guess is the backlash is going to sting a bit. Yeah, you've stepped in it again. :(
Alex has done a lot of good work, but he does have his blind spots.
You can take the boy out of the NYT but you can't take the liberal out of the boy.
Imagine if you replaced ICE with IRS. Which laws are we going to obey and which ones are we going to ignore?
Democrat politicians are encouraging their base to attack by smearing ICE as Nazi Gestapo. They are coordinating an insurrection on signal group chats. Democrat media covers up any context that Good and Pretti interfered with law enforcement and resisted arrest with deadly weapons. If the administration backs down, then federal laws will be considered null and void in all secessionist sanctuary cities. Here is the speech Trump needs to give about the insurrection act: https://yuribezmenov.substack.com/p/trump-state-of-union-2026-insurrection
Because he is an ignorant Jackal. It's so damn obvious. What bothers me is that the Govt (FBI) tracked down single individuals who protested, not in but near the capitol, for 2+ years but they can't seem to uncover the money source of all these anti ICE protests. Me thinks that Trump is fully engaged with the Greater Israel project. It would serve him right to get impeached and imprisoned after he loses the congress for supporting Israel as opposed to his promise of MAGA. Just saying.
Ok, Candace.
She makes more sense than you do. Why don't you go back to stealing elections and helping the FBI/CIA shred the Constitution?
@Eugene- everyone Tucker Carlson has interactions with, either interviewing or having on his shows, has gone off the rails like he has. Candace is under some kind of spell because DAYUM she's gotten weird. And dangerous.
Someone said that Candace's anti Semitism began around the time she started hanging out with Kanye.
They know the source. It's been traced through several NGOs. George Soros and Neville Roy Singham, an American living in Communist China are the main sources. Some of the money used is our own tax dollars that NGOs get for their "projects"
Team reality has fallen. Rudimentary Alex. Really? How wrong can you be ? These protesters are well financed, well organized, have a Nationwide infrastructure to conduct mayhem in any state and any city. Rudimentary is the last word that should be used to describe this scripted insurrection.
Cordially, jd
Thank you, this is the truth.
Your analysis is totally wrong, Alex. Trump didn't back down at all, Walz caved after being served. Also the leftist terrorists aren't just "organized in rudimentary ways". Their Signal command has been exposed and it lead right to the top of Walz's administration. Trump has Walz by the balls, hence his sudden cooperation of full police cooperation, State Police protection for ICE agents and turning over every illegal alien the city and state have arrested.
You need to get out of your echo chamber, Bud.
https://x.com/nicksortor/status/2015855827349848419?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
https://x.com/camhigby?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
PS, I find it amusing that regular people have done more to expose the corruption, fraud and truth about Minnesota than our worthless far-left corporate media shills. We don't hate the media enough!
He’s totally ignored the signal chat no matter how many times it’s brought up to him and has mocked counterinsurgency experts who bring it up. It’s the gellman amnesia effect in action, trusting the same media on this that he knows for a fact is wrong on areas he’s an expert in. Very frustrating but also kinda amusing to witness!
I was not aware of the "gellman amnesia effect". I see it was coined by Michael Chrighton, a great author and conservative. Thank you for introducing me to it. Yeah, Alex is obviously an intelligent man, but willfully blind.
@Adrian- Gell-Mann*
@Uncle- Walz caving reminds me of a teenager who brags about all the ish he's done and is gonna do until Daddy walks into the room. Then he submits.
I bet he isn't hand waving after Trump's call.
Those young guys go to the scene and put their lives on the line. Corporate journalists just copy each other's articles.
And another missing discussion is how many “angel” families have been harmed because of illegal immigration.
According to Grok, the numbers for just the people who were murdered by criminal aliens is about 63,000 since 2001, and that doesn’t cover all the uninsured motorist accidents or physical injuries caused by illegal immigrants in auto accidents alone: https://open.substack.com/pub/lizlasorte/p/who-are-the-illegal-immigrant-criminals?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=post%20viewer
You were wrong then and you are wrong now. Protesters become terrorists when they begin using violence (Good hiring the officer with her vehicle) or the threat of violence (Pretti carrying at a protest, whether concealed or open).
These are tragic incidents to be sure, but as is evidenced by non-violent operations in dozens of other states, these incidents are entirely the fault of people assaulting ICE officers. If they want to go and be confrontational, fine. But do so without violence or the threat of it.
Carrying is not a threat of violence. Happens ALL THE TIME at Midwest protests. You should’ve seen the long guns people were carrying at a Covid protest in WI back in May 2020.
