The former president accused the administration of being "eager to escalate the situation," and encouraged Americans to keep protesting for their rights.

Former US President Barack Obama released a statement on Sunday honoring slain Minneapolis resident Alex Pretti - warning that his shooting death at the hands of federal immigration agents should serve as a "wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault."

The Democrat`s statement comes a day after federal agents killed 37-year-old Pretti during a protest against the ongoing federal occupation of Minneapolis. Pretti was an ICU nurse for the VA and a legal gun owner with a permit to carry.

"For weeks now, people across the country have been rightly outraged by the spectacle of masked ICE recruits and other federal agents acting with impunity and engaging in tactics that seem designed to intimidate, harass, provoke and endanger the residents of a major American city," Obama wrote.

"And yet rather than trying to impose some semblance of discipline and accountability over the agents they`ve deployed, the President and current administration officials seem eager to escalate the situation."

The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault. pic.twitter.com/0JmEsJ1QFW

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) January 25, 2026

Since the shooting, several videos taken by witnesses have come out showing that Pretti was directing traffic and filming the agents with his phone when he saw them attack a woman. When he tried to help her, Pretti was pepper-sprayed and wrestled to the ground by multiple agents before they shot him several times.

"This has to stop," Obama said, calling on administration officials to work with state and local authorities "to avert more chaos." Minneapolis police have said that the federal government has yet to share any official information with them on the shooting.

Pretti`s slaying came just a couple weeks after federal immigration agents in Minneapolis fatally shot 37-year-old Renee Good in the head while the mother of three was driving away. Her killing led to massive protests across Minnesota and the rest of the country, including a general strike.

"Every American should support and draw inspiration from the wave of peaceful protests in Minneapolis and other parts of the country," Obama wrote. "They are a timely reminder that ultimately it`s up to each of us as citizens to speak out against injustice, protect our basic freedoms and hold our government accountable."