MICHAEL PRETTI HAD A STARK MESSAGE at a press conference in Minneapolis this week: “Our son Alex was shot and killed by the government.”
asserted
son → have → government
After nine months of being stonewalled by the Trump administration, the slain man’s parents are demanding accountability.
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parents → stonewall → accountability
“We will no longer stay silent about the actions of the Department of Justice,” Michael Pretti said, saying that when it has deigned to communicate at all, the DOJ has lied and obfuscated about their son’s death.
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DOJ → stay → death
This is morally wrong,” he continued.
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he → continue → ?
Michael and Susan Pretti join the family of Renée Good in demanding action from a government that has killed and slandered their loved ones while refusing to hold its agents accountable for their actions.
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agents → join → actions
Neither family wanted to take on such a public role; the Prettis make clear they do not want to be seen as political activists.
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they → want → activists
Yet it’s likely that the only way these families—and the many more victimized by ICE—will see real justice is through political action leading to political change, starting with the midterm elections.
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families → ’ → elections
But the Prettis didn’t foreground politics at their press conference on Tuesday.
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Prettis → foreground → Tuesday
The main thing they conveyed was their grief.
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they → convey → ?
They talked about missing their son—his big heart, his warmth, his humor, his intolerance of bullies.
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They → talk → bullies
Michael described their tight-knit Midwestern family.
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Michael → describe → family
He wishes he could chat with his son about cars and hiking.
uncertain
he → wish → cars
Minnesotans have maintained a memorial for Alex, a subject that brought Susan Pretti close to tears.
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that → maintain → tears
“I save every post, I save everything that is ever written.
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that → save → everything
It’s my only connection,” she said.
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she → ’ → ?
“So for everyone that says anything about Alex, we read it, we keep it, we cherish it.”
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we → say → it
Michael added that they have received over two thousand letters.
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they → add → letters
“[We] read every single word, every single card.
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We → read → word
But memories of their son naturally point back to the manner in which he was taken away from them.
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he → point → them
And as parents and as citizens, they want justice.
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they → want → justice
“Michael and I are not asking for any special treatment,” Susan said.
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Susan → ask → treatment
We do not want to be on TV.
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We → want → TV
We are not political activists, nor do we want to become political activists.
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we → want → ?
All we want is justice for Alex.
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we → want → Alex
We are here today to simply request that the federal government treat us with the dignity and respect that our son deserves.
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son → request → that
Dignity and respect would signal a change in the government’s M.O. when it comes to the Prettis, who have received a combination of silence and lies from the Department of Justice about Alex’s death.
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who → signal → death
The DOJ has also refused to cooperate with a state investigation into the killing.
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DOJ → refuse → killing
“He was peaceful, he was observing, he was not protesting, this was not a protest that Alex was at.
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Alex → observe → that
His hands were in the air when he was tackled to the ground, he was face down on the ground when he was executed,” Michael said.
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Michael → tackle → ground
In the immediate aftermath of the killing, the Trump administration did not reach out to Pretti’s family.
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administration → reach → family
Instead, cabinet members went on TV and implied he was a domestic terrorist.
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he → go → TV
“Imagine that your child was killed by the actions of the federal government.
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child → imagine → government
Imagine learning that your child had been murdered by watching it on TV.
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child → imagine → TV
No one from the government called us that day.
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one → call → us
They didn’t call us the next day nor the next, nor the next 275 days,” Michael said.
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Michael → call → us
The Prettis called on Daniel N. Rosen, U.S. attorney for the District of Minnesota, and Attorney General Todd Blanche to “stop shielding Alex’s killers” and to resume sharing information with state-level investigators.
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Prettis → call → investigators
Renée Good’s family held a similar press conference earlier this month, announcing the filing of two related civil lawsuits against the U.S. government and against the individual Trump officials who oversaw the failed immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota last winter: White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, disgraced former DHS chief Kristi Noem, former acting ICE director Todd Lyons, former Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino, and even Corey Lewandowski.
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who → hold → staff
The agent who shot Good, Jonathan Ross, is also named in the latter suit, along with ten anonymized “John Doe Federal Agents.”
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who → shoot → Agents
“The day of accountability has arrived for our own U.S. government and its governmental agencies ICE and CBP,” Antonio M. Romanucci, an attorney for Good’s family, said.
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Romanucci → arrive → family
“Our country cannot tolerate unjustified and excessive use of force, let alone deadly force on ordinary people who are exercising their rights under the Constitution of this country.”
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who → tolerate → country
…and 54 more, not listed.
The Aporia
