Former Superman actor Dean Cain has come to the defence of federal immigration officers involved in the fatal shooting of ICU nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Cain, 59, who announced last year that he was joining Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in support of President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, argued that law enforcement has been under 'tremendous pressure and attacks'.
Speaking to TMZ, Cain said that while he did not know all the events leading up to the shooting, he believed there was a '100 per cent organised opposition' against ICE and Border Patrol. He suggested that obstructing federal agents is a felony, and that Pretti's actions—standing between officers and a woman while armed—were 'a bad, bad idea'.
Open-source video of the incident shows Pretti, 37, moving to assist individuals on the sidewalk before being pepper-sprayed, tackled by at least five agents, and shot while on the ground. The federal government claims Pretti approached agents with a pistol, but has not provided evidence that he drew the weapon. Carrying a licensed handgun with a permit is legal in Minnesota.
TMZ founder Harvey Levin pushed back against Cain's claims, arguing that Pretti was simply helping two women who had been pushed to the ground. 'How is this impeding anything?' he asked. Cain responded by saying there were 'a lot of questions that need to be answered' and that Pretti 'may have become himself a target just for standing in front of ICE vehicles'.
Cain also blamed Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey for what he called 'rhetoric' that emboldens people to fight officers. Levin noted that neither official had told citizens to 'fight them in the streets'. When asked about comments from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and others labelling Pretti a terrorist, Cain said he was not aware of that rhetoric and that it did not help to 'tamp down the temperature'.
