DENVER — For the third straight day, hundreds gathered at the Colorado State Capitol Monday evening, urging federal agents to end immigration enforcement nationwide.
Protesters marched from the Capitol down Lincoln Street, blocking the street entirely as they moved through downtown Denver.
The demonstrations come after a Border Patrol agent shot and killed 37-year-old Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday. Pretti was an ICU nurse at a VA hospital in Minneapolis.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Pretti was armed with a handgun and federal agents shot him in self-defense. She said Pretti resisted agents' attempts to disarm him.
Bystander video shows a federal agent grab a weapon from Pretti's waistband before he was shot. Many demonstrators in Denver pushed back against the federal government's account of events.
Several nurses who showed up at Monday night's protest said Pretti's death has hit them especially hard.
"What's been going on is wrong, and we all know it," said protester Shana Kucharek. "Alex Pretti's last act, and I think this is most important for everyone to know, he was helping someone who was pushed to the ground and feared for their life. Alex Pretti's last act was to help someone in need."
Bystander video shows Pretti helping someone who had been shoved to the ground by a federal agent moments before he was shot.
Other protesters, including Sam, a U.S. veteran, said they believe it's important to speak out in support of demonstrators in Minneapolis. He said he believes some tactics used by ICE and Border Patrol agents are unacceptable.
"I don't believe some of the ways that they're handling the people are acceptable. That's why I'm out here," he said. "They need to treat the people better, even if they're illegal."
Pretti's death comes after the shooting death of Renee Good, who was killed Jan. 7 in Minneapolis by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer.
The protests in Denver and across the nation come as President Donald Trump said Minnesota Governor Tim Walz called him to work together on the situation. In a post on Truth Social on Monday, President Trump said he had a "very good call" with the governor and that the two seemed to be on a similar wavelength.
