National leadership at the Department of Veterans Affairs tried to block a memorial service for Alex Pretti, the 37-year-old ICU nurse who was shot and killed by federal agents in Minneapolis.
Let that sink in: the government that killed him didn’t want to let his coworkers to mourn him.
WHAT’S GOING ON: According to an email obtained by The New Republic, officials at the Minneapolis VA claimed that “local leadership was instructed to pause the memorial” for Pretti, which was initially scheduled for Tuesday at noon. In other words, somebody at the top said “back off.”
“Our local leadership I think is very good, they’re quite sensitive, I mean they’re really trying to do that. But they’re getting it from above,” one Minneapolis VA employee told TNR anonymously, fearing retaliation.
“I mean, there’s supposed to be a memorial service yesterday, they’re told to postpone it? I mean, come on! That doesn’t seem consistent with how they usually respond.”
The Washington Post also confirmed two employees said a memorial had been initially blocked, though another service is now scheduled for next week.
THE DETAILS: When asked why the first memorial was canceled, Minneapolis VA Medical Center spokesperson Melanie Nelson offered a statement that said employees are “welcome to memorialize Alex Pretti in their own way as long as they are respectful and it does not interfere with their work duties.”
So: grieve on your own time, quietly, and don’t make a thing of it.
Meanwhile, VA Secretary Doug Collins hasn’t issued an agency-wide statement about Pretti’s killing. Instead, he blamed Democrats for his death on social media. “Such tragedies are unfortunately happening in Minnesota because of state and local officials’ refusal to cooperate with the federal government to enforce the law and deport dangerous illegal criminals,” Collins posted on Twitter.
“Really, that kind of got to me,” the VA employee said. “And that’s our leader at the highest level.”
OF COURSE: This is what happens when an administration views a murdered American nurse not as a tragedy but as a PR problem. Pretti worked at the VA. He served veterans. And the agency he dedicated his career to couldn’t even allow his colleagues a formal moment to grieve without interference from Trump’s political appointees.
WHY IT MATTERS: The decision to block the memorial is another blow to Minneapolis VA staff who say they’ve been struggling under national leadership since the Trump administration took over. During the Biden years, “we felt like the national office was there to support us in our mission as opposed to hamper us,” the employee told TNR.
Now? The people running the VA are more concerned with controlling the narrative around a federal killing than honoring a man who spent his career caring for veterans. “As an institution, we owe it to him,” the employee said. “And I think the formal ritualized events help some people.”
Federal agents shot Alex Pretti ten times. The least his employer could do is let people hold a memorial without getting permission from Washington.