Some local, state politicians go on record about killing of Minneapolis protester - others stay quiet

On Tuesday, Dayton-based Democratic state lawmakers Rep. Desiree Tims and Sen. Willis Blackshear Jr., both told the Dayton Daily News that they were dismayed by the shooting.

Tims, a freshman legislator, said the videos showing Pretti’s death called back to the 2020 death of George Floyd, which sparked nationwide protests against police brutality.

“If we the people are committed to a healthy democracy, then we must work diligently to protect it,” she said in a statement to this outlet.

Not everyone has had the same read on the situation as Tims. On Sunday morning, the Department of Homeland Security made a post on X saying Pretti had a 9 mm handgun on his person, along with two magazines. “This looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement,” the post continued.

In a similar vein, the White House’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller, made a post on X Sunday painting Pretti as an “assassin” who “tried to murder federal agents.”

In an interview Tuesday, Blackshear told this outlet that he felt people had been “playing politics” and “ignoring the facts” shown by the video.

“I saw something that could have been prevented. I saw excessive use of force. A loss of life is unacceptable,” he said.

Miller’s characterization split the ticket in the White House. It was reposted by Vice President JD Vance, an Ohio Republican, but was refuted on Tuesday by President Donald Trump, who responded “no” when reporters asked if he believed Pretti was an assassin.

Trump also relayed that an investigation into the shooting was underway.

“I want to see the investigation. I’m going to be watching over it, and I want a very honorable and honest investigation. I have to see it myself,” Trump told reporters as he left the White House.

U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, posted a message Sunday calling the shooting “tragic” and called for the shooting to be “thoroughly and objectively investigated.”

He added: “I believe all public servants have a responsibility to lower the temperature around immigration enforcement, and no one should impede ongoing law enforcement actions.”

Former U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat who is challenging for Husted’s seat this fall, joined in on the call for a full investigation.

He added: “ICE’s actions, directed by the White House and its enablers, have nothing to do with keeping communities safe by going after violent criminals and human traffickers. This targeting of innocent families and our citizens is a betrayal of American values. It needs to end now.”

Other Ohio Democrats also issued public statements. Amy Acton, the party’s leading gubernatorial candidate, called for an investigation and argued that federal law enforcement has been “terrorizing communities” instead of “going after dangerous criminals.”

The campaign for Vivek Ramaswamy, the leading Republican candidate for Ohio governor, did not respond to a request for comment from this news outlet.

Credit: Nick Graham

Credit: Nick Graham

Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood, sent a letter on Monday to Husted and his colleague U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno urging the two to vote against further ICE funding.

While plenty of politicians have chosen to go on the record about the incident, there are many that have decided to forego any kinds of public statements. This outlet reached out to a plethora of local leaders and candidates but did not hear back from them.

For more stories like this, sign up for our Ohio Politics newsletter. It’s free, curated, and delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday evening.

Avery Kreemer can be reached at 614-981-1422, on X, via email, or you can drop him a comment/tip with the survey below.