It was well below zero with a real feel in the single digits on the evening of January 26. That did not stop hundreds of people from gathering in Liberty Plaza as the sun peeked its head through the clouds as it set on the horizon and protestors remembered Alex Pretti, the 37 year old intensive care unit nurse shot dead by Immigration and Customs Enforcement while he was protesting in Minneapolis on Saturday.
Rachel Pooley was at the previous Liberty Plaza vigil for Renee Good at the beginning of the year. Before Monday’s vigil started, she said that finding out about Alex’s death brought to her mind “more shock, more atrocities on our streets. This is a war zone, not law enforcement. This is a government being terrorists, attacking its own people.” When asked what she wanted to see happen next, Pooley said of ICE “I want the local and state [law enforcement] to be able to investigate and not just the FBI, because I don’t trust them.”
Pretti is the latest high-profile protestor to be killed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Minneapolis. The Trump Administration has gone all in on his anti-immigration crusade by aggressively sending ICE and other Department of Homeland Security forces into what he perceives to be Democratic leaning urban areas. American citizens have been deported from the United States, due process practices have been jettisoned in favor of a maximum pressure campaign, and ICE is now openly engaging in racial profiling. The recent ICE hiring freeze has led to an increasingly aggressive agency get into more and more confrontations with citizens.
This protest vigil was organized by Ann Arbor Indivisible. One of the organizers described the group as “a progressive, pro-democracy organization” intent on covering more protests as ICE becomes more and more aggressive.
Three levels of political representation showed up to support the protestors, all of them from the Democratic Party. Representative Debbie Dingell made an appearance, as well as state Representative Carrie Rheingans, and Washtenaw County Commissioner Yousef Rabhi.
“I thought ‘this cannot be happening again’ but of course this can be happening again. We ripped healthcare away from millions of Americans to give ICE $50,000 bonuses, while some people can’t’ even afford their rent or groceries. Of course this can be happening … and it’s not going to be the last time,” Rheingans told Current. When asked if it is only a matter of time before something like Good or Pretti’s death happens in Michigan, Rheingans’ immediate answer was “Yes.” When asked what she is expecting next, Rheingans said “Trump is a narcissist, and operates with the principle of never admitting that you’re wrong and doubling down. So, he is doubling down, he is destroying his party, he is destroying their chances for the future and he doesn’t care because he isn’t going to be here to see it.”
Rabhi was one of the nine Washtenaw County Commissioners who voted to ban ICE from using Washtenaw County property just a few days before Pretti was killed. Rheingans has introduced or sponsored legislation that would prevent Michigan law enforcement from cooperating with ICE, as well as acts that would keep state tax dollars from being used if habeas corpus or due process is violated.
However, she is not optimistic in the short term since the House is currently under the control of the Republicans. Other bills concerning ICE’s use of masks, rules keeping ICE from going to sensitive locations and a ban on preventing Michigan government state data from being used by federal immigration services are also being considered in the Michigan State Senate.
“There is a wave of sadness going across our country and there is a wave of terror going across our country, that is very intentional from this Administration, and it’s not just ICE. It’s ICE, DHS, Customs and Border Patrol. They are an organized, armed, lawless militia of terrorists that are murdering people on the streets. This is not acceptable; this is not OK. We have a country that I was proud to be born and raised in, and this country is going in the wrong direction,” Rabhi said. When asked if the Trump Administration’s current trajectory is politically sustainable, he said “I don’t think there’s any imaginable way that it could be. I see people from all political backgrounds coming forward and saying that what happened is an absolute violation of our country, our Constitutional rights. I’m even seeing some pushback from Second Amendment folks who are saying ‘this was a lawful gun over, you can’t just shoot people for having guns because we have guns in this country.’ You’re seeing people from the libertarian side and conservative side of the spectrum come out. What’s sad is that we’re seeing people who are just so entrenched. They aren’t just MAGA, but are so staunchly supporting Trump as an individual, that they’re willing to throw out our entire constitution, that they’re willing to throw out our entire established norms as a country just for him, as a tyrant, dictator that he is.”
