Leftists sought violence in Minneapolis, and they got it

OPINION:

So far today, I have managed not to get shot by agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Yesterday, too. And all the days before that.

Want to know my secret?

I don’t harass or physically interfere with federal law enforcement officers while they’re carrying out their duties.

And I certainly don’t do any of that while also introducing a deadly weapon to the mix.

Radical leftists in Minneapolis could take a lesson from that as they aggressively tangle with federal agents attempting to enforce immigration law, but that would mean they wouldn’t get what they’re after.

Because physical confrontation is what the radicals want, and if there is actual violence, so much the better, in their view.

As the world knows, Democrats have been engaged in a prolonged tantrum since the re-election of President Trump in November 2024. They squawk all the time, but they get loudest when Mr. Trump is delivering on his promise to stop illegal immigration.

More specifically, leftists have shown that they’re most enraged when Mr. Trump is deporting illegal aliens already present in the country, the majority of whom have committed other crimes since sneaking across the border.

This uncontrollable anger showed itself again on Jan. 24, when 37-year-old Alex Pretti tried to forcefully obstruct ICE operations, a poor decision that instantly led to bedlam. As Pretti physically grappled with officers, they discovered he was armed with a handgun. During the melee, as he was disarmed by the agents, he was also shot to death.

An investigation is ongoing, but the left’s allies in the news media quickly lauded Pretti as a peace-loving intensive care unit nurse who only wanted to help people.

But just as quickly, a new video emerged from 11 days earlier, showing Pretti quite obviously instigating a tense altercation of just the same sort that would soon end his life. Less than two weeks before he was shot during a similar frenzied scene, he belligerently and violently scuffled with ICE, spat at officers and kicked a taillight out of their vehicle.

In the newly surfaced video, Pretti can be clearly heard to scream at ICE officers, “Pepper spray, b——!” and “Assault me, mother———!” mere inches from their faces.

This is not a peaceful protester. This is someone who believes there is value to his cause if things turn violent.

As was true in the skirmish that led to his death, Pretti had a 9-millimeter handgun tucked into his waistband during this incident as well. While it may be legal for him to carry the weapon at most times (with a concealed carry permit and identification), it is beyond stupid to do so while spoiling for a fight with law enforcement officers.

And once he was engaged in the potentially felonious act of interfering with federal agents doing their duties, his right to carry probably went out the window.

It’s no mystery why this street thuggery — the eternal embodiment of leftist rage — is erupting where it is. It’s because the elected officials there have encouraged it from the beginning.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who seems lab-created to possess all the left’s most harmful attributes, described his city as having been “invaded” and placed “under siege.”

“Get the f—- out of Minneapolis,” Mr. Frey said publicly to ICE, signaling that he was aligned with the boiling tempers in the streets.

Two-term Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the 2024 Democratic vice presidential nominee, declared that the feds were engaged in an “organized campaign of brutality” and used a rare primetime televised address to urge people to mix it up with ICE and capture it on video.

This, coincidentally, helped Mr. Walz divert attention from the ongoing scandal of massive fraud in his state’s “safety net” programs, which led him to withdraw from his reelection campaign.

These elected Democrats urged leftists to battle federal officers, and the results are plain. The Department of Homeland Security reports a 1,300% increase in assaults on ICE officers and an 8,000% increase in death threats.

Mind you, this is already the third time this year that things boiled over around Minneapolis. One agent shot and killed a woman when she rammed him with her SUV, and another had to shoot a suspect in the leg after being attacked with a shovel.

Think about it this way: ICE is removing illegal aliens from communities in states from coast to coast, but it’s only meeting with organized resistance in Minnesota, where one of the leaders is former Vice President Kamala Harris’ former running mate, embroiled in his own scandal. That’s how you know this whole thing is one big political operation to the left.

And to the radicals, of course, violence in the streets isn’t a drawback — it’s a feature.

• Tim Murtaugh is a Washington Times columnist and founder of Line Drive Public Affairs. He served as a senior advisor on the 2024 Trump campaign and as communications director on the 2020 Trump campaign.