Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel was visibly emotional on his program as he talked about the deaths of ICE shooting victims Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, calling out crimes "committed by this gang of poorly-trained, shamefully-led, mask-wearing goons."
Earlier this month, ICE agent Jonathan Ross killed Good in her car. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin claimed Good “weaponized her vehicle, attempting to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them.”
But Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey pushed back against this narrative considering witnesses described seeing Good in the vehicle trying to flee officers when she was shot.
Pretti was killed over the weekend; multiple videos showed ICE officers removing a handgun from Pretti before fatally shooting him. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called Pretti—just like she did with Good before him—a "domestic terrorist."
Pretti's death horrified Kimmel, who told his audience he "spent the weekend—like probably a lot of you did—looking at my phone and just feeling shocked and sick about what is happening in Minneapolis."
He continued:
“One video after another. Screaming people being torn from their families, Americans—people who were born in the United States—being pulled out of their cars for the crime of having an accent or whatever, children—small children, babies—being tear-gassed, taken into custody, separated from their parents."
"Just one atrocity after another being committed by this gang of poorly-trained, shamefully-led, mask-wearing goons. And that is what they are—they’re goons committing vile, heartless, and even criminal acts."
“And it’s sickening to watch, and it’s frustrating to watch. It’s like we’re all being forced to play a game that has no rules. They just make up the rules as they go along."
He also condemned the Trump administration for trying to convince the public not to believe what they see with their own eyes and called out the hypocrisy of officials who've previously praised armed right-wing protesters but are now criticizing Pretti, a legal gun owner with a valid Minnesota concealed-carry permit, saying:
“We see these videos—in which we clearly see one of our fellow Americans executed by ICE—and they won’t even admit that it was a mistake!"
"They say the Honda SUV Renee Good was driving was 'weaponized,' they say the gun Alex Pretti had a license to carry in an open carry state—a right many of these same people screamed very loud about when it was Kyle Rittenhouse carrying the gun—a gun that Alex Pretti did not even draw, did not touch, a gun that was taken from him by one of the agents before he was shot dead by the other ones."
"They fired 10 times onto an ICU nurse, they’re telling us, ‘well, it was justified, you know?’"
“Is that the law and order that you voted for, if you voted for this? Every day is a nightmare now. My wife and I have family in Minneapolis. They’re afraid to take their kids to school. They’re afraid to go to work. And I can only imagine how people who aren’t white feel about this!"
“How does this end? What’s the plan here? Is the plan to just keep doing this in every city that didn’t vote for Donald Trump? Does anyone on any side believe this is good leadership?"
The audience applauded when Kimmel said:
“We keep saying we need to find subjects that we can agree on. Can we agree that peaceful protestors—including moms driving SUVs on their way back after dropping their six-year-old off at school and a nurse who stepped in to protect a woman from harm—don’t deserve to be shot dead in the street by the people we are paying to protect us?"
"Can we agree on that? Can we agree that when we see a person murdered in cold blood, that there should at least be an investigation of that? And that our ironically titled ‘Head of Homeland Security’ has the responsibility to get facts before telling us that what we saw, we did not see? If we can’t agree on that, forget it then.” ...
“Let’s cut the bullsh*t already. If that was ISIS, instead of ICE, we’d be firing missiles at somebody and pledging allegiance to the flag all together right now. Watch that video, watch every angle, as upsetting as it might be, and decide for yourself if that’s making America great. And if it isn’t, please say something about it."
"And if our leaders aren’t even trying to reduce the amount of chaos in the street rather than exacerbating it, if our leaders are intentionally creating and encouraging violence and fear, then I hope you will also agree, we need new leaders. Because these are not leaders."
“And to the people of Minneapolis—to the Pretti family and the Good family and these people who were looking out for their neighbors, we want you to know that we are with you and you are not alone. I’ll tell you another thing—we also want to see those Epstein files already.”
Kimmel's monologue ended with a tribute to Pretti that, once again, poked holes in the narrative presented by the Trump administration—particularly Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, who referred to Pretti as a "would-be assassin."
He played a video of Pretti honoring a patient—a veteran—who had passed away, and said:
“Alex Pretti was an ICU nurse who treated veterans, which is about as patriotic as it gets. Alex Pretti, may he rest in peace."
You can hear what he said in the video below.
- YouTube youtu.be
Kimmel's words struck a chord, with many appreciating his words while also expressing their anger over the killings.
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President Donald Trump has voiced support for Noem as the outrage toward Pretti's killing continues to grow.
Trump simply said "no" when reporters asked if Noem would respond to calls for her to step down; more and more Democrats have signed onto a resolution to impeach Noem amid the scandal.
He insisted Noem is doing a "good job" and defended her and ICE's actions in Minnesota because "the border is totally secure," saying that "as soon as you accomplish something, it goes into history and nobody ever wants to talk about it."
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