Sex and the City star Cynthia Nixon took to her platform on Instagram to share a “statement of Michael and Susan Pretti on the horrific killing of their son Alex Jeffrey Pretti by ICE.”
Alex Pretti, 37, was an Intensive Care Unit nurse who treated critically ill veterans at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center. He was murdered by ICE in Minneapolis on January 24.
“Hi, so, Kristi Noem, the Secretary of Homeland Security, has been spreading morally reprehensible, disgusting lies about the cold-blooded execution of the young man, Alex Pretti, who was gunned down in the streets of Minneapolis today,” she said in the Instagram video. “I’m going to read a statement from Alex’s parents, who have asked that the record be set straight about who their son was and what actually happened.”
The statement, which Nixon carried on to read, is as follows:
“We are heartbroken, but also very angry. Alex was a kindhearted soul who cared deeply for his family and friends—and also the American veterans whom he cared for as an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA Hospital. Alex wanted to make a difference in this world. Unfortunately, he will not be with us to see his impact.I do not throw around the term ‘hero’ lightly. However, his last thought and act was to protect a woman.
“The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting. Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked by Trump’s murdering and cowardly ICE thugs. He had his phone in his right hand, and his empty left hand is raised above his head while trying to protect the woman ICE just pushed down—all while being pepper-sprayed.
“Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man. Thank you.”
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The Department of Homeland Security reported that ICE shot Pretti in self-defense, with Noem alleging that he’d “arrived at the scene to inflict maximum damage on individuals and to kill law enforcement.”
However, video analysis shows Pretti—a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry—holding his phone, not his gun. Various other videos surfacing on social media show Pretti protecting a woman who ICE pushed to the ground and pepper-sprayed in the face. An ICE agent is seen removing Pretti’s gun before Pretti was shot dead.
Pretti’s parents are now calling on the public to spread the word about their son, who Minneapolis police have confirmed did not have any criminal record and whose neighbors and colleagues have called “a good, kind person who lived to help.”
“He thought it was terrible, you know, kidnapping children, just grabbing people off the street,” Pretti’s father has stated. “He cared about those people, and he knew it was wrong, so he did participate in protests.”
Their statement is now circling social media channels as people across the country—and the world—are echoing it.
“Please do everything you can to share their statement far and wide,” Nixon asked her followers, who are commenting from all corners of the globe, thanking her for leveraging her platform to spread Pretti’s parents’ message.
“Thank you, Cynthia, for using your platform to tell the truth,” one user commented.
Others commiserated in the comments section about “another truly heartbreaking day in America.”
“Thank you for sharing his parents’ message,” another wrote. “We need to talk about this more. How his parents are asking for his honor to be restored and death not to be in vain.”
Related: ‘Jeopardy!’ Host Ken Jennings Sends Blunt Political Message After ICE Killing