When no one can believe anything anymore
By Stephanie A. “Sam” Martin / For The Conversation
In Minneapolis, two recent fatal encounters with federal immigration agents have produced not only grief and anger, but an unusually clear fight over what is real.
In the aftermath of Alex Pretti’s killing on Jan. 24, federal officials claimed the Border Patrol officers who fired weapons at least 10 times acted in self-defense.
But independent media analyses showed the victim holding a phone, not a gun, throughout the confrontation. Conflicting reports about the earlier death of Renée Good have similarly intensified calls for independent review and transparency. Minnesota state and local officials have described clashes with federal agencies over access to evidence and investigative authority.
That pattern matters because in fast-moving crises, early official statements often become the scaffolding on which public judgment is built. Sometimes those statements turn out to be accurate. But sometimes they do not.
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