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By Kate Plummer
Senior US News Reporter
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Former U.S. representative Marjorie Taylor Greene has warned that Americans are being "incited into civil war," following the death of Alex Pretti.
Pretti, an intensive care nurse and U.S. citizen, was shot dead by a federal immigration agent in Minnesota, Minneapolis, on Saturday during a federal immigration enforcement operation. His killing was the second fatal shooting by a federal immigration officer in Minneapolis this month, following the January 7 death of Renee Nicole Good, who was shot by an ICE agent during another enforcement action.
Writing on X, Greene, a former Georgia Republican who served her last day in office on January 5, urged people from both sides of the political spectrum "to take off their political blinders" and appeared to ask her supporters to question the events.
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Newsweek reached out to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) by email to comment on this story outside of normal business hours.
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Why It Matters
The death of Pretti has raised questions about the conduct of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in the U.S. and has sparked protests across the country.
Greene is an influential figure on the American right who has undergone somewhat of a political transformation in recent months, having split with President Donald Trump on a number of issues before her resignation from office. Her intervention reflects growing chasms within Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement and her comments may affect the views of some Trump allies.
What To Know
While Greene didn't mention Pretti by name, her comments appeared to reference the case.
Pretti was shot when he was filming the activities of ICE officers in Minneapolis. Homeland Security officials said he had a firearm and had resisted immigration officer's attempts to disarm him, but eyewitnesses and Pretti's family have challenged that narrative.
Greene said: "I unapologetically believe in border security and deporting criminal illegal aliens and I support law enforcement." But she said she also supported the second amendment, the right to bear arms. "Legally carrying a firearm is not the same as brandishing a firearm," she said.
Greene also said she supported first amendment rights (the right to free speech and peaceful assembly) and fourth amendment rights (the rights to protect citizens from unreasonable searches.)
"There is nothing wrong with legally peacefully protesting and videoing" she said, and added that members of the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement "lost our minds" when former president Joe Biden's administration arrested people who participated in the Capitol Riots on January 6, 2021. She urged MAGA supporters to question how they would feel if a MAGA supporter had been shot by a Biden administration official while observing and videoing the arrest of someone connected to the riots.
"Both sides need to take off their political blinders," she said. "You are all being incited into civil war, yet none of it solves any of the real problems that we all face, and tragically people are dying."
What People Are Saying
Gregory Bovino of U.S. Border Patrol said: "This is only the latest attack on law enforcement. Across the country, the men and women of DHS have been attacked, shot at."
**New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in an X post: "**As tens of thousands across America protest the violence that ICE sows with impunity, federal agents shot and killed another person in Minneapolis today. ICE terrorizes our cities. ICE puts us all in danger. Abolish ICE."
Senator John Hickenlooper, a Colorado Democrat, said in an X post: "Federal officers just shot another person in Minneapolis. This is horrific. We are still learning more about what happened, but one thing is clear, the President needs to get ICE and Border Patrol units out of our communities. NOW."
President Donald Trump blamed Democratic leaders, writing on Truth Social: "What is that all about? Where are the local Police? Why weren’t they allowed to protect ICE Officers?" He accused Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey of "inciting Insurrection, with their pompous, dangerous, and arrogant rhetoric."
What Happens Next
An investigation into Pretti's death by Minnesota officials is ongoing.
An election to replace Greene has been scheduled for March 10.
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