Not everyone in our house was excited for the Puppy Bowl (🐱🐱) but we’re all in for the 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 halftime show. We’re taking our joy where we can right now.

Trump’s calls for a “softer touch” with ICE have only resulted in more of the same. The residents of Minneapolis continue to be traumatized and terrorized by armed agents whose accountability has been thin, and rush to shoot has been quick.

Mark your calendars, #VA

A reminder from Becca Good: “You know my wife’s name and you know Alex’s name, but there are many others in this city being harmed that you don’t know — their families are hurting just like mine, even if they don’t look like mine.”

Evergreen

Gun groups were silent when Philando Castile was killed for legally carrying a gun. You could hear a pin drop. Both Philando and Alex Pretti should be here. The Second Amendment has always been conditional to the gun lobby and their selective outrage exposes the agenda.

Our work at Brady looks different in different places, but it’s always about people. Last week, I was lucky to be with some of the most creative, caring people in the fight to end gun violence. In challenging times, it was a reminder of the power of community, connection, & laughter. More ⬇️

Disgusting verbal gymnastics and a startling look at this administration’s gun policies and its standards for when federal agents are allowed to use lethal force. Grateful to @vanhollen.senate.gov for continuing to press for real answers.

Pirro: “no guns in DC.” Also, Pirro: “put assault weapons on DC’s streets.” We see this for what it is: law and order cosplay without an actual plan to save lives.

“Rhetoric” didn’t kill Renee Good or Alex Pretti. Pretti was shot TEN times after he was disarmed and pepper sprayed. Renee had just had a kind conversation with an officer. All of this is on video. What killed them: masked federal agents with guns and no accountability.

Appreciate this reporting by @wired.com. “High-risk units” were never meant to police civilians, yet here we are. This is also how a “shoot first ask questions later” mentality is normalized. The administration is trying to use “safety” as a synonym for complete and utter recklessness.

All of America, constantly having to reexplain the Constitution to Mike Johnson and this administration.

How convenient that the Speaker yet again “doesn’t know.” All of America knows. And we watched it on video over and over. Extremists can attempt to deny what we can all see with our own eyes, but activists and voters will continue to make the truth known.

Deeply irresponsible statement. Stay focused: Extremists will say anything right now to distract you from the fact that unarmed citizens are being shot by federal agents while children are dying from gun violence in our communities due to deadly policies peddled by the gun industry.

“Put that in your book, boys.” When we have federal agents treating the shooting of an unarmed citizen as a trophy moment, we should all be outraged and demanding action of Congress.

Great to see that the administration really took the concerns I presented in September in the @washingtonpost.com about DC gun cases to heart…

“You can’t have guns. You can’t walk in with guns.” “You bring a gun into the District, mark my words, you’re going to jail.” All an admission that they were never tough on crime to begin with.

This is certainly quite the shift. We’ve always said that enforcement of strong laws keeps people safe, glad to see that the administration agrees.

Trump’s comments didn’t “scramble” gun politics. They exposed it. For years, the gun lobby has sold the fantasy that flooding our country with guns makes us safer. Now, when the consequences of that ideology are impossible to ignore, even its biggest champions are squirming 🧵

Well, this certainly clears a lot of things up. “DM me if you are loyal to the President.” 👊🇺🇸🔥

One week ago, Alex Pretti was unarmed, on his knees, and appearing motionless when federal agents shot him 10 times in the back. Do not let his death disappear in the next news cycle or with the next outrage from this administration. Demand accountability. Keep saying his name.

The videos of the killing of Alex Pretti by federal agents have exposed how lethal force is being used, but for gun violence survivors, watching these moments can reopen deep wounds. Learn what you can do to support survivors of gun violence in my latest Substack. 

The President smearing an unarmed man who was shot 10 times as an “insurrectionist” to explain away ICE’s violence is dangerous and cruel. Nothing Alex Pretti did or said warranted the use of lethal force, hard stop. We also know who the real insurrectionists are, Trump pardoned them:

15-year old Hadiya Pendleton was shot and killed 13 years ago today in a Chicago park. We owe Hadiya and her family nothing less than a country where all Americans are free from gun violence.

