Pair testify that Pretti did not hold weapon and was trying to help woman federal agents had shoved to the ground

Two witnesses to the killing of Alex Pretti have said in sworn testimony that the 37-year-old intensive care nurse was not brandishing a weapon when he approached federal agents in Minneapolis on Saturday, contradicting a claim made by Trump administration officials as they sought to cast the shooting of a prone man as an act of self-defense.

Their accounts came in sworn affidavits that were filed in federal court in Minnesota late Saturday, just hours after Pretti’s killing, as part of a lawsuit brought by the ACLU on behalf of Minneapolis protesters against Kristi Noem and other homeland security officials directing the immigration crackdown in the city.

One witness is a woman who filmed the clearest video of the fatal shooting; the other is a physician who lives nearby and said they were initially prevented by federal officers from rendering medical aid to the gunshot victim.

  • altphoto@lemmy.today
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    16 hours ago

    He was just trying to get up. I’m just so angry at both recent murders. They can just murder us and all we do is watch and take video. Like the dodo. But I think this one is it. It just feels different.

    • drawb@lemmy.ml
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      2 hours ago

      There is probably not much doubt here. But with AI, which could even improve further (who knows how much), better get used to improved factchecking.

    • atomicbocks@sh.itjust.works
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      19 hours ago

      AFAIK sworn affidavits would be required for turning over video evidence as well as eyewitness testimony, the article even mentions that one of the witnesses signing an affidavit was one of the recorders.

      • F/15/Cali@threads.net@sh.itjust.works
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        18 hours ago

        You’re correct. I just find the waning period that we live in, where AI is still reasonably apparent, to be interesting. We had nearly indisputable videos of everything for nearly 2 decades, where laws and bureaucracy lagged behind easily verifiable truth. Now, eyewitness reports are again helpful and necessary in the wake of lie machines.

  • Earthman_Jim@lemmy.zip
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    18 hours ago

    We all saw it, and it’s becoming increasingly clear to me that there’s a large part of the population that masks their enjoyment by lying about what they see. They’re like ships floating above a stormy sea of confirmation bias.

  • Formfiller@lemmy.world
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    18 hours ago

    I bet there crimes against women and children are much worse behind closed doors these are terrorists we are in trouble the constitution is gone

  • ProletariatRevolution@piefed.social
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    15 hours ago

    Not reaching for a gun is cool I suppose, but I would still support those who are brave enough to fight against tyranny. The reason we have the 2A.

  • Rhoeri@piefed.world
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    21 hours ago

    Doesn’t matter. The fascists make the rules and the rules are: what they see is what happens.

    Either get used to it or do something about it, but doing nothing has never changed anything for the better.