Indian-American political activist Saikat Chakrabarti stirred a row after posting on X about the fatal shooting of a Minneapolis man by US Border Patrol agents. The former chief of staff to Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio‑Cortez wrote: “ICE is murdering people. And they will only murder more. RIP Alex Pretti. Abolish ICE.”In a video message, Chakrabarti said the incident is likely a state-sponsored murder: “Yesterday in Minneapolis, Border Patrol agents murdered Alex Pretti — a 37-year-old ICU nurse and U.S. citizen. They pepper-sprayed him, tackled him to the ground, beat him, and then fired six shots — killing him. Alex was legally carrying, had his ID on him, and was trying to help someone who had been pushed down. But instead of de-escalating, agents chose violence — again. This is state murder. This is what ICE and Border Patrol do. We cannot let this continue.”Chakrabarti also used the video to call for public action to defund federal agents once and for all: “Emergency protest today at 4 PM — Harry Bridges Plaza, San Francisco. Bring signs, bring rage, bring friends. Call your Democratic senators RIGHT NOW — tell them to vote NO on the DHS funding bill coming up this week. Abolish ICE. Defund Border Patrol. Justice for Alex Pretti. Rest in power, Alex. We won’t forget. We won’t stop.”
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