Affirmation: A Solemn Visit to Memorials for ICE Martyrs

Angular Views on ... America's Future

Feb 20, 2026

Lessons Learned from the Tragic Minneapolis ICE Assault

Memories for Alex Pretti and Renee Good draw steady flow of mourners to sites of January shootings

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (February 16, 2026) — When the turmoil initiated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal agencies erupted in this beautiful city, we had to make a decision. Should we travel there from our Chicago base, joining other journalists and the rapidly-growing assemblage of protesters at the scene? Or, should we wait a bit and see what happens in the coming days.

As the battle between protesters and ICE agents intensified, shown steadily on TV after the shooting of Renee Good on January 7, we began to plan a trip to that Minnesota city. Over the past year, my assistant and I had covered more than a dozen protest rallies, demonstrations, and marches, including two in Washington D.C., in my role as an independent journalist.

Tactics and behavior of agents from ICE and other federal agents had been getting more and more aggressive – indeed, vicious and ruthless. Rather than concentrate on locating and detaining the “worst of the worst” undocumented criminals in the country, agents were capturing people and families with no criminal record of any sort. That roundup even included young children whose parents were subject to detention and deportation. In some cases, youngsters were left behind when a mother or father was hauled away. Agents were shown on TV pulling people out of their cars, breaking car windows, using a battering ram to break into a potential deportee’s home, and much more.

Adding to the chaos, several thousand National Guards were sent to Minnesota. Following its recent custom for referring to aggressive actions against undocumented migrants in specific cities, the Trump administration, by way of the Department of Homeland Security, gave the Minneapolis assault a supposedly clever three-word designation: Operation Metro Surge.

News of the killing of ICU nurse Alex Pretti, on January 24, amplified our resolve. As the intensity of the protest rose, being there seemed even more important. At the same time, we could see that thousands of activists were already present, demonstrating forcefully but peacefully against ICE aggression day after day, reported by numerous journalists. Was there finally a valid point to going to Minnesota? Would we be feeling great regret if we didn’t?

After following the news day after day, devastated by the killings of Ms. Good and Mr. Pretti (plus the arrests of journalists like former CNN anchor Don Lemon), we were ready to head northwest and observe the travesty firsthand. Better late than never? We hoped so.

In the end, we may have waited too long to make that decision. Shortly after making arrangements to hop aboard Amtrak from our Chicago base, we were startled to see Greg Bovino recalled and former border czar Tom Homan brought in. Supposedly, this shift in leadership signaled a revised approach to the federal government’s deportation activities, in the wake of considerable pushback from Americans and other outraged persons throughout the world. Just before our departure, Mr. Homan announced a partial pullback of National Guard l troops from Minneapolis.

Nevertheless, we proceeded with our postponed plan, arriving in the city late on Valentine’s Day. Because protests had eased during the preceding days, we didn’t expect to find any related events during our intended four-day stay. What we could do, however, was take a close look at the city, in the hope of determining what might be the ultimate impact of the impressively sizable and intense protest demonstrations that had been taking place for many weeks.

Shortly after their respective deaths at the hands of federal agents, memorials had been set up for both Renee Good and Alex Pretti, precisely where each had been killed. They remained in place, we learned; so, we intended to visit both. Not only did we want to view the memorials, we wanted to try to get a “feel” of the city and its residents, in the aftermath of all of that turbulence. For good measure, we would also visit the permanent memorial set up for George Floyd, who’d been killed by a Minneapolis police officer back in May 2020.

On Sunday, February 15, we left our hotel and headed toward the southern part of the city, to view the memorial for Alex Pretti. Nearly twenty visitors were present when we arrived around noontime, near the corner of Nicollet Avenue and 26^th Street.

Alex Pretti memorial sits near an intersection along a business street

Situated on a thoroughfare filled with storefront businesses, the memorial consists of a flurry of remembrances, in words and images, along with a selection of floral arrangements and other artifacts to heighten the significant and solemnity of the site. Protruding partially into the street, the where vehicles might otherwise be parked, the memorial space is packed so tightly with commemorative items that not at all messages can be read in full.

Some of the heartfelt thoughts are artistically worded. Others are more elementary, typically written by hand on a piece of posterboard or a torn-off segment from a brown cardboard box. Still others have been commercially printed

JUSTICE FOR ALEX

NURSES ARE HEREOS. ALEX WAS A SUPERHERE

IF THERE AIN’T NO JUSTICE THEN THERE AIN’T NO PEACE

TOGETHER (with a butterfly drawing)

ALEX PRETTI PROTECTED WOMEN (with a familiar photo of the victim)

The memorial for Renee Good is just over a mile to the southeast, on Portland Avenue just north of 34^th Street, in what appears to be a pleasant residential neighborhood of sizable single-family homes. Many of those homeowners are likely to be dismayed by their sudden prominence in the movement to unseat Donald Trump – and to suppress the vicious tactics employed by ICE agents, backed by other federal agents and all those National Guard troops brought in during the “surge.”

Doubtless, not all residents of this quiet neighborhood block are anti-Trump or appreciate those who inadvertently turned this southern end of the block, on the east side of Portland Street, into a striking remembrance. Though assumed to be temporary, it’s already been there for several weeks. Permanent memorials for both victims are being discussed, and may already be in the planning stage, but no firm details or intentions have been announced as yet.

Renee Good’s memorial is set up near intersection in quiet residential neighborhood

About fifteen visitors were present when we arrived at the Renee Good. A five-man band stood adjacent to the memorial space, playing appropriately somber, solemn hymns, including “Nearer My God to Thee” and “Holy, Holy, Holy.” Two women stood at the curb, near the corner, holding signs directed at the small number of passing motorists. They advised us that the band played regularly at the Alex Pretti memorial, but chose to move over to this one today.

