"Shortly after federal agents killed Alex Pretti Saturday morning, DHS began to run with the story that the dead man had been armed and dangerous. He had a gun, DHS said. (A Bellingcat analysis of the video concludes that Pretti was unarmed when he was shot.) He had approached the agents holding the gun, DHS said. (He was holding a phone, the New York Times reports.) Pretti died on his knees, surrounded by armed Border Patrol agents, with shot after shot unloaded in his direction."
"In July 2020, the Department of Homeland Security sent in over a hundred federal officers from various agencies to my city of Portland, Oregon. They flooded downtown with a thick fog of brownish tear gas. This didn't neutralize the crowds - it merely hurt and enraged them. The city understood it was being intentionally tormented by sadists and chose to walk into the tear gas out of spite."
Federal agents killed Alex Pretti after asserting he was armed and dangerous, while independent analysis and reporting indicate he was unarmed and holding a phone. Pretti died on his knees as Border Patrol agents fired multiple shots at him. Narratives emphasized victim culpability rather than scrutiny of law enforcement use of lethal force. Minnesota's open-carry laws and the presence of masked, armed attackers contextualize why civilians observed armed groups. In July 2020, the Department of Homeland Security deployed over a hundred federal officers to Portland and used brownish tear gas that inflamed and angered crowds. Political and media focus often hinged on labeling events as protests or riots based solely on protesters' behavior.
Read at The Verge
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