Former President Joe Biden released his first statement on controversial events that transpired in Minnesota recently, specifically the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, who were fatally shot by federal immigration enforcement.
While broadly criticizing his Republican successor, Biden called for “full, fair, and transparent investigations into the deaths of the two Americans” who died in Minneapolis this month.
“Jill and I are sending strength to the families and communities who love Alex Pretti and Renee Good as we all mourn their senseless deaths,” he posted on X.
The former president’s statement comes three days after Pretti’s death, which occurred during a physical altercation with Border Patrol agents.
An ICU nurse, Pretti intervened on behalf of a fellow protester before agents pushed him to the ground and wrestled him as he resisted arrest. One of the agents retrieved Pretti’s handgun from his hip moments before agents opened fire on him.
Earlier this month, Good died at the hands of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who shot her as she struck him with her SUV.
Both shootings sparked growing anti-ICE protests in Minneapolis, prompting President Donald Trump to reevaluate his administration’s operations in the Democratic stronghold.
Trump dispatched White House border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota on Monday to report the situation back to the Oval Office. The move was praised by Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), a key Trump ally in Congress.
Like Biden, several Republican lawmakers have called for a thorough investigation into the killing of Pretti by federal agents. Trump said his administration is “reviewing everything” about the shooting.
Biden’s remarks arrived a few days after former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama quickly condemned the Trump administration’s actions in Minnesota, making Biden one of the last top Democrats to speak on the issue.
NOEM HAS CALLED VICTIMS OF ICE SHOOTINGS DOMESTIC TERRORISTS. DO THEY FIT THE DEFINITION?
“Minnesotans have reminded us all what it is to be American, and they have suffered enough at the hands of this Administration,” the 83-year-old former president said. “Violence and terror have no place in the United States of America, especially when it’s our own government targeting American citizens.”
“No single person can destroy what America stands for and believes in, not even a President, if we — all of America — stand up and speak out,” he added. “We know who we are. It’s time to show the world. More importantly, it’s time to show ourselves.”
