Massachusetts Republicans are weighing in on the fatal shooting of nurse Alex Pretti by a U.S. Border Patrol officer in Minneapolis over the weekend, two-and-a-half weeks after another Minnesotan, Renee Good, was shot and killed by a federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent nearby.
Several of the Republicans reached by GBH News said they wanted to see an investigation of Pretti’s death, though Mass. GOP chair Amy Carnevale was an exception. There was also near unanimity that a recent phone call between President Donald Trump and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz augured well for a possible deescalation of tensions between federal agents and Minnesota residents opposed to their presence.
In a statement to GBH News, Mike Minogue, an Army veteran and former medical device company CEO who is seeking the Republican nomination for governor, said he and his wife are praying for Pretti and his family and mourning his death, which Minogue termed a “tragedy.”
“We are a nation of law and order, and violence of any kind must not become normalized,” Minogue said. “Our law enforcement officials should not be exposed to risk for enforcing immigration laws and removing violent criminal illegal immigrants in order to make our communities safer. But it must be done while honoring our core American values, including the right to assemble peacefully.
“This incident deserves a thorough and transparent investigation, and I am encouraged to see the president and governor of Minnesota talking with the goal of transparency, deescalating the situation, and finding a solution that keeps law enforcement and citizens safe,” Minogue added.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Kennealy — a former private equity executive who served as former Gov. Charlie Baker’s secretary of administration and finance — also referenced the recent conversation between Trump and Walz, which the president described in unexpectedly positive terms after publicly feuding for months with Walz.
“As President Trump noted while recapping a productive conversation with Governor Walz, the priority in Minnesota and across the country is to get dangerous criminals off our streets and out of our state and nation,” Kennealy said in a statement. “That is easier to accomplish when federal, state, and local law enforcement cooperate with one another. It’s impossible to do that when Maura Healey and Michelle Wu stoke tensions for political points and have effectively turned Massachusetts into a sanctuary state. That ends when I’m governor.
“Any time there is an incident where law enforcement uses lethal force, there should be a full, transparent investigation with findings made public,” Kennealy added. “That should certainly happen in this instance.”
Healey has rejected the characterization of Massachusetts as a sanctuary state.
A third Republican gubernatorial candidate, ex-Marine and venture capitalist Brian Shortsleeve, struck a similar note to Minogue in a statement to GBH News.
“What happened on Saturday was a tragedy that demands a full and independent investigation,” Shortsleeve said. “I’m pleased that Gov. Walz and President Trump had a productive call, are working to cool tensions on both sides, and may have a path forward for reducing ICE’s presence in Minnesota neighborhoods while restoring much needed cooperation between local and federal officials on deporting known criminals.
“That is the right approach that protects due process and allows law enforcement to stay focused on deporting the worst of the worst who almost everyone agrees should be out of the country,” Shortsleeve added.
Lawyer and cryptocurrency advocate John Deaton, a former Marine who is seeking the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Democrat Ed Markey, said his initial response to Pretti’s death was “disbelief.” He decried what he described as a rush to judgment by both Republicans and Democrats.
“Unfortunately, we live in this world where there’s these two extreme sides — and immediately, if you consider yourself pro-ICE, you have to find a way to confirm your bias and make this a justified killing,” Deaton said. “And of course, if you are against ICE, then you’re rushing to confirm your bias that this is a homicide. And we saw that on both sides, whether it be elected leaders in Minnesota, whether it be [Homeland security secretary] Kristi Noem.
“These two extremes — to me, a man lost his life, and I think that our humanity deserves to sit back and let’s collect the facts before we [pass judgement],” Deaton said.
Deaton also cited the recent conversation between Walz and Trump, calling it “a ray of hopefully a silver lining in this dark cloud.”
Amy Carnevale, the chair of the Mass. GOP, highlighted the party’s support for law enforcement and did not call for an investigation into Pretti’s death in a statement to GBH News, though she did call it “tragic.”
“The tragic death in Minneapolis is a stark reminder that our law enforcement officers are being forced into life-or-death situations while doing their jobs and protecting the public,” Carnevale said. “The MassGOP stands firmly with law enforcement and renews the call for state and local officials to cooperate fully with federal authorities on detainer requests, so immigration enforcement can take place out of our neighborhoods and off our streets.”
