In the aftermath of the shooting near Nicollet Avenue, two competing narratives hardened almost instantly. On one side, federal officials framed Alex Pretti as a threat, using words like “assassin” and “domestic terrorist,” even as no public evidence has yet shown he was armed. On the other, witnesses and footage described a man filming officers, pepper-sprayed, tackled, then shot dead in the street. Into that raw divide stepped JD Vance, not to acknowledge the horror of a VA nurse killed during an ICE operation, but to spotlight an unverified story of agents trapped in a restaurant and “chaos” blamed on local leaders.
The backlash was swift and deeply personal. Critics accused him of valuing federal power over human life, of choosing a narrative that protects institutions instead of demanding answers. Whether one believes the ICE account or the witnesses, one fact is inescapable: a 37-year-old nurse is gone, and the country is left arguing over a tweet instead of a life.
