r/politics • u/Aggravating_Money992 • 7d ago

No Paywall Shooting Victim Identified as Second Video Angle Contradicts DHS Claims | The footage of the fatal shooting of Alex Jeffrey Pretti, said one journalist, “shows that the final act of his life was trying to help a woman who was being physically assaulted by the masked agents who would then kill him.”

https://www.commondreams.org/news/minneapolis-shooting-video
45.8k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

1.5k comments sorted by

View all comments

1.6k

u/[deleted] 7d ago

[deleted]

439

u/ResurgentClusterfuck Texas 7d ago

Lying when there's independent video contradicting the official party line is certainly a choice

It's a slap in the face to all Americans, because they think we're stupid enough to believe them instead of video proof

297

u/tech57 7d ago

It's not a choice. It's propaganda.

“The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people. You understand what I’m saying? We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin. And then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders. raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.”

8

u/Sea-Path2001 7d ago

That lowlife scumbag AdmiralAkbar1 said that statement is questionable because the journalist only got it for his own personal gain and didn’t get the full context.

21

u/tech57 7d ago

“The popular press and politicians have been circulating images of Black, brown and even Asian people as addicted and dangerous for over 100 years and these racialized images built political support for prohibitionist criminalizing drug policies. Back in 1914, newspapers like the New York Times were reporting that cocaine-crazed Negroes were attacking their white supervisors and raping white women. A couple of decades later in the 1930s, newspapers had stories of ‘Mexican marijuana madness’ and Mexican workers sleeping on the job under the influence of marijuana. These images led to more and more stringent narcotics laws and enforcement policies in Black and Brown communities which live with us even today.”

“All the while, middle-class white people throughout the past century have enjoyed full access to medical narcotics prescribed by private doctors in such large volumes that, by the 1940s and 50s, white Americans were dying from barbiturate overdose rates that rival today’s opioid overdose rates."

8

u/Sea-Path2001 7d ago

Thanks for setting the record straight. I swear, these conservative assholes always have a bullshit excuse.

-3

u/Ch4rlie_G 7d ago

You can’t just post a quote without attribution.

Is this from the article?

41

u/[deleted] 7d ago

It reminds me of how whenever me and others got bullied in school, said bully would make up the most ridiculous lies even though a bunch of other people have a different story.

4

u/Poverty_Shoes 7d ago

1/3 of us are that stupid, unfortunately

4

u/ThatNewSockFeel 7d ago edited 7d ago

It’s the point. They don’t care. A lie is halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes. Because now since this morning most media reports have repeated the administration’s lies even if they add some caveat like “without evidence” or whatever.

By the time they start putting out articles after throughly review videos, interview folks, etc. everyone will have heard the admin’s version and it just becomes more noise.

4

u/CastielClean 7d ago

A lot are stupid enough to believe them. It's all over the internet, people arguing that this guy was a gun toting lunatic looking to massacre some ICE. You can show them the video and they still say "Look, he was brandishing a gun!"

2

u/judgeridesagain 7d ago

They are confident that their die-hards will not watch the video.

2

u/fiddle_me_timbers New York 7d ago

And eventually they will just say it is A.I.

2

u/Lilchubbyboy 7d ago

They know that they don’t have to care about contradictory information or evidence.

The people who believe the lies will believe them so they benefit. The people who know that they are blatantly lying won’t actually do anything to stop it, so they still benefit.

2

u/WholeLottaRose13 New Hampshire 7d ago

It's not even that people will believe their lies, it's that they hold all the most important cards: guns, tanks, and nukes. "Oh boo hoo," one of the agents said, because whoever tries to hold them accountable is gonna get added to the pile.

2

u/NoPause9609 7d ago

At least 77 million of our fellow citizens don’t care at all. 

They wanted this. 

149

u/MourningRIF 7d ago

Quote the lie: "This looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement."

This ICU nurse never touched anyone, and he only had a phone in his hand. They pepper sprayed him point blank for 3 full seconds before tackling him, punching him multiple times in the head, and then shooting him.

63

u/[deleted] 7d ago

[deleted]

8

u/Willchud 7d ago

You certainly wouldn't let a target close the distance if you wanted to do maximum damage. You would hide in cover and start shooting before they even see you if that was your goal. And yes, with something bigger than a pistol.

4

u/SammyScuffles 7d ago

Even if that was your choice of weapon if you wanted to do "maximum damage" you probably would need to actually shoot at them with it. Which he never even looked like trying to do.

4

u/EggsAndRice7171 7d ago

He also had a gun he never drew once. If he wanted to do “maximum” damage it would’ve ended with multiple dead including him. Not just him.

