I use Sunday as a respite for readers (and me). But the killing of Alex Pretti cannot be ignored. I discussed the public execution of Alex in my Saturday livestream, here: Live with Robert B. Hubbell 1/24/2026.
If anyone was waiting for a moment of crisis to become active in street protests to stop the lawless conduct of this regime, now is the moment. We can wait no longer. We can and will stop Trump’s reign of terror when enough of us say “No.”
Sometime in the near future, we will be called upon to engage in a general strike. We should participate in that strike to the fullest extent possible, and every subsequent strike until Trump’s corporate overlords tell him to stop.
The administration has responded to the public execution of Alex Pretti by unleashing a torrent of lies that are flatly contradicted by multiple videos of the killing.
On Saturday, US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents carried out an extrajudicial execution of Alex Pretti, who was a US citizen, an ICU nurse at a Veterans Administration hospital, and a patriotic American who was filming ICE and CBP as they continued their invasion of Minneapolis.
Alex’s last act was one of kindness and concern. He attempted to help a woman to her feet who had been shoved to the ground by CBP agents. As he tried to lift her up, CBP agents swarmed Alex, pepper-sprayed him, beat him with a pistol stock, and then shot him 10 times.
Since the killing, every administration official who has spoken about the killing has lied without restraint and attempted to smear a law-abiding citizen.
The story put out by Kristi Noem, Stephen Miller, and Donald Trump is that Alex Pretti was a domestic terrorist who approached CBP agents while brandishing a 9mm pistol. Agents allegedly attempted to disarm Alex, whom they say threatened to “massacre” federal agents.” They allegedly feared for their lives, so they shot him in the back and then pumped 9 more bullets into him as he lay on the ground, motionless. That’s the official version.
Multiple videos of the incident show that every word of the official version is a damnable lie. The videos show that Alex was holding a cell phone, not a gun. He never “brandished” anything. He was attempting to help a woman to her feet when he was gang-tackled by CBP. As he was on his knees, swarmed by agents, a CBP officer removed a gun from Alex’s back belt. Seconds later, a disarmed Alex Petti was shot ten times as he was on his knees and back. A declaration from a physician who rendered CPR on-scene said that Alex Petti “had at least three bullet holes in his back.”
It is legal in Minnesota to carry a concealed firearm so long as the holder has a permit. Alex Pretti had a state permit to carry a gun in public.
The details and videos are set forth in this article: The Guardian, Video contradicts Trump’s claim man killed in Minneapolis was a ‘gunman’.
The lies about Alex Pretti’s killing were exacerbated by Attorney General Pam Bondi. In a letter to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Bondi said that the federal government would withdraw ICE troops from Minnesota if the state provided the federal government with personal information about voters contained in the state’s voter files. See Democracy Docket, AG Bondi demands access to Minnesota voter rolls after fatal Border Patrol shooting.
The lies about the public execution of Alex Pretti and the extortion tied to the withdrawal of ICE agents from Minnesota are unforgivable. They are the tactics used by the cruelest dictators in the ugliest moments of the last century.
Everyone enabling Trump will forever be stained by their association with his grotesque inhumanity. In 2016, JD Vance wrote to his former law school roommate, “I go back and forth between thinking Trump is a cynical a**hole like Nixon who wouldn't be that bad (and might even prove useful) or that he's America's Hitler.”
Tonight, JD Vance knows the answer to his question—as does every member of the Trump administration, as well as every American who is paying attention to what is happening to their democracy.
The complicated legislative question raised by the looming government shutdown this week
It has taken successive murders of innocent protesters to rouse the Democratic caucus in the Senate. As of Saturday evening, it appears Democrats might refuse to support the appropriations bill funding the Department of Homeland Security. See Politico, Shutdown risk grows as Democrats revolt after Minneapolis shooting.
The legislative situation is complicated. ICE and CBP received multi-year funding in the Big Ugly Bill ($190 billion), enough to operate both agencies through 2029. The proposed appropriations bill currently before the Senate would place some restrictions on DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s ability spend some of the money already appropriated to ICE and CBP. See Memo, Fiscal Year 2026 Homeland Security Conference Bill.
The bottom line is that Senate Democrats have three options:
(a) force a partial shutdown of the federal government by refusing to pass a “mini-bus” bill that funds six agencies, including DHS, an outcome that would leave ICE and CBP in a position to temporarily continue operations without restriction, but which would also allow Democrats to force a renegotiation of the DHS spending bill with new limits on ICE and CBP;
(b) pass a short-term continuing resolution to give time to negotiate a new DHS appropriations bill that places further restrictions on ICE and CBP, again allowing ICE and CBP in a position to temporarily continue operations without restriction;
(3) pass the six appropriations bills that have been approved by the House, thereby keeping the government open and placing some restrictions on the previously appropriated monies for ICE and CBP, as outlined in the Memo, Fiscal Year 2026 Homeland Security Conference Bill.
There are no “clean” solutions. Solutions (a) and (b) above allow CBP and ICE to continue to operate without restrictions in the short term while negotiating longer-term restrictions, while solution (c) imposes short-term restrictions while foregoing longer-term restrictions.
But we need to have the fight over reforming ICE and CBP, which means that Democrats must either (a) force a partial shutdown to renegotiate the DHS appropriations bill or (b) pass a short continuing resolution and renegotiate the DHS appropriations bill.
A partial shutdown gives Democrats more leverage, but it will inflict broad pain during the shutdown. A short continuing resolution gives up some leverage, but gives Democrats more time to garner attention and public support for reforming DHS, ICE, and CBP.
As I said, there are no “clean” solutions. But whatever Democrats do, they must not give Republicans a free pass, as they did when seven Senate Democrats capitulated during the prior shutdown.
Legal developments
Chris Geidner at Law Dork on Substack published an essential summary of dizzying legal developments in the hours after the public execution of Alex Pretti. See The ICE killing of Alex Pretti, the second in Minneapolis, prompts quick legal responses.
The situation is fluid and rapidly developing, with a hearing scheduled on Monday morning. But the bottom line is that a Trump-appointed judge has issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting any federal agency or employee from altering, tampering with, or destroying any evidence related to the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti.
Lawyers for the state have also asked for a hearing on Monday, seeking an order to temporarily halt “Operation Surge.”
Concluding Thoughts
In the coming days, each of us will be forced to answer the question, “What would you have done when the Nazi’s were taking over Germany?” The answer is, “Exactly what you are doing now.”
We are living through a moment of moral reckoning. We can choose to support democracy and humanity, or not. Those are the only options, and the moment of choosing is upon us.
When there is a call for a national strike, join it.
When there are calls for daily memorials for Alex Pretti, perform them.
When grassroots organizations ask you to take to the streets in peaceful protest, show up.
When you are asked to call your elected officials, call until the phone lines melt.
When your country asks you to stand up and be counted, raise your head high and say, “I am here, reporting for duty.”
This will stop when enough of us say “No.”