A mini memorial was set up at the next corner to the north, marking the spot where Ms. Good turned her car to try and evade the agents who appeared intent on restraining her from departing the scene. That’s where she had uttered the words “I’m not mad at you,” seen and heard on video around the world.

At the memorial space itself, thousands of articles had been laid on the wintry lawn, piled high between the sidewalk and the curb, similar to the contents of the Pretti site. Floral displays in colorfully bright reds and yellows, handwritten emotional-laden notes, photos of the victim, all tucked into a mound some two feet tall at its center. In short, its contents included whatever had been deemed appropriate and meaningful by the mourner, to help keep the memory of Renee Good alive. At one end, an American flag presided over the presentation.

Some of the written messages were angrily political. Others offered heartful, more personal thoughts about Ms. Good.

JUSTICE FOR RENEE NICOLE GOOD

WHAT A LOVELY DAY TO MELT SOME [expletive] ICE

THE PARTY TOLD YOU TO RESIST THE EVIDENCE OF YOUR EYES AND EARS

One tree in the Good memorial space had been named the POETREE, for obvious reasons.

Everyone was quiet, with only murmured conversations evident. Some of the mourners appeared ready to stay a while. Others came to the area, stood silent for a bit, then departed.

A surprising, though unrelated, incident occurred while waiting for our Lyft ride-share car to arrive, to carry us back downtown. A woman came up to us looking quite bewildered. “Did you see anybody in a black Toyota RAV4?” she asked. We said no, having had our eyes directed northward, looking for our transportation to appear. She then said quietly, “I think my car has been stolen.” Evidently, she had left the ignition key in the car while briefly visiting the memorial, near the next corner. At the same time, she wondered if she had instead forgotten where she’d parked. We hope it was the latter, and that she drove home without further distress.

Hours before our departure, someone started a fire at the Renee Good memorial. No one was injured, and the fire was extinguished promptly. Sadly, this was not the first such incidence of vandalism.

Quiet Commemoration of both Alex and Renee

Both memorials were somber, nearly silent, punctuated only by soft, whisperlike murmurs of communal conversation and shared love, certain to be devoted to a single unimaginable, unforgettable pair of tragedies.

Each was considerably more moving and tear-inducing than expected. Like so many millions worldwide, we had observed these street-side remembrance setups on TV for weeks now. But being there, gazing at the supremely heartfelt words and images and floral arrangements, accompanied by the notes and poems, made it one of the most emotional, moving, memorably experiences of our lives.

Whether affixed to trees or walls, on display stands, in store windows, or simply spread out along the ground or sidewalk, each commemorative item conveys a powerful message. The sheer number of mementos and artifacts attests to the magnitude and intensity of the Resistance’s response to these unspeakable, government-backed murders. (Sorry, but it is no longer possible, having followed the details of each tragic incident as they occurred, and afterward, there is simply no other, tamer word that adequately describes the result of the vengeful thuggery that occurred in this beautiful, ordinarily quiet city in January.)

During our visit, protest demonstrations were taking place around the country, either on Sunday or Monday (President’s Day). Minneapolis had one at Jackson Square Park, on the north side of the city. Organizers for the upcoming third No Kings Day demonstrations throughout the country have announced that the Twin Cities will be a “flagship” locale

Doubters need to note the number of protests, demonstrations, rallies, and marches – along with educational sessions and seminars to keep the less-experienced protesters safe, taking place here in Minnesota and in the rest of the country. They are sure to keep growing and expanding in scope and intensity, striving to bring the dreadful Trump administration finally to a halt, before even greater damage can be done. If that is the ultimate result of these two shootings/killings, these evidences of government-backed thuggery, their deaths will at least not have been in vain.

Most importantly, all these forthcoming demonstrations must – MUST – remain utterly peaceful. Anything less would be begging for even more tragedies. We’ve had more than enough already, have we not?

Thinking about the day on the way back to our hotel, we were so glad to have been able to view – and then to report on – both memorials. We may still have some regret about not traveling here sooner, but that was eased considerably by the gravity and dignity exhibited by these remembrances of two individuals who’d been engaged in the Constitutionally protected right to express our views. Instead, each was taken down by an agent of the federal government, while in the process of peacefully protesting the frustration, anguish, and anger that inevitably arise when government leaders behave in dangerous, illegal, and – in many folks’ estimation – monstrous ways.

An Occurrence at 38^th Street and Chicago Avenue

Rather than attempt to get to the George Floyd memorial on the same day as the Good and Pretti sites, we elected to return to the area the next day: Monday, which was President’s Day. Commemorating the killing of Mr. Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020, the memorial is only a few blocks south of the Good site. We got to the George Floyd memorial easily enough, with a minimum of walking after stepping off a city bus.

Permanent George Floyd Memorial occupies center of intersection in south Minneapolis neighborhood

After taking a couple of pictures, a young Black man came up to us and asked what we were doing. I told him I was a journalist, which led him to unleash a tirade of vicious accusations: “journalists are parasites” ... “journalists are bloodsuckers .. and on and on. He further asserted that “you never cared about a Black man until he was dead.” And more, one after the other with no letup. Considering that he had a gardener’s rake in his hand, I was getting a bit concerned. We just started to walk away rapidly, and he followed with even more venomous words. But finally, he stopped and we just kept going.

That was one angry gentleman! It certainly put a dark pall over our visit to Minneapolis, which had been so beautiful in every way a day earlier. But naturally, we realized that it shouldn’t have been so surprising – serving, sadly, as a distressing, if almost understandable, finale to our memorial session in Minneapolis.

Images Source: James M. Flammang (February 15-16, 2026)

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