The fatal shooting of nurse Alex Pretti by an ICE Agent in Minnesota has ignited a firestorm across the American corporate and technology sectors. Soon after the shooting of the 37-year-old (a US citizen and Veterans Affairs nurse), a coalition of more than 60 CEOs from Minnesota’s largest companies – including Target, 3M and UnitedHealth Group – signed a letter, urging “immediate de-escalation,” while prominent Silicon Valley figures took to social media to denounce the action. Pretti, who was killed on Saturday (January 24) morning, was filming federal immigration agents when a confrontation began. Officials claim he threatened them with a legally carried firearm, however, videos on the social media reportedly show he was shot after already been disarmed and subdued. This is the second such shooting in the US state: Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old woman, was fatally shot by an ICE agent in Minneapolis on January 7.The letter called for an “immediate de-escalation of tensions” and urged officials to “work together to find real solutions.”“In this difficult moment for our community, we call for peace and focused cooperation among local, state, and federal leaders to achieve a swift and durable solution that enables families, businesses, our employees, and communities across Minnesota to resume our work to build a bright and prosperous future,” the letter says.
Tech leaders slam ICE agents’ Minnesota shooting and call for action
While the Minnesota CEOs focused on “de-escalation,” the reaction from Silicon Valley was condemning.
Jeff Dean, chief scientist at Google DeepMind, labeled the video of the shooting ‘absolutely shameful’
“This is absolutely shameful. Agents of a federal agency unnecessarily escalating, and then executing a defenseless citizen whose offense appears to be using his cell phone camera. Every person regardless of political affiliation should be denouncing this,” Dean said and shared a video on his X handle.When confronted online about Pretti’s gun, he responded, “He had a gun that he was legally allowed to carry, per NY Times. He did not reach for his gun, and videos showed an officer had disarmed him before he was shot multiple times in an unarmed state.”
James Dyett, Head of Global Business at OpenAI, criticised the actions
“There is far more outrage from tech leaders over a wealth tax than masked ICE agents terrorizing communities and executing civilians in the streets. Tells you what you need to know about the values of our industry,” Dyett wrote on X.
Vinod Khosla says ICE against run by conscious-less administration
The incident also brought forward political divides within the world’s most powerful venture capital firms. At Khosla Ventures, partner Keith Rabois defended the agents, firm founder Vinod Khosla, rebuked the action.“No law enforcement has shot an innocent person. Illegals are committing violent crimes everyday,” Rabois said. Partner Ethan Choi quickly distanced the firm from Rabois, stating, “I want to make it clear that Keith doesn’t represent everyone’s views here at @khoslaventures, at least not mine. What happened in Minnesota is plain wrong. Don’t know how you could really see it differently. Sad to see a person’s life taken unnecessarily.”Khosla backed Choi, saying, “I agree with @EthanChoi7. Macho ICE vigilantes running amuck empowered by a conscious-less administration. The video was sickening to watch and the storytelling without facts or with invented fictitious facts by authorities almost unimaginable in a civilized society. ICE personnel must have ice water running thru their veins to treat other human beings this way. There is politics but humanity should transcend that.”
Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman blames State Governor
Bill Ackman, the billionaire hedge fund manager, blamed Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, accusing him of “inciting the people to rise up against law enforcement.”What is it about Minneapolis that the two tragic ICE shootings took place there within two or so weeks of each other? Could it really be a coincidence?It is almost as if the governor of Minnesota called for protestors to intervene in ICE enforcements in an incendiary manner?Inciting the people to rise up against law enforcement is guaranteed to end badly, and now we have seen the tragic consequences. @GovTimWalz and those that emulate him, it is time to take the temperature down before more lives are lost.
All-In podcast host, Jason Calacanis, called the situation a failure due to ‘inadequately-trained agents’
Once again, I will remind everyone that our leaders are failing us. True leadership would be to calm this situation down by telling these non-peaceful protestors to stay home while recalling these inadequately-trained agents. [ and on a practical basis, for those of you on the right, chaos is sinking President Trump’s popularity. If you lose the midterms, @StephenM will be responsible ]Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn co-founder, amplified calls for Americans to “stand up” to the administration by resharing a number of posts on X, saying, “It’s time for all Americans to do so.”
Cristina Cordova calls shooting ‘indefensible’
Cristina Cordova, the chief operating officer at Linear, a product management software company, also said the gun was removed before the nurse was shot.“This is indefensible. The victim’s legally owned handgun was removed from the scene, and then ICE agents shot him multiple times. It’s far from law enforcement — it’s just murder. Those who defend this don’t care about law or order. It’s about money, power, and protecting an executive branch that’s already been bought and paid for,” she added.
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