Featured Image Credit: The Daily Show/YouTube
Topics: US News, News, Film and TV, Twitter
Niamh Shackleton
Topics: US News, News, Film and TV, Twitter
Jon Stewart has become the latest celebrity to comment on Alex Pretti's death after the 37-year-old nurse was fatally shot during a ICE protest in Minneapolis, marking the second death in the city this month.
On Saturday, January 24, Pretti was present a protest that took a turn when an officer appeared to push over a woman. He attempted to intervene and was pepper sprayed by an agent before being tackled to the ground by multiple people.
There have been conflicting reports about whether Pretti was brandishing a gun. The Department of Homeland Security claim he was which is why a federal agent shot him, but witnesses have refuted this.
The likes of the Obamas and Clintons have spoken out about Pretti's passing and condemned ICE's actions.
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Other famous faces like Mandy Moore and Chrissy Teigen have also shared their thoughts on Pretti's shooting, and now, Jon Stewart has as well.
Speaking on Monday night's The Daily Show, Stewart said that the White House is lying about their account of what happened in the moments leading up to Pretti's shooting and pointed out that there's footage of what happened which appears to refute their claims.
"They’re lying. We saw it. That’s how brazen they lie when they know we’ve seen the truth," the TV host raged. "Imagine how they lie when there’s no evidence to contradict them."
Discussing Pretti being seen holding up his cellphone during the altercation with federal officers, and there being multiple witnesses who recorded it all, Stewart went on: "Maybe that explains why Alex Pretti really was a threat. Because he was brandishing a weapon. A handheld, aluminum, 1080p, 60fps weapon of mass illumination.
"Because there is nothing more dangerous to a regime predicated on lies than witnesses who capture the truth."
One Twitter user agreed with his remarks and described cellphones as 'the scariest thing in America right now' — not guns.
They continued to write: "Because they can shoot someone… then lie about it with a straight face — even when the video exists. That’s not 'messaging.' That’s a system trained to overwrite reality.
"And Stewart nails the real threat: witnesses. A phone turns their talking points into evidence. It turns 'trust us' into show us."
However, others argued that it makes no difference if someone has a phone as the Trump administration still finds a way around the footage.
"We've caught the trump administration DOZENS of times, real red flag line in the sand stuff," somebody said. "Nothing happens. No change, no accountability. None."