Tensions escalate in in Minnesota after another killing

0:00It was a deadly weekend in Minneapolis. On Saturday, a federal immigration officer fatally shot a 37-year-old ICU nurse and U.S. citizen, Alex Preddy. He was a great listener. He had a good laugh. That's Heather Zielinski, a friend of Preddy. Preddy worked at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Minneapolis. Today we remember that freedom is not free. We have to work at it, nurture it, protect it, and even sacrifice for it. A video circulating from 2024 shows Preddy honoring a veteran he had cared for. May we never forget and always remember our brothers and sisters who have served so that we may enjoy the gift of freedom.

0:38So in this moment, we remember and give thanks for their dedication and selfless service to our nation in the cause of our freedom. In this solemn hour, we rend them our honor and our gratitude. Preddy's death comes two weeks after an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Macklin Good. Federal officials claim Freddie, quote, brandished a weapon and tried to assault officers as they conducted an immigration enforcement operation. Here's Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino on CNN. That suspect injected himself into that law enforcement situation with a weapon. The videos of the shooting contradict that.

1:14Freddie is not seen brandishing his handgun in any of them. Consider this. Tensions escalate in Minneapolis after a second U.S. citizen is killed by immigration officers. Coming up, we hear from Freddie's friend.

1:31From NPR, I'm Scott Detrow.

1:41It's Consider This from NPR. The fatal shooting of Alex Freddie by federal agents on Saturday has inflamed tensions in Minneapolis and across the country. We'll hear from a friend of his in a moment. But first, on Monday, President Trump spoke with Minnesota Democratic Governor Tim Walz. The Trump administration is sending border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota. The administration is working to reframe the narrative surrounding the deadly shootings by federal immigration agents in the state. MPR White House correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben joins us now to talk about this. Hi, Danielle. Hey, Scott.

2:13What do we know about what happened in this call? Well, President Trump and Governor Walz each put out a summary of the call. Now, Walls has given much more detail of the two, first of all, in a statement calling the conversation productive, which he then elaborated on in an interview with Minnesota Public Radio's Clay Masters. And here's what he said. Whatever has happened here, there is a definite change of tone. There is definitely a more collaborative tone. I want to make sure that I'm not jeopardizing that, that I'm going to take them for their word right now, that they're going to reduce this force.

2:45So that's notable. Walls says that Trump said he's willing to reduce the force in Minneapolis. Walls also added that with Hohman coming in, his understanding is that Greg Bovino, who had been heading operations in Minneapolis, is leaving and the DHS secretary, Kristi Noem, will no longer be there. Trump, meanwhile, posted on social media about the call and he made it sound friendly. He said he and Walls were on a similar wavelength, as he put it. He also characterized Walls as, quote, happy that Tom Hohman was going to Minnesota. Now, Walls and Trump both really seem to be emphasizing that they want to work together in the wake of these two killings.

3:22I mean, how does this square with how the administration had previously talked about Walls? Well, there's a big contradiction, and it was apparent at the White House press briefing today, where Press Secretary Caroline Levitt, she blamed Walls along with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Fry for the Saturday shooting. But let's be clear about the circumstances which led to that moment on Saturday. This tragedy occurred as a result of a deliberate and hostile resistance by Democrat leaders in Minnesota. For weeks, Governor Walz and the mayor, Jacob Fry, and other elected Democrats were spreading lies about federal law enforcement officers.

3:59So you have Trump emphasizing cooperation and then you have the White House blaming Walls. It really seems like they're trying to have it both ways here to put out this red meat of slamming Democratic leaders as these irresponsible extremists while also trying to put out this message of don't worry. We're trying to work together to improve things. So that's their statements. Let's talk about their actions for a moment. The administration says it's sending Bordazar Tom home into Minnesota. What does this change mean? Why is this significant? Well, it seems clear this administration recognizes they need to change something in Minneapolis, which is something Walls also noted.

4:35Now, the whole world at this point has seen these two horrifying shootings on video. In that last one, you saw a man pepper sprayed, wrestled to the ground by federal agents, one of whom shot him several times. So thus far, DHS Secretary Noam and Bovino, they've been the face of the immigration enforcement surge there. Holman, meanwhile, he is no moderate on immigration, but he did also serve under Obama. And Trump really seemed to emphasize this changing of the guard today. In announcing this, he went out of his way to say Holman hasn't been involved in Minneapolis and that he will be reporting directly to Trump.

