Minnesota hockey fans shout out to ICE during memorial for Alex Preti
Minnesota fans yelled for ICE to “go home” during a moment of silence for Alex Preti at a women’s hockey game in St. Paul.
“Jersey Shore” fans are upset after star Vinny Guadagnino criticized people protesting immigration enforcement in Minneapolis and other states and defended his decision to vote for President Donald Trump.
On January 26, the 38-year-old wrote in the comments section under an Instagram post promoting his stand-up comedy tour: “Another option for changing policy…is to stop[protesters]from jumping into the middle of ongoing police operations, because human error, violence, fear, miscommunication, and sometimes bad police conduct leads to people getting killed by angry men with guns wearing illegal gear.”
The comment went on to say, “I hope the public will be better served by not relying on the good judgment of angry guys with guns in the middle of street brawls.”
Alex Pretti, 37, an ICU nurse, was shot and killed on January 24 during a confrontation with federal immigration enforcement agents in Minneapolis. Preti was the second person, after 37-year-old poet Renee Nicole Good, to be shot and killed by federal agents in Minneapolis since President Trump launched what he called the “largest immigration enforcement operation in history” in Minnesota.
“Why are they jumping in now? Who is telling them to do that?” Guadagnino said of the protesters. “This has been going on forever, and law enforcement has always been present. Is it plausible that the puppeteers are making this happen for political gain and power?”
He also called Preeti’s killing “an unjust and tragic death at the hands of angry young men with guns,” but said he believed Preeti was “a victim who somehow felt forced to be in the middle of a police investigation.”
An unnamed Customs and Border Protection officer ordered “two female civilians who were blowing whistles” out of the roadway and “shoved them” when they “didn’t move,” according to a copy of the Department of Homeland Security’s internal investigation report.
One of the women ran toward Preti, and the officer “attempted to remove the woman and Preti from the roadway,” the report states.
When they did not move, officers fired pepper spray at them and CBP officers “attempted to take Preeti into custody. Preeti resisted the CBP officers’ efforts and a struggle ensued,” the complaint states. According to reports, a Border Patrol agent yelled, “I have a gun!” Agents and Border Patrol agents then fired their firearms multiple times.
DHS said Preti was in possession of a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun at the time of the incident, and authorities in Minnesota confirmed that the suspect was licensed to possess a firearm. Bystander video showed Preeti holding a cell phone rather than a gun. Witness testimony presented in court said Preeti was not brandishing a weapon.
Vinny Guadagnino doubles his vote for Republicans
Guadagnino previously attended President Trump’s Oct. 27 campaign rally at Madison Square Garden in New York City and shared a video of rally speakers Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Elon Musk, Dr. Phil, and Tucker Carlson.
“Vinnie, I think people are mad because you support Trump,” the fan wrote in part of the comments on the Instagram post.
“You’re allowed to be a Republican, but you can’t vote for the Republican presidential candidate?” Guadagnino replied. “77 million people did that.” In another comment, the “Jersey Store” star clarified, “I’m not really left or right, I look at things observationally from a more macro perspective.”
But he also reinforced his belief that “voting Republican (the ‘bad guys’) will save more lives (both legal and illegal immigrants) than voting Democratic (the ‘good guys’)” because of law enforcement at the U.S. border.
Guadagnino also wrote about feeling unfairly targeted for his political views.
“If someone votes liberal, they don’t get the same amount of comments because they believe it’s the ‘morally right’ party. That’s why I’ve voted left in every election…It’s interesting,” Guadagnino said.
Jersey Shore native Chris Jordan covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Please contact cjordan@app.com.
