What Crime Justified the Bullets?

This is a bonus entry as I can't wait until Monday to post about this.

Two weeks ago, I wrote about Renée Good—a 37-year-old US citizen shot and killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis. I argued that no one should have absolute immunity, that "following orders" is not a defense for killing someone, and that accountability is foundational to democracy.

Today, another US citizen was shot and killed by federal agents in Minneapolis.

Alex Pretti was a 37-year-old ICU nurse. He spent his career caring for people in their most vulnerable moments. He had no criminal record beyond traffic tickets. He was a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry.

And now he's dead, shot approximately ten times by Border Patrol agents—most of those shots fired, according to Bellingcat's analysis of the footage, after he was already lying motionless on the ground.

What Happened

Video footage shows the sequence:

Pretti was filming agents with his cellphone when one agent deployed pepper spray at him and other protesters. While he attempted to block the spray and help others, several agents wrestled him to the ground and began striking him. As they held him down, one agent drew his weapon and fired multiple shots.

Bellingcat's analysis suggests his gun was taken from him before the first shot was fired. The majority of the approximately ten shots came after he was already motionless.

Within hours, White House advisor Stephen Miller—without evidence—called Pretti a "domestic terrorist" who "tried to assassinate federal law enforcement."

His father told reporters that his son "cared about people deeply and he was very upset with what was happening in Minneapolis and throughout the United States with ICE" and "felt that doing the protesting was a way to express that, you know, his care for others."

The Pattern

Let me be clear about what we're seeing:

Renée Good (January 7, 2026): A 37-year-old US citizen with no criminal record. Shot three times by ICE agent Jonathan Ross. The federal government claims she ran him over; video analysts dispute whether her vehicle even struck him. She received conflicting orders, panicked, and tried to drive away. She was shot in the face.

Alex Pretti (January 24, 2026): A 37-year-old ICU nurse with no criminal record. Shot approximately ten times by Border Patrol agents—most shots after he was already on the ground, after his legally-owned firearm had been taken from him.

Two US citizens. No criminal records. Both dead within the same month. Both killed by federal immigration enforcement agents.

The Question No One Will Answer

What crime did they commit that warranted death?

Renée Good tried to drive away from masked men yelling conflicting orders at her. That's not a capital offense.

Alex Pretti was filming a protest and got pepper-sprayed. Even if we accept the government's claim that he had a gun—which he legally owned and had a permit to carry—having a gun is not a crime. Being disarmed and then shot ten times while lying on the ground is not justice.

I keep asking this question because the people defending these killings won't answer it:

What crime justified the bullets?

Not "he was at a protest." Not "he resisted." Not "she tried to drive away." Not "he had a gun."

What crime, under American law, carried a sentence of death without trial?

The Rhetoric Machine

Within hours of Pretti's death, the administration called him a domestic terrorist who attempted to assassinate federal officers.

This is the pattern now:

1. Federal agents kill a US citizen
2. The administration immediately labels the victim as a criminal or terrorist
3. That label is used to justify the killing before any investigation
4. Anyone who questions the killing is accused of being anti-law-enforcement

The label comes first. The evidence—if it ever comes—comes later. And if the evidence contradicts the label? The label still wins.

We've seen this before. We've seen governments label dissidents as terrorists to justify violence against them. We've seen "enemy of the state" used to strip people of their humanity before stripping them of their lives.

I never thought I'd watch it happen in America to people exercising their First Amendment rights.

"He Had a Gun"

Let me address this directly, because I know it will be the justification.

Alex Pretti legally owned his firearm. He had a permit to carry. In many states, including at the federal level, the right to bear arms is constitutionally protected.

If having a legal gun is grounds for being shot, then the Second Amendment means nothing.

If police can disarm you and then shoot you ten times for having been armed, then "shall not be infringed" is a cruel joke.

If exercising one constitutional right (bearing arms) forfeits another (not being executed without trial), then we don't have rights at all—we have permissions that can be revoked the moment we become inconvenient.

You cannot claim to support the Second Amendment while defending the execution of a lawful gun owner who had already been disarmed.

Pick one.

The Protest Question

Some will say: "He shouldn't have been at a protest against ICE. He was asking for trouble."

Since when is protesting a death sentence?

The First Amendment explicitly protects "the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

If federal agents can kill you for protesting their actions, that right is meaningless.

If expressing opposition to government policy means forfeiting your right to live, we are not a democracy. We are something else entirely—something we used to condemn in other countries.

What His Father Said

Pretti's father said his son "cared about people deeply."

An ICU nurse. Someone who spent his career surrounded by death, fighting for life. Someone who watched people at their worst moments and chose to help anyway.

He went to a protest because he cared about what was happening to people. Because he thought showing up was how you express that care in a democracy.

He was right. That is how democracy is supposed to work.

He was killed for it.

The Accumulating Evidence

I've been tracking these patterns for months now. The militarization of immigration enforcement. The conflicting orders and immediate escalation. The post-hoc justifications. The immunity claims.

What I wrote two weeks ago about Renée Good applies equally here:

No one should have absolute immunity.

"Following orders" or "doing my job" is not sufficient justification for taking a life.

The right to petition government for redress of grievances must be protected.

But now I have to add something:

This is accelerating.

Two US citizens killed by federal immigration agents in the same month. Both with no criminal record. Both labeled as threats after they were already dead.

How many more before we acknowledge the pattern?

What I Want to Know

I want someone in power to answer these questions:

1. What crime did Renée Good commit that carried a death sentence?
2. What crime did Alex Pretti commit that carried a death sentence?
3. If having a legal firearm justifies being shot, how does the Second Amendment work?
4. If protesting justifies being shot, how does the First Amendment work?
5. How many US citizens can federal agents kill before there's accountability?

I'm not asking rhetorically. I want answers.

Because the silence from people who claim to care about constitutional rights is deafening.

What I Know

I know that authority without accountability is abuse.

I know that labeling victims as criminals to justify their deaths is the oldest authoritarian playbook.

I know that when governments can kill citizens without trial, we are not free.

I know that two people are dead who should be alive.

I know that their families are grieving tonight.

I know that the same officials who killed them are already constructing the narrative that justifies it.

And I know that if we accept this—if we let "he was a terrorist" or "she should have complied" or "they were just doing their jobs" become sufficient justification for killing US citizens—we have lost something we may never get back.

Where I Stand

I will keep writing about this.

I will keep asking questions.

I will keep demanding accountability.

Because these are not abstractions to me. These are people. Renée Good was a poet. Alex Pretti was a nurse. They had families, hopes, lives.

They are dead because federal agents decided they should be.

And until someone in power can tell me what crime justified those bullets, I will not stop asking.

Alex Pretti was someone's son, someone's colleague, someone's friend. He spent his career saving lives. He went to a protest because he cared about people. Tonight, his family is planning his funeral. Whatever you believe about immigration enforcement, he deserved a trial, not a firing squad.