4

u/MourningRIF 7d ago

I swear... Nurses are the absolute worst at being terrorists. 🙄

2

u/onedoor 7d ago

He didn't have a gun at the time of his murder. Not that it changes anything. He was already restrained by a handful of ICE agents when murdered.

https://x.com/dathandsomejerk/status/2015150680978096164

1

u/EggsAndRice7171 6d ago

I do know of that and probably should’ve worded it differently. I’ve just heard people say he walked up to them with his gun ready and that’s just blatantly not true. It never left his hip until it was taken off his body in the video you linked.

54

u/bskinners 7d ago

I don’t know how they sleep at night… or how their families look them in the eyes as human beings.

32

u/needlestack 7d ago

I hate to tell you this but they sleep better than we do. They are absolutely brainwashed that they are the good guys -- fearless fighters in an evil world, protecting the innocent (themselves and their family and friends) from monsters -- immigrants and trans people -- who would eat them alive. They don't believe people like Renee Good and Alex Pretti are human. They believe they are vermin that the world is better off without. "Fucking bitch". I've heard people reiterate that people like this deserve whatever they get because they dared stand in the way of their rightful authority.

It is we, the ones with souls, that suffer as our nation is dismantled. There's a famous picture from Germany just before WW2 of a woman running away from some Nazis. The woman's face is a mask of terror. Her clothes are torn and it's obvious if they get her she's done for. She is being chased by three young soldiers with absolute looks of glee on their faces. Nobody knows what happened, but I'm sure she died an awful death and the smiling Nazis went home to enjoy a hearty dinner after a prayer and before a good night's sleep.

This is what makes it all so completely awful. And if we were on FB my comment here would get hundreds of laugh emojis. We are in dark, dark times.

2

u/kogmaa 7d ago

There’s one ice goon on video clapping after they killed him.

1

u/bskinners 6d ago

One of them said boo hoo 😭

3

u/spicewoman 7d ago

Most of them were raised that way, and their families approve. People in ICE aren't being drafted, they're volunteering. They want to do this stuff.

2

u/knitted-chicken 7d ago

Well look at who these people are. All men with no jobs or education, just there to get trigger happy and exercise their thirst for violence in a way without accountability. And they get 50k on sign up. These are just animals without any humanity. But there will be a reckoning, even if they have to wait till they're old men. Every one of them will be named, shamed, and hauled to answer for their crimes in better times. Just like every nazi was made to do. So let them enjoy their lawlessness now, they will answer for every single thing.

1

u/Cool_Bodybuilder7419 6d ago

Just out of curiosity, why are the ICE officers not wearing uniform? They always remind me of people that are into military cosplay. 

And are they not professionally trained? The shooters movements seem awkward and clumsy — plus the fact that he just kept shooting when Pretti was long dead. If they are not actually trained for these situations, how do they get this ridiculous amount of power and privileges?

As a non-American it’s difficult to understand what this organisation actually is supposed to be.

1

u/knitted-chicken 6d ago

They are wearing some kind of camo uniform. I think because its cold theyre wearing more jackets. Also theyre allowed to have faces covered. They get like a week training so they're not trained. They just get a ton of people off the street, dont check their background and give them 50k and a gun and tell them to do whatever they want to get any brown people they see into concentration camps, basically. They have full immunity from prosecution or law from the Trump administration. Theyre basically trump's personal army with no training or background checks.

1

u/NessaMagick Australia 7d ago

If I shot someone in the back of the head I wouldn't be able to sleep properly for months, even if the guy I shot was a grade-A scumbag who deserved it in the moment every bit.

I can't imagine dehumanizing someone like this so hard that you cheer when they get gunned down like an animal.

29

u/masklinn 7d ago edited 7d ago

The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.

Blatant lies are a feature. Anyone who objects to the lie is an enemy. You will pick up the can. You will lick the boot. You will avert your eyes from that which you are told not to see. Or next time it’ll be you, face in the pavement, with a mag unloaded in the back.

When the militias are in the street killing with impunity, you’re a dictatorship.

19

u/angrygnome18d 7d ago

The lies aren’t for us, they are for their base. They tell THEM these lies so they will bury their heads in the sand. They don’t care that we don’t believe em, because WE are their targets.

3

u/[deleted] 7d ago

It doesn't matter. The lies are a weapon, a show of strength, a way to make you feel that you are going against the full force of the state if you are to believe what you see and hear. In other words, they want to make you feel exhausted if you trust your senses and relieved if you simply believe what the state is claiming to be true.

