Obama, Clinton say killings by agents should be a wake-up call for the US

Former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton issued pointed calls Sunday for America to stand up and defend their values after the second killing of a citizen in Minneapolis by immigration agents, which Donald Trump blamed on Democratic "chaos."

The Trump administration has faced intensifying pressure over its mass immigration crackdown, particularly after federal agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, on Saturday while scuffling with him on an icy roadway.

That incident came less than three weeks after an immigration officer fired on Renee Good, also 37, killing her in her car in the same Midwestern city.

Trump administration officials quickly claimed Pretti had intended to harm the federal agents -- as they did after Good's death -- pointing to a pistol they said was discovered on him.

However, a video shared widely on social media and verified by U.S. media showed Pretti never drawing a weapon, with agents firing at him seconds after he was sprayed in the face with a chemical irritant and thrown to the ground.

Trump provocatively attributed the deaths to Minnesota's Democratic elected officials, including Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, writing on his Truth Social platform: "Democrat run Sanctuary Cities and States are REFUSING to cooperate with ICE."

"Tragically, two American Citizens have lost their lives as a result of this Democrat ensued chaos," he added.

After top officials described Pretti as an "assassin" who had assaulted the agents, Pretti's parents issued a statement Saturday condemning the administration's "sickening lies" about their son.

With tensions high, protesters gathered Sunday in Minneapolis, denouncing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). One person held a cardboard sign that read: "Be Pretti, be Good."

The double tragedies have stirred outrage, including from two of Trump's Democratic presidential predecessors. Barack and Michelle Obama on Sunday said in a statement that Pretti's shooting should be a "wake-up call" that core U.S. values "are increasingly under assault."

Hours later, Bill Clinton delivered a fierce indictment of the current administration, saying peaceful protesters "have been arrested, beaten, teargassed, and most searingly, in the cases of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, shot and killed."

"All of this is unacceptable," Clinton said in a statement as he urged Americans to "stand up, speak out."

"If we give our freedoms away after 250 years, we might never get them back."

AFP