In the aftermath of the recent fatal ICE shooting of Alex Pretti, Republican Congressman Byron Donalds blamed the killing on so-called “paid agitators,” despite there being no such evidence that protesters in Minneapolis have been paid to agitate federal officers.
“Nobody wants to see any American lose their life like this…But we also have to be honest about what’s happening in Minneapolis,” said Donalds, a Republican candidate for Florida governor endorsed by President Donald Trump, told NewsNation. “You have paid agitators. You have a coordinated operation going on in Minneapolis for the sole purpose of doxing ICE officers, impeding ICE officers, stopping them from following and executing federal law.”
When asked to clarify whether he was implying that Pretti, an ICU nurse for veterans, was a paid agitator, Donalds explained, “I’m not saying that. I’m saying that what people are seeing on their phones and on news networks around the country is the result of paid protests and paid agitators.”
He continued, “We’re already starting to see some information about a high-level coordinated effort to follow these ICE officers. And now you’ve had two Americans lose their lives as a result of that.”
Rep. Donalds’ suggestion that mass protests in Minneapolis are a result of paid agitators echoed remarks made by President Trump and his allies following unrest in the city after the fatal ICE shooting of 37-year-old wife and mother Renee Good earlier this month.
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