2/2/2026...ICE

I do feel bad that Alex Pretti died. Not because what he did was justified. It was not. He was in the wrong. I feel bad because he was led to believe that interfering with police like this was acceptable. It is not. That is not protest. That is illegal conduct.

Instead of standing on the sidewalk and protesting from a safe distance, he entered the street, confronted federal agents, and physically interfered with an active enforcement action. During the struggle he was disarmed, yet he continued fighting. Multiple witnesses not affiliated with law enforcement have stated that he was physically threatening agents, continuing to resist, and appeared to be reaching through his clothing as if searching for another weapon. Law enforcement does not get the luxury of guessing whether someone is reaching for a gun they dropped or a gun they still have. His actions created a lethal threat and officers had to respond accordingly. The #ICE agents were justified.

There is never a responsible moment for Tim Walz, Mayor Jacob Frey, Chicago Mayor's Office Brandon Johnson, or Governor JB Pritzker to go public and encourage confrontation with law enforcement, legitimize disruption, or normalize interference with arrests. That kind of rhetoric is reckless. When politicians blur the line between lawful protest and illegal obstruction, they lie to people. They tell emotionally charged, mentally fragile, or easily influenced individuals that there will be no real consequences for actions that are clearly criminal. When those individuals act on that message, they are the ones who end up in jail, in the hospital, or in the morgue, not the politicians who pushed them there and then went home insulated from the fallout.

These officials have publicly called for abolishing ICE and have repeatedly attacked federal enforcement. They are entitled to political opinions, but there is a massive difference between criticizing policy and signaling to the public that it is acceptable to physically obstruct law enforcement in the field. Their words are heard. People in the streets believe they are acting with approval. That disconnect is deadly.

Alex Pretti was a nurse. He had a good job. He had no criminal history until January 24, 2026. He was not a hardened criminal looking for a fight. He was someone who believed what he was being told, that stepping into an active enforcement action was acceptable or even righteous. He crossed the line between lawful protest and criminal interference. It is a fine line, but it is a real one, and he clearly crossed it. That is the tragedy.

Peaceful protest and filming from a distance are protected. Physically inserting yourself into a law enforcement operation is not. The moment you interfere, obstruct, surround, block, badger, or attempt to stop an arrest, you cross the line from protester to offender.

This is not opinion. This is the law.

When federal, state, or local law enforcement is conducting an investigation or making an arrest, and you jump in to interfere or try to rescue the arrestee, you are committing crimes. If it escalates, the consequences fall on the person who chose to interfere.

When individuals physically interfere with law enforcement operations like this, they routinely violate multiple federal, state, and local laws. At the federal level this includes 18 U.S.C. § 111 for forcibly assaulting, resisting, opposing, impeding, intimidating, or interfering with federal officers including ICE during official duties, which can range from a misdemeanor to a felony carrying up to 20 years if a weapon or injury is involved. It also includes 18 U.S.C. § 1503 for obstructing or influencing the due administration of justice, 18 U.S.C. § 1505 for obstructing proceedings before federal agencies such as ICE, 8 U.S.C. § 1324 for harboring, concealing, or shielding undocumented immigrants from detection, 18 U.S.C. § 371 for conspiracy to commit federal offenses when interference is coordinated, and 18 U.S.C. § 115 if threats or intimidation of federal officials occur. Under Minnesota law, this conduct violates Minnesota Statute § 609.50 for obstructing legal process or interfering with peace officers in the performance of official duties, which can escalate to a felony if force is used, Minnesota Statute § 609.72 for disorderly conduct when actions provoke a breach of the peace, Minnesota Statute § 609.74 for public nuisance including blocking highways or rights of way, and Minnesota Statute § 609.506 for providing false identifying information to obstruct justice. At the local and county level, it also violates Minneapolis ordinances prohibiting obstruction of streets, vehicles, and rights of way, local disorderly conduct provisions, unlawful assembly or failure to disperse when a gathering becomes obstructive, and Hennepin County ordinances addressing public obstruction and safety nuisances.

This is the reality people refuse to confront.

Federal enforcement does not operate randomly. It operates with files, addresses, and targets. What is happening now is organized interference. Activists follow agents, wait for a stop, then jump out of vehicles, block roads, scream, use horns, whistles, lights, and alarms to warn the target and disrupt the arrest.

That is obstruction. That is conspiracy. That is criminal.

When someone steps into an enforcement action and especially when a weapon is present, officers must treat the situation as a lethal threat. A firearm does not appear by magic during a struggle. Its presence changes everything.

From a human standpoint, a death is tragic. A family is grieving. That matters. But someone lied to him. Someone told him this behavior was acceptable and without consequences. It was not.

This will keep happening as long as politicians blur the line between lawful protest and criminal interference.

You can protest.

You can film from a distance.

You cannot obstruct arrests.

You cannot interfere with law enforcement.

And you cannot gamble with force and expect a peaceful outcome.

Calling this anything else is dishonest and dangerous.

Nana