"After the extrajudicial killing of ICU nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, federal officials were quick to put the blame on him. Pretti was accused of planning a "massacre" of cops, while videos depict him filming and rendering aid to a woman before he was shot in the back. This has been the Trump administration's playbook since federal agents occupied Minneapolis: A controversial use of force, then false accusations blaming the victim without evidence or investigation."
"Renee Good suffered the same fate after she was killed by an ICE agent earlier this month. Kristi Noem called her a domestic terrorist just hours after she was gunned down. Again, an accusation without evidence. Shortly after the killing of Good, we interviewed the MAGA conservative Rep. Chip Roy on the steps of the US Capitol about ICE's actions. His answers were revealing and worth revisiting in light of the continued use of the victim-blaming playbook, if only to understand what all this rhetorical posturing implies about the continuing presence of ICE in American cities."
Rep. Chip Roy blamed victims for deaths tied to federal agents and defended ICE's presence in cities. Federal officials and allies accused victims such as Alex Pretti and Renee Good of plotting violence or being terrorists without presenting evidence. The pattern pairs controversial uses of force by federal agents with rapid, unsubstantiated accusations that shift responsibility away from the agents. Critics characterize this approach as a victim-blaming playbook that enables continued federal operations in American cities and fuels community outrage over killings and perceived impunity for agents.
Read at Truthout
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