The second killing of a protester in a month is splitting the United States. What the media is writing
- Новости
- World
- The second killing of a protester in a month is splitting the United States. What the media is writing
In Minneapolis, Minnesota, for the second time in a month, law enforcement officers shot dead a protester who opposed President Donald Trump's anti-migrant policies. The administration of the head of the White House said that Alex Pretty, who was carrying a pistol in his belt, posed a threat to the border patrol, while the videos show that he was shot after disarmament. How the world's media reacts to the tragedy splitting the United States is in the Izvestia digest.
Financial Times: Minneapolis shocked by another murder
The city of Minneapolis was already on edge after the murder of 37-year-old woman Renee Goode by a federal immigration agent earlier this month. Then, on January 24, there was another murder, the victim of which was a representative of the civilian population of the United States. Alex Pretty, a 37-year-old intensive care unit nurse, died from multiple gunshot wounds after a confrontation with border patrol agents at a busy intersection. Minneapolis was once again engulfed by demonstrations of angry citizens.
Financial Times
Within a few hours, the verbal altercation between local officials and the federal government, which had been going on for several weeks, flared up with renewed vigor. The border Guard Service said that the man approached the officers with a pistol and "violently resisted" attempts to disarm him. However, the videos contradict the official version. Jacob Frey, the mayor of Minneapolis, spoke about one of them, in which "more than six masked agents beat up one of our constituents and kill him." Other footage shows that at the beginning of the conflict, Pretty was holding a phone, not a gun.
The governor of Minnesota, Tim Waltz, said the federal government's claim that Pretty posed a threat to agents was false. In his social media posts, US President Donald Trump accused Waltz and Frey of "sedition." Since the beginning of the year, Minnesota has become the epicenter of Trump's anti-immigrant campaign. Locals say they feel like they are under occupation, with protests being suppressed with increasingly brutal methods. The operation is led by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which under Trump has become one of the most powerful law enforcement agencies in the country.
NBC News: How police experts assess the shooting
In the last moments of his life, Pretty was lying on all fours on a frozen street, with several federal agents on top of him. A video taken by an eyewitness shows one of the agents jumping out of the crowd with a pistol out of a Pretty holster. A moment later, another agent opened fire at point-blank range. Then more shots rang out, leaving Pretty's body lying motionless on the sidewalk.
NBC News
Some law enforcement experts said the shooting seemed unjustified, and one of them called it murder. Others said they could not make a judgment until they knew more, in particular, what threat the agent who opened fire believed he was facing at the time. The killing of Pretty, the second fatal gunshot wound by a federal officer in Minneapolis this month, also renewed concerns about how well immigration officials are prepared to deal with protesters.
The question remains whether the murder will be the subject of a thorough investigation. Several Trump administration officials have defended the actions of the Border Patrol agent who opened fire, in some cases making statements contradicting the videos of the clash. Homeland Security Secretary Kristy Noem said her department would lead the investigation, although the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) usually plays a leading role in such cases. Minnesota investigators said they were denied access to the scene despite having a warrant.
Bloomberg: Trump's tougher immigration policy has split Congress
After another shooting incident, Republicans in the US Congress showed indecision about Trump's tougher immigration policy. Although it does not mean a complete break with the president, it indicates growing concern about the aggressive actions of the administration, while the Democrats threaten another government shutdown. So far, Republicans have supported Trump when he sent federal agents and the National Guard to US cities.
Bloomberg
Republican Senator Bill Cassidy from Louisiana sharply deviated from the White House's position and demanded a "full-fledged joint federal and state investigation." Cassidy called the events in Minneapolis "extremely disturbing" and said the reputation of ICE and the Department of Homeland Security was at stake. However, the silence of other leaders, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune, indicates that many in the party are still considering how to respond to Pretty's murder.
The leader of the Democrats in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, promised to block a large-scale budget package if the Republicans do not deprive the Department of Homeland Security of funding. However, in the event of a shutdown, ICE and Border patrol officers will receive salaries from additional funds provided for in Trump's tax bill signed last year.
Reuters: Trump administration justifies Minneapolis murder
Trump administration officials are defending Pretty's murder amid growing tensions between local law enforcement and federal agents. They claimed that Pretty attacked the police, forcing them to open fire in self-defense. The head of the border guard service, Gregory Bovino, said that his employees were the victims of the incident.
Reuters
This official position, which was supported by Secretary of Homeland Security Kristy Noem and other members of the administration, provoked outrage from local Democratic Party leaders, law enforcement officials and Democrats in the US Congress, who pointed to eyewitness videos showing that Pretty had only a mobile phone in his hands before agents knocked him to the ground. They landed on the ground and were eventually shot at point blank range.
The Minnesota authorities reported that Pretty had a valid state permit to carry weapons in public places, which the US Supreme Court recognized as a constitutional right in 2022. At the request of the state, a federal judge issued a temporary order prohibiting the Trump administration from destroying or altering evidence related to the murder of Pretty.
The Washington Post: Shooting in Minnesota has complicated the debate over guns in America
The murder of Pretty has thrown the American gun debate into turmoil. He was killed while holding a pistol in his belt, which he had a permit to carry. Many conservatives justified the shooting of Pretty by saying that the presence of a pistol in a holster indicated an intention to commit violence. This contradicts the usual position of gun advocates, who defend the right of Americans to carry firearms in almost all situations.
The Washington Post
Liberals, including supporters of gun control, on the contrary, emphasize that Pretty's legal possession of weapons in no way reflects his intentions during the protest and, of course, cannot justify his murder by federal agents. This split underscores how American politics in the Trump era has moved away from a discussion of principles — if there ever was one - and firmly turned into an "us versus them" struggle, where actions are praised or condemned depending on who commits them.
Experts note that although the US Constitution gives the right to carry firearms, there are practically no cases when its use against government officials would be recognized as legitimate. People often purchase weapons to "stand up to a tyrannical government," but in practice, trying to resist federal agents leads to tragedies, as in the case of Pretty.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