Did they redirect traffic and get in fights with cops? Oh my goodness, it’s rule 1 2 and 3 or open carry and concealed carry not to get into fights when you’re armed, especially not with cops. You have to know this by now.
But go ahead, next time you’re at the scene of a car accident with cops and firefighters, just park your car next to the sirens, get out, and start waving the cars around yourself. Then when the cops come to arrest you, tell them, it’s ok, I’m armed! We’ll all chip in for your legal defense…
I am responding to the comment above in which JT states protestors become terrorists when they carry at a protest. NO they do not. That is the only context in which my comment applies. You're adding facts.
Apologies! Let us then stipulate he was a terrorist regardless of how much ammo he had : )
@Chick- but with rights comes responsibility. Pretti was terribly irresponsible. His death may not be 100% his fault but he contributed to it. I wonder if it was on purpose. I wonder if he had had enough of this world and wanted someone to do the dirty work.
Refer to my response to Adrian...I understand that but that's not what my comment referred to. I doubt Pretti intended to have 10 bullets put in him that day.
It’s amazing with all the smart people in media that they keep blaming ICE. Both of these shootings were Border patrol, an entire different department. Border patrol are the ones leaving Minneapolis. But if federal law isn’t a real thing to these people what does it matter.
Smart people? They are not smart, they are idealogues incapable of thought or reason. They don't listen to arguments except for Scott Jennings every one is a far left crud. I don't know if they are lying willfully or just so indoctrinated and stupid they are incapable of thought. Either way they are vile and despicable and they are working to destroy my country so they can run everything. Only they won't be running anything. They will be the first to go when the muslims they think they are using to get power actually take power. The muslims re using the democrats whom they despise for the useful idiots they are. Why do you think all of this is happening in Minnesota first.
Agree, but I'm not sure who will win, Muslims or Chinese Communists. Communists have a name for people like this, useful idiots and they are the first to go. Chinese seem to embrace globalism with CCP on top.
@Scott- Good's shooting was BP? I thought it was ICE and Pretti's was BP.
Nope, the Left wanted and got their Kent State moment. That they were American citizens means nothing.
We must not surrender to the anarchists.
We must find out and prosecute those wackos who used these two losers as cannon fodder.
We must not back down. All illegals out!
Exactly. Thank you for your perfect summary of the situation.
Anyone who has taken an LTC or Concelead Carry course is very clearly instructed to avoid any and all confrontation - more so than someone who doesnt carry because the ramifications are multiplied exponentionally when something goes wrong. And it did.
I admired your work on Covid and marijuana for years and have subscribed for years. I purchased and read your book on marijuana and Covid.
I wrote a note with my cancellation today of my subscription, which I summarize here: You are to be commended for your courageous and insightful work. But this article is deeply offensive: not because you are necessarily wrong on the facts, but because you pivoted to recommend the immoral policy that has brought America to its knees: Amnesty.
Thank you for your work. I will miss it.
@Brad- I personally don't feel you need to leave just because you disagree with this column. It's good to have dialogue.
I very much appreciate your reply. But I have watched politicians, big business, leftists, and yes, violent agitators push for amnesty, for 40 years, beginning with the amnesty granted in 1986 and signed by President Reagan. Both parties push hard and use every opportunity to excise lawlessness by illegal aliens.
But let an an American break the law and publicly refuse to pay taxes-they won’t spend one dime of political capital to grant amnesty to that person.
(Mass legal immigration from 1965 until today has had devastating negative effects-despite massive public opposition from voters. Immigrants are even granted special legal privileges, including affirmative action and massive welfare programs.)
Mr. Berenson was a beacon of courage on Covid and marijuana. To read this piece and see the same position taken by so many others on illegal aliens was the Rubicon for me. Perhaps it’s my age and seeing what has happened to my country that has so deeply affected me.
My family legally adopted a child from another country. But she deserves better too.
Excellent posts. I was fully against the amnesty of Reagan--mere millions at the time ...and I remember EVERYONE agreed it would never happen again, and here we are again. I know they want me to die because I contribute to collective memory. They count on the dumbing of the American mind and the Universities and the toxic sin of empathy. I think Alex' point most closely adheres to where we are at and the Feds will have to back down in some manner. I think Alex gets some of these facts wrong but you must know by now that facts don't matter. Look at how stupid Americans are becoming as the polls show further and further erosion of sanity stances. Most Americans ir seems now disapprove of ICE! I never thought they'd ever get millions out---we cannot even get the worst of the worst out of Minneapolis. But this will embolden all the other wads for sure. Why wouldn't they press their advantage? And every day we get NO HELP from Congress and the courts on the issues that are eroding the country--birth citizenship, chain migration, the 1965 Kennedy amendment and the Islamification of the West. At this point only Europe is doing a better job of erasing itself.