5:10Still, though, Danielle, Stephen Miller and Kristi Noem have both called Preddy a domestic terrorist, a would-be assassin. It really seems hard to walk back that rhetoric. Very much, but they are trying. Today, when Levitt was asked about that, she said she's never heard Trump characterize Pareddy that way. And this is meaningful because Trump, as you know, has no problem being inflammatory. So backing away from this shows they're trying not to repeat that message. That is NPR White House correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben. Thank you so much, Danielle. Thank you. And to learn more about Pareddy, we reached out to Heather Zielinski, his friend.

5:46They had known each other for more than 10 years. We reached her earlier this afternoon. Heather, thanks for talking to us. Thanks for having me. Tell me how you knew Alex Preddy. Alex was a friend. We met when I had moved back to Minneapolis.

6:07And we met at a cafe, and then the last time I saw him was at Gigi's Cafe. Is that how you'd usually get together over coffee or lunch or something like that? Yeah, and we would like text and he'd share pictures of his dog and I would share pictures of my trips and travels, you know. What was he like to talk to? Was he a talker? Was he a listener? Was he funny? He was a really good balance. He was a great listener. And, you know, you could see the wheels of his brain spinning and he would have something clever and cute to say. But he would also do this thing where he would like fold his arms and kind of like put his fingers on his chin and just grin and shake his head, you know, and he had a good laugh and just a really strong voice and like a very like masculine, positive presence.

7:11Mm-hmm. And we know he loved the outdoors. We also know he had a tough job. He was a nurse in the ICU at the Veterans Administration. What did he ever say about that job? What he liked about it? What he just struggled with? I actually have a text where he really got into some of the details. He talked about people facing their mortality. And, you know, he worked in an ICU. He worked with veterans. and it was demanding, but he had thought about becoming a doctor or something, but he loved being a nurse so much. He's like, nah, this is what I'm going to do. That was his calling. That was his space.

8:02Yeah, that was his space, and he was good at it. Had you talked since this ICE presence in Minneapolis began, had you talked about why he had decided to go out and join the protests? No, but he was proud to see everyone show up and peacefully go to downtown Minneapolis and share with the world that change is needed in America. I want to ask you this next question. I want to ask what you thought and how you felt when you heard Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem call Alex Preddy a domestic terrorist or top White House aide Stephen Miller call him a would-be assassin. Liars. Traitors.

8:59Cowards.

9:04A lot of people around the country, around the world, are learning about Alex today over the course of the last few days. What do you want people to know about him? He was nothing like what the people you just named said. He was an American citizen. He was a good man. He was a hard worker and he cared for people and he cared for nature. He cared for animals and women and other men and his friends and immigrants and, you know, people that have lived here for generations and people that have been here for one or two. He cared about people, and he was just living a good life. It can take a lot of time to work through all the feelings that you feel in a situation like this when you lose a friend.

10:10But I'm wondering, over the last few days, is there one memory or one moment of time you spent with him that you're thinking a lot about? Well, we just were talking in his kitchen, you know, and he was laughing. And I was looking at the picture of his dog on his refrigerator. She was wearing a little pink tutu. He was just laughing, you know? And when the images of him laying there come to my mind, I don't push them away because we need to look at that. But I also am grateful that I have that moment, you know, over tea in his kitchen peacefully, you know, where I can remember his laugh and the tone of his voice and that he was just a good person and I felt safe being around him.

11:15I think we need to keep humanity in front of us and not buy into this narrative that's being pushed by the people that took his life. Heather Zelensky, thank you so much for talking to us and sharing your memories of your friend Alex Preddy. Thank you. Thanks for having me. Thanks for the opportunity to tell the truth about him. This episode was produced by Henry Larson, Vincent Acavino, and Karen Zamora, with audio engineering by Ted Meebe. It was edited by Justine Kennan, Rebecca Meltzer, Patrick Jaron Wadananen, and Courtney Dorning. Our executive producer is Sammy Yedigan. It's Consider This from NPR.

12:05I'm Scott Detrow.