‘Wake-up call to every American’: Obama, Clinton slam Trump administration after killing of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "‘Wake-up call to every American’: Obama, Clinton slam Trump administration after killing of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis")
People mourn at a makeshift memorial in the area where 37-year-old Alex Pretti was shot dead by federal immigration agents earlier in the day in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 24, 2026. Photograph: (AFP)
Barack Obama and Bill Clinton condemned the killing of nurse Alex Pretti by a federal agent, urging Americans to speak out against Trump’s immigration crackdown, as the White House accused Obama of stoking division.
Former US presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton condemned the killing of Alex Pretti by a federal agent this weekend, urging Americans to “speak up” and take action against US President Donald Trump’s crackdown against immigration. The Democratic leaders’ remarks come after the 37-year-old intensive care nurse was shot dead by a Border Patrol officer on Saturday (Jan 24) in Minneapolis during the protest against the Trump administration following the shooting of Renee Good, another US citizen shot by a federal agent.
In a statement, Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama called Pretti’s death as a “heartbreaking tragedy” that should be a “wake-up call” for Americans.
“It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault,” the Obamas wrote. Criticising the “unprecedented tactics” of the Department of Homeland Security, they added, “people across the country have been rightly outraged by the spectacle of masked ICE recruits and other federal agents acting with impunity and engaging in tactics that seem designed to intimidate, harass, provoke and endanger the residents of a major American city.”
Also read | Did Alex Pretti have a gun? What Trump administration said to defend Minneapolis shooting
They further added, “rather than trying to impose some semblance of discipline and accountability over the agents they’ve deployed, the President and current administration officials seem eager to escalate the situation, while offering public explanations for the shootings of Mr. Pretti and Renee Good that aren’t informed by any serious investigation — and that appear to be directly contradicted by video evidence.”
The Obamas called on every American to “draw inspiration from the wave of peaceful protests in Minneapolis and other parts of the country,” adding that they hope the Trump administration changes its approach and works with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey “to avert more chaos and achieve legitimate law enforcement goals.”
Former President Bill Clinton voiced similar concerns, saying that the scenes in Minneapolis were “horrible” in a statement on social media.
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“Over the course of a lifetime, we face only a few moments where the decisions we make and the actions we take will shape our history for years to come. This is one of them,” he wrote, adding that “the people in charge” are lying to the public and telling them “not to believe what we’ve seen with our own eyes.”
“It is up to all of us who believe in the promise of American democracy to stand up, speak out, and show that our nation still belongs to We the People,” he added.
What did White House say?
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said Obama was exploiting the tensions to “sow more division.”
“Obama should join President Trump in urging local Democrat leaders — like Walz and Frey — to work with the Trump Administration to remove dangerous criminal illegal aliens from American communities,” Jackson said in a statement. “Instead, they are attacking law enforcement and defending criminal illegal aliens with additional convictions for murder, rape, assault, and more.”
