Elected leaders to local residents condemn federal agent’s fatal shooting of Minnesota nurse
January 27, 2026 | By Lisa ScagliottiAbout two dozen local residents with homemade signs took time in short shifts standing out in single-digit cold around midday in Waterbury on Sunday to protest the killing in Minnesota on Saturday of a Veterans Administration intensive care unit nurse at the hands of federal agents.
The demonstrators waved signs with messages including “End ICE,” “Impeach This Regime,” “ICE Off Our Streets,” “The Future is Watching,” and “Seek Truth, Fight Fascism,” “Congress, Do Your Job,” for about 90 minutes around noon.
Local residents demonstrating on both sides of Stowe Street at Main Street around midday on Sunday. Photo by Mame McKee
The action was in response to the death Saturday of Alex Pretti, 37, in Minneapolis, who was sprayed with a chemical agent, beaten, and fatally shot by a U.S. Border Patrol agent in a confrontation Saturday morning as Pretti and other residents were video-recording the federal agents on a city street.
This was the second fatal shooting of a civilian in Minnesota this month after Renee Good, also 37, was killed on Jan. 7 by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent during a confrontation between local demonstrators and federal agents in a residential neighborhood.
The violence is punctuating periods of protest as Minneapolis residents push back on a wave of arrests by the Department of Homeland Security in the city, purportedly for immigration enforcement, but also involving U.S. citizens without criminal records.
Saturday’s fatality there sparked outcries from local, state and federal officials in Minnesota and across the nation.
In Vermont, Gov. Phil Scott issued a statement on Sunday condemning the actions by the federal agents. His statement in full reads:
“Enough…it’s not acceptable for American citizens to be killed by federal agents for exercising their God-given and constitutional rights to protest their government. At best, these federal immigration operations are a complete failure of coordination of acceptable public safety and law enforcement practices, training, and leadership. At worst, it's a deliberate federal intimidation and incitement of American citizens that’s resulting in the murder of Americans.
“Again, enough is enough. The President should pause these operations, de-escalate the situation, and reset the federal government's focus on truly criminal illegal immigrants. In the absence of Presidential action, Congress and the Courts must step up to restore constitutionality.”
Vermont’s three Congressional delegation members all had strong statements in reaction to Saturday’s fatal encounter between the federal agents and Pretti, which were captured on video by numerous other bystanders.
U.S. Sen. Peter Welch called ICE “a paramilitary force terrorizing American communities” and called for the resignation of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, saying the Trump administration needs to be held accountable.
In an interview on MS NOW, U.S. Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., stressed that Pretti’s actions on Saturday were lawful. “He has First Amendment rights that he was exercising. He has Second Amendment rights that he was exercising,” she said, referring to Pretti’s presence on a public street, recording the actions of the government agents on the job, and that he was carrying a concealed firearm.
Federal officials’ accounts of the incident contradict multiple video recordings of the incident that do not show Pretti brandishing a firearm or threatening the agents.
Photo by Mame McKee
Balint called on Republican Congressional colleagues who strongly support Second Amendment rights to weigh in on Saturday’s use of lethal force against Pretti. “This is your time to stand up for the American people,” she said, adding that the federal agents’ actions constitute “weaponizing an agency against us and we have to push back strongly.”
Also on Sunday, Vermont Lt. Gov. John Rodgers issued a statement thanking Gov. Scott for taking a stand of “courageous leadership” in favor of de-escalating the tensions in Minnesota and supporting Americans’ constitutional rights.
"I stand with you, as all law-abiding Americans should, in calling on the President to suspend the operations of federal agents in our communities,” Rodgers said. "I urge my colleagues in the judiciary and Congress to assert your constitutional authority to restore order and calm if the executive will not. Everyone’s constitutional rights must be protected. Not one more American should die at the hands of federal government agents. Not a single one.”
All of Vermont’s federal lawmakers looked ahead to this week’s upcoming vote in the Senate that is to include funding for the Department of Homeland Security. They all expressed opposition to funding the agency further given the actions playing out in Minnesota and elsewhere around the nation.
“No more blank checks from Congress, and no more excessive force,” Welch said. “Congress must stop giving even more money to this agency on a rampage.”
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., agreed, posting on X/Twitter: “At a time when ICE is rounding up 5-year-olds, terrorizing communities and killing American citizens, the last thing we should be doing is increasing its funding. I will vote NO on the upcoming spending bill to fund Trump’s domestic army.”
Teachers Demonstrate with ‘Walk Out For Compassion’
Prior to Saturday’s tragic news from Minnesota, another small demonstration took place in Waterbury earlier in the week. With colorful signs and banners and some noisemaker instruments, a group of about 30 Brookside teachers led a brief demonstration, walking down Stowe Street to Main Street and returning to school.
Tuesday, Jan. 20, was an in-service day for teachers and staff in the Harwood Unified Union School District. Students were off as part of a four-day weekend along with the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. During an afternoon break in training sessions, teachers and staff members at Brookside Primary School took time to hold a short demonstration that they called a “Walk Out For Compassion” as part of last Tuesday’s “Free America Walkout” organized by the Women’s March. The national organization put out a call for peaceful demonstrations to oppose actions of the Trump administration, particularly raids and arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. In Minnesota, where federal action has been particularly active this month, an ICE agent on Jan. 7 shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good in a confrontation on a residential street.
“We are teachers and we are citizens who believe in the rights of all to due process,” explained Brookside teacher Leah Greenberg, who took part in the walk.
Harwood Superintendent Mike Leichliter acknowledged the activity, calling it “a personal expression of civic engagement.” He noted that a group of teachers and staff at Harwood Union Middle/High School also held a short demonstration and that the actions did not disrupt any school activities. “The district respects employees’ constitutional rights while also expecting staff to meet their professional responsibilities. Instruction was not impacted, and professional learning activities continued as planned,” Leichliter said.