Thank you. May God bless you and your family.
@Brad- My BIL and his family escaped Cuba in '63 and were actual refugees. They quickly embraced the American way of life. All three kids have Masters/Doctorate in Education. Technically, they were illegal but made themselves legal. I'm probably your age and have seen a lot, too. But I try to listen to all sides and try to understand where they're coming from. Some simply can't see beyond their own noses, unfortunately.
Good story bro.
The development of the signal chat groups shows beyond doubt that the agitators are not protestors and have a much more nefarious agenda than protest. I think the words "domestic terrorist" have a lot more weight when this information is factored in, and the fact that higher ups in the Minnesota government are involved in the organization makes these groups even more dangerous.
Alex Pretti did have a right to own and carry a firearm, but all that is voided when he is actively confronting lawful operations of Immigration enforcement. I have no doubts that these agitators feel the laws do not apply to them, and they act as if that were true. When push finally comes to shove, 2 of them have died in the commission of their felonies.
I am personally not upset about it.
Our country will quickly unravel if the 2 tiered justice system is allowed to continue.
As a reasonable thinker, I would have no expectation of safety if I acted as Alex Pretti had in a confrontation with armed officers.
WHY DO WE MAKE EXCEPTIONS FOR THESE PEOPLE THAT WE WOULDN'T EXPECT FOR OURSELVES???
Good question, because we do. I often think about that. Things that were normal 20 years ago are now problematic; laws that were normal then are now broken with impunity and the lawmakers and enforcers are the bad guys.
The liberals have built a very clever psychological system where the laws and the rules of society should make everything easy and permissible for everyone with very little effort on their part. And anyone asking for excellence and for rules to be followed is the bad guy. It's classic bad parenting to the nth degree, society wide.
Creating dependency is anti-American in every sense.
What if we selected immigrants for citizenship who have never collected welfare (and that means for their children too)?
The type of immigrant we need is someone who values self-reliance and who would not want to collect welfare. So, what if we used that as a criteria for citizenship for those non-violent illegal immigrants who are looking for a better life?
All dependent illegal immigrants would not be eligible for citizenship.
Problem is, a LOT apply for their children to receive welfare, making the birthright citizenship a huge issue.
The last thing we need is cradle-to-grave dependency from immigrants; we have enough of our own losers: https://open.substack.com/pub/lizlasorte/p/doe-v-trump-birthright-citizenship?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
the type of immigrant we need is someone who enters through proper legal channels and swears allegiance to our nation
everyone else can go back home and tell their friends about their fun field trip to the USA
I get it and I agree. 8 USC Section 1325 is very clear - do not come here illegally.
But, we have a big problem b/c so many did come here, so in an effort to clear the herd a bit, I think that criteria would probably reduce those numbers bigly, b/c so many illegals apply for SS numbers for their children born here, as I found in my research.
well, a proper reading of the 14th amendment would clear up the false notion of "birthright citizenship" which means these families don't have to be separated and can all leave together holding hands
Absolutely. Problem solved then.
Not on your life. I want every illegal and their spawn out of the country. Gone. Deported. I don't care if they have been here for 20 years they are criminals and leeches. They do not pay taxes I am so tired of hearing that garbage. And they are taking money from me in taxes. So no no SS number for any of them. I have had it I am done.
My maternal grandparents grew up in Canada. Grandpa was born in MN (ancestry to Mayflower). They fled drought and tornado to his Iowa family when my Mom was 2. I remember many times hearing of my Grandma's pride to LEARN and become a US Naturalized citizen. I LOVE legal immigrants.
So do I! I've worked with a number of legal immigrants and they've said the same thing - to get citizenship is costly, takes a lot of time but worth it and they are so glad to be American citizens. But, they are not happy that they did it the right way when so many others do not.
You've written some bad Stacks, this is your new worst.
This is the first time I was appalled. Alex spoke of tone-deafness. This post is the best example, and that line that many of his readers won't like it is condescending, to say the least. It implies he's saying something for our own good.
Yes, a contrary viewpoint is often helpful. It opens up the horizon, but when there's an accompanying attitude of condescension whatever good the message contained will usually be swept away.
I'm beginning to see condescension as a liberal trait.
Hopefully we've been at the receiving end of it long enough to not fall into it if given the opportunity. :D
i like his bad stacks because it helps me gauge how well the media is doing in their different disinformation campaigns
That’s the only reason I finished reading his wildly inaccurate article. But I did Unsubscribe.
Hopefully he reads the links many Commenters here provided and does some basic work before just barfing out a post like this in the future. Disappointing 👎🏼