Over a thousand protesters demonstrated in Albuquerque on Sunday, Jan. 25, marching from the Bernalillo Metropolitan Courthouse to Civic Plaza to demand the removal of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents from communities around the country and expressing solidarity with Minneapolis, Minnesota, after 37-year-old Alex Pretti was fatally shot by ICE agents the day before.
Pretti was an intensive care nurse who worked for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs at a VA hospital in Minneapolis. He had participated in protests following the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an ICE agent on Jan. 7, according to the Associated Press.
Youth United for Climate Crisis Action steering committee member Zain Dixon spoke during the rally at Civic Plaza.
“We are here today because, just yesterday, ICE agents murdered Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse who worked for the VA as he tried to help a woman agents had shoved to the ground,” Dixon said.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said during a press conference that Pretti — who had a concealed-carry handgun before he was killed — had no criminal record other than traffic tickets and was a lawful gun owner.
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said Pretti was a “domestic terrorist,” and DHS released a statement claiming Pretti “violently resisted” being disarmed and that the ICE agent fired defensive shots because he "feared for his life."
Bystander videos show Pretti holding only a phone and helping up a woman before at least six federal officers tackle him, pin him to the ground face down while one officer appears to remove his holstered handgun and fire what sounds like 10 shots at Pretti, according to NPR.
Lauren Docherty, a former ICU nurse at the New Mexico VA Healthcare System, attended the march and said Noem and the Trump Administration are “liars” who “can’t be trusted.”
“It’s witnessed on video,” Docherty said. “Videos are showing what’s happening. They’re not biased. The people who watch the videos are biased, but the videos themselves are not, and we all saw what happened.”
Minnesota law does not prohibit carrying a loaded firearm to a protest, according to Axios.
“I’m enraged that people who are peacefully protesting — which is why I served in the military — are being murdered in the street,” Docherty said.
University of New Mexico freshman Josephine Cash, who attended the protest, said her professors are supportive and reassure that ICE is not welcome in the classroom, but still expressed fear.
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“I am just terrified of all of the violence going on. It’s very history repeating itself, it’s very SS (Schutzstaffel) Gestapo,” Cash said, referring to the secret police employed by the German Nazi government.
YUCCA organizer Raife Juárez spoke during the rally at Civic Plaza, expressing solidarity with the Minneapolis general strike that took place on Friday, Jan. 23.
“We are here today because, just two days ago, the people of Minneapolis organized the largest general strike in the state in nearly 100 years, as thousands took to the streets to stop business as usual and demand ICE out of Minnesota,” Juárez said.
Leila Chapa is the social media and photo editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at socialmedia@dailylobo.com or on X @lchapa06
Paloma Chapa is the multimedia editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at multimedia@dailylobo.com or on X @paloma_chapa88
Leila Chapa is the social media editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at socialmedia@dailylobo.com or on X @lchapa06
Paloma Chapa is the multimedia editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at multimedia@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @paloma_chapa88