The Constitution of the United States explicitly makes it so state and local governments are subservient to the federal government, limiting the options of local representatives. Rheingans expressed frustration at how she has been so busy trying to educate her constituents on their rights, “the problem is that everybody’s rights are being trampled on. This administration has completely shredded the United States Constitution. They’re harming their First Amendment Rights of freedom of protest and speech, they are harming their Second Amendment rights to concealed carry, they’re harming their Fourth Amendment rights against unwarranted seizures, and they’re harming their Fifth and Eighth Amendment rights of due process and prevention of cruel and unusual punishment. Half of the Bill of Rights has been completely trampled by this Administration. As much as we know our rights, it doesn’t matter if they’re willing to completely disregard them and disappear people.”
Pretti was carrying a gun, which he had a license for, when he died. Video of Pretti’s death shows no indication that he was holding the gun or was attempting to get it. As the protest in A2 was going on Monday evening, the Trump Administration pulled the face of Border Patrol operations in Minnesota, Greg Bovino, as pressure mounted.
The partisan divide in America is still strong of course. Some right wing voices have even suddenly decided that Pretti having a gun at a protest was wrong, despite the fact that right wing protestors have routinely taken guns to protests for years, clinging to their Second Amendment right.
When asked about this, Rabhi said: “I think it’s a really sad place for Americans to be at, that they can ignore parts of the Constitution and their own values for this one individual, who has styled himself a dictator. That is not what America is about – we are a democracy. It’s a cult of personality that has come to run our country. The future of our nation is going to depend on Americans from all backgrounds – Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Green Party, Socialist – coming together and casting aside people like Donald Trump, and reestablishing the norms of law and order, justice and our Constitutional rights.”
RELATED: Hundreds March in Protest of Renee Nichole Good’s Death, from Diag to City Hall
Like with the vigil for Good, people made signs and huddled together and faced the part of Liberty Plaza where the stage for Sonic Lunch usually goes. Music was sung, and poetry was read aloud into loudspeakers.
When asked what went through his head when he found out about Pretti, Alex Rodriguez asked “Again? Just this level of disgust… I saw the video as it dropped moments after on Twitter, and I thought ‘this is something right out of the Hunger Games’ and the land of the free, home of the brave.” Current asked Rodriguez if it was a matter of time before something similar to Pretti or Renee Good’s death happened in Ann Arbor, he said “given how liberal our city is … I do think it’s a matter of time.” He had doubts about them targeting a big city again because of the scale of the backlash “but I expect them to attack Michigan” and he called for consequences for ICE officers who break the law.
Protests are likely to continue in Ann Arbor and nationwide as the Trump Administration shows no sign of backing down. But cracks are showing. Polls show that just about all of the support from new groups that put Trump over the top in 2024 have melted away in support and parts of the right-wing media environment have started to have loud misgivings. Chris Madel, a Republican candidate for governor in Minnesota, cited ICE and the Trump Administration’s approach to law and order as the reason he was quitting the race.
“I found out on Saturday – just stunned, and floored, and pissed off,” Helen Bunch said as the vigil was wrapping up. She is a recently retired art teacher who drew a likeness of Alex Pretti onto one of the two signs she brought. “I feel like we have to overwhelm the system, so we are just starting this journey unfortunately, and I think that we have a long road ahead of us.” She doubts that the Trump Administration’s behavior is sustainable. “I think it’s just so reckless, and I think our international neighbors are turning another direction, our economy is not doing as well, and hopefully at some point the Republicans are going to own up and people who’ve been on the sidelines will step up.”
Drew Saunders is a freelance business and environmental journalist who grew up just outside of Ann Arbor. He covers local business developments, embraces his foodie side with reviews restaurants, obsesses over Michigan's environmental state, loves movies, and feels spoiled by the music he gets to review for Ann Arbor!