Sonya Massey called for help, and instead she was killed. We owe Sonya and her family more than a verdict. We owe her a country where safety is the norm, accountability is non-negotiable, and no one has to fear the people who are supposed to protect them.

Just to clarify, ICE will actually leave if you are a vulnerable Republican candidate?

There were NO “good wins” for Alex Pretti, Renee Good, or the people of Minneapolis. Disgusting.

Cruelty continued.

“No American believes he was assaulting the officers.” — Senator Rand Paul There MUST be an independent and thorough investigation of why lethal force was used.

We must hold the line: no ICE funding without accountability. Tell your Senators now:

The NRA has warned gun owners for years about “jackbooted thugs” coming for their guns. Turns out they were right. ICE, as currently deployed, is disarming people and using deadly force with no accountability. That should concern every gun owner, regardless of political affiliation.

Whether he was ever really for the guns or just in it for the money and applause along the way, the result was the same, and communities are paying the price in bodies.

The White House’s logic: Guns = BAD when progressive individuals lawfully carry them. Guns = GOOD when insurrectionists carried them on January 6, 2021.

If this is the White House’s idea of “safety” — Americans shot in the face and in the back by ICE on our streets — then stop using the word. No ICE funding without accountability. Hold the line.

When we speak up, the truth is forced out into the open: ICE violence is unacceptable. We have ONE day. The Senate is considering $10B in ICE funding TOMORROW. Add your name here now and tell your lawmakers to halt funding for ICE until accountability is in place:

This must stop. This is unacceptable. And this administration’s rhetoric is putting elected officials in danger.

Before they’ve even had a chance to bury their loved one, a grieving family is being subjected to lies and cruelty fueled by an administration that thrives on hate and division.

Congress must hold ICE accountable. And it can’t look away while the agency rushes to hire undertrained, “shoot first” agents who can’t even meet basic fitness standards, all to meet Trump’s quotas. Read my post on the latest challenges with ICE, and its enduring legacy of unchecked violence.

Funny how Senator Collins always “has concerns” right up until the moment she falls in line with this administration.

Your outreach to your Senators is making an impact. Let’s keep it going and keep the pressure on as they consider ICE funding this week. Sign our petition now ⬇️⬇️⬇️

There may or may not be shuffling of the deck chairs tonight, but one thing is still true: violence with no accountability must end. Tell your Senators to halt ICE funding when they consider budget bills this week. Sign now:

Wild to type this in response to Greg Abbott, but yes, let’s have a conversation about “recalibrating” ICE. But Congress handing ICE a blank check without that conversation is foolish and irresponsible.

With so many members of Congress on both sides of the aisle calling for investigations and hearings, why continue to write blank checks for ICE? Members of Congress need to come to the table now about accountability measures and oversight. Sign our petition: www.bradyunited.org/take-action/...

If the US Senate is truly serious about the need to investigate recent shootings, provide oversight of ICE, and protect public safety, they will halt this funding NOW. Sign our petition ⬇️

I deeply appreciate @chrismurphyct.bsky.social who has been calling for a halt to ICE funding for some time now. Brady has been pushing this fight forward too because safety can never come at the barrel of a gun. We’re mobilizing to make Congress act in budget debates this week. Sign our petition.

“I don’t know why they shot him. He was only helping.” — a witness who stood only a few feet away from Alex Pretti

We’re fighting to free America from gun violence & that includes armed intimidation & violence by federal agents with no accountability. A $10B blank check from Congress is not safety. Tell Leader Schumer and your Senators: no funding for ICE until accountability measures are in place. Sign NOW ⬇️

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Last words: Alex Pretti: “Don’t touch her! Are you ok?” Renee Good: “I’m really not mad at you dude.” Believe what you see with your own eyes and hear with your own ears.

Alex Pretti is not a headline. He was a human being who loved deeply and was deeply loved 🧵