Former President Clinton accused the Trump administration of lying to the American people about federal immigration officers shooting people in Minneapolis.
In a statement Sunday, the Democratic former president fiercely condemned the “horrible scenes” in Minneapolis “that I never thought would take place in America.”
“People, including children, have been seized from their homes, workplaces, and the street by masked federal agents. Peaceful protesters and citizens exercising their constitutional right to observe and document law enforcement have been arrested, beaten, teargassed, and most searingly, in the cases of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, shot and killed,” Clinton continued, referring to two 37-year-old Minneapolis residents who were shot and killed this month by federal officers.
“All of this is unacceptable and should have been avoided,” he continued.
Clinton then knocked the Trump administration for the way it has responded to the shootings.
“To make matters even worse, at every turn, the people in charge have lied to us, told us not to believe what we’ve seen with our own eyes, and pushed increasingly aggressive and antagonistic tactics, including impeding investigations by local authorities,” Clinton said.
The Department of Homeland Security has defended the shooting, saying the agent fired “defensive shots” at Pretti, who had a gun that was recovered by federal authorities. Pretti, an intensive care nurse at a Veterans Affairs hospital, was licensed to carry the firearm.
Others dispute that version of events and accuse the agent of acting with excessive force, pointing to video footage showing Pretti holding his phone, not a gun, to record the law enforcement operation before the incident escalated.
Clinton urged the public to use the current moment to reclaim American democracy and not give up the fundamental freedoms that belong to the people.
“Over the course of a lifetime, we face only a few moments where the decisions we make and the actions we take will shape our history for years to come. This is one of them. If we give our freedoms away after 250 years, we might never get them back,” Clinton wrote.
“It is up to all of us who believe in the promise of American democracy to stand up, speak out, and show that our nation still belongs to We the People,” he continued.