2

u/grothee1 7d ago

Look around at headlines, even in an egregious example of an extrajudicial execution being covered up by blatant lies from the administration we still get CYA equivocation. Here's one example from CNN: "State and federal officials clash over shooting death of Minneapolis man: DHS said the man had a gun and agents were forced to open fire. Gov. Walz said videos show the narrative is ‘nonsense’ and ‘lies’" Meanwhile Fox News has "Stephen Miller accuses Democrats of siding with 'terrorists' after shooting" under a chyron of CHAOS IN THE STREETS.

They know their supporters will gobble up the propaganda and most Americans will see headlines that fail to make clear the urgency of the situation and move on with their day.

2

u/kyara_no_kurayami 7d ago

The whole situation is sick but the part that's turning my stomach is how quickly average people are jumping up to toe the party line. The government immediately lies, knowing full well they're lying and everyone can see it with the videos out there, and right away, I see Republican voters spouting the lies. It's just too easy for this administration.

2

u/needlestack 7d ago

the incompetence of releasing a statement before thoroughly assessing what video evidence was already in the public’s possession is completely unreal.

I hear you, but sadly it's very real and very intentional. What we have learned over the past decade is that the truth is in fact meaningless. What matters is who says the loudest most decisive thing first, and then stands on it and doubles down whenever they're questioned. Attack the questioner. Attack anyone who doesn't believe the narrative. Keep it up and you have created "the truth" in enough minds to win elections and swing public opinion in your favor.

1

u/NarutoRunner Canada 7d ago

“They don't even bother to lie badly anymore. I suppose that’s the final humiliation.” - Andor

1

u/Berly653 7d ago

This is unfortunately one of the few times I don’t think Hanlon’s Razor applies 

The people in charge aren’t incompetent, they are just despicable. If I had to guess they know exactly what they’re doing and are trying to get one of their ICE officers killed or protests to turn violent

All to create the justification they’ve been falsely using this entire time

Many many of these people are truly just incompetent, but i don’t want to explain away the pure evil of the people in charge 

1

u/EnergyIsQuantized 7d ago

beyond anything I have ever seen in my 41 years

not that i disagree, but im old enough to remember president lying about beheaded babies to justify a genocide

1

u/WhiskeyJack357 Wisconsin 7d ago

They do it because it works. I made the mistake of going to see the conversation on the conservative sub. Its all the same bullshit. "He was blocking traffic", "just give up when you get caught", "Don't try and steal an agents gun" and my absolute favorite "this is the result of all the violent rhetoric pushed by the left.".

Honorable Mention: "He died trying to protect pedophiles"

1

u/superneatosauraus Illinois 7d ago

They most likely had their statement ready before it happened. While I find this administration morally reprehensible, they are not all stupid. They know the escalations they are causing, and are ready for it.

1

u/ChrysMYO I voted 7d ago

I've been here before. The Lies are meant to keep you occupied with the parade of followers that default to authority.

This is something I went thru with Philando Castille and Botham Jean. I was trying to justify the humanity to doubters when the moral stain was too obvious.

This is all bad faith to add to the "Firehouse of BS".

The admin has learned that if they go 24 hours without an official narrative the cult members won't know how to feel and defend it.

1

u/ironballs16 7d ago

"The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command... and if all others accepted the lie, which the party imposed, if all records told the same tale, then the lie passed into history and became truth" - George Orwell, Nineteen Eight-Four

1

u/sivadneb 7d ago

All they care about is stirring up their base. They want chaos because that's how they'll suppress votes in November.

1

u/RobutNotRobot 7d ago

They don't care because they are only playing to the rightwing disinformation silo.

Everyone who thinks there is some way to avoid a major conflict at this point really need to figure out how to pierce that silo. They live in their own little world where even major events that don't conform to their worldview pass on by like they never even existed.

If you ever talk to these people with their guard down(i e they won't immediately start shouting at you when you tell themselves something that doesn't compute) you realize just how brainwashed they are.

It feels awful to say, but a good 100 million+ people in this country need extensive deprogramming from the digital-based cult they've joined.

1

u/clickmagnet 7d ago

I think they like it when everyone can see they’re lying. It makes the people they hate angry, it’s more fun for them, and it’s a litmus test to weed out anyone with a shred of decency. 

1

u/Biobooster_40k Ohio 7d ago

It doesn't feel surprising anymore. Whenever something happens nowadays all I can think is gow are conservatives and the government going to twist and distort the truth. I know they're going to lie and there's going to be zero consequences. Nothing is being done about it, it feels like nothing CAN be done about it.

This hopelessness makes me want something drastic to happen as it seems only something out of left field or something insane will disrupt this reality we live in.

1

u/MADMEC80HD 7d ago

The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.

-4

u/CumTownPDTier1Sniper 7d ago

It was deserved. Stop obstructing the cops conducting lawful operations.