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History rarely turns on arguments. It turns on moments people cannot unsee.
A photograph. A short video. A few seconds that settle in the mind and refuse to leave. These are the moments when debate stops and something heavier takes its place. Not opinion, but
recognition.
The killing of Alex Pretti during an encounter with ICE agents appears to be one of those moments.
The images circulating do not feel chaotic. They do not feel unclear. They do not show panic, aggression, or a scene spinning out of control. What they show is restraint on one side and lethal force on the other. That imbalance is immediately visible, and it is why the images carry so much weight.
This article is about why certain moments, moments like this, cut through the noise while others fade. It is about why discipline, restraint, and dignity have always carried more power than outrage ever could.
What the Moment Demands
Street encounters are not remembered for what was said. They are remembered for how people stood, or sat, or knelt.
The equal time provisions under decades of Federal Communications Commission (FCC) actions have largely been eroded and haphazardly enforced, if all. Ostensibly, provisions still exist on the books as statute and via FCC regulations. “Under section 315, if a broadcast station permits any legally qualified candidate for public office to use its facilities, it shall provide an equal opportunity to all other legally qualified candidates for that office.”
Just like every other major corporation that is flourishing in financial success, Ginther and this City Council will continue to ignore independent reports that the hundreds of millions of dollars handed out in tax abatements and TIF’s are counterproductive to the educational and social economic needs of Columbus school children and those who rely on social services. Two tax abatements are included on tonight’s City Council agenda.
Core5 Columbus SW Building 1 & 2 LLC are owned by the 180-year-old Kajima Corporation’s U.S. division Kajima USA Inc. “Kajima Corp provides civil engineering and project management for multiple industries. It works in multiple phases, from planning and development to maintenance and renovation. The company constructs skyscrapers, power plants, office buildings, and other large structures.” The Kajima Corporation has a current market cap of $19 billion and 2025 net income of $1.1 billion.
This Tuesday, January 27, the Ohio Senate Energy Committee will hear testimony on Senate Bill 294.
Check out more activists events at the Calendar
An unprecedented amount of our taxpayer dollars gets funneled to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to carry out Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda. Congress must act.
These rogue agencies have a long history of abuse, violence, and human rights violations – from separation of families to shutting out asylum seekers to raids in our communities. The events of 2020 have only exacerbated matters. CBP agents have been deployed against Black Lives Matter protesters, and horrific accounts of abuse, inadequate COVID-19 precautions, and deaths are being reported in detention centers nationwide. This must stop: Send a message to Congress to divest from ICE and CBP now.
Two Ohio State students were arrested on January 20 for protesting the presence of the Department of Homeland “Security” (DHS) on Ohio State’s campus. Good for them. Reporting suggests that DHS representatives exited early from a career fair, in response to the protest; if so, then these hero students have accomplished what Ohio State President Ted Carter refused to do: removing the regime’s unwelcome paramilitary force from our campus.
Protesters braved the icy cold conditions to protest ICE in Columbus. Interviews with Emily Cole of Ohio Families Unite for Political Action and Change and Munira Abdullahi, State Representative, House District 9. Speaking event at Trinity Church follows.
Protest sponsored by SEIU District 1199 WV/KY/OH, Common Cause Ohio, Indivisible Central Ohio, Ohioans Against Extremism, Ohio Families Unite for Political Action and Change (OFUPAC), other allies and partners, and community members. Rally and march began at the High Street side of the Ohio Statehouse at 1 PM on Friday, January 23.
If Renee Good becomes just another name on a list, we will have failed her. And we will have failed ourselves. Because the lesson of every flashpoint is the same: outrage alone does not change the conditions that created it.
NOTE: This protest occurred prior to the subsequent murder of Alex Pretti by ICE.
On Saturday, January 24, 2026 Immigration and Customs enforcement murdered yet another American citizen who was protesting the Gestapo tactics, and specifically trying to assist a woman who had been thrown the ground by ICE thugs. Pretti was lawfully carrying a weapon, which was removed from his person by another ICE/Gestapo agent prior to him being shot more than 10 times at close range while on the ground, surrounded by CE/Gestapo agents.
Here are two excellent video's depicting the event.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdyBw45npT8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuUTP4Db9dM
The usual warning that this is a graphic video. American's must become accustomed to watching the Federal Government murdering both American citizens and immigrants (legal or otherwise).
Video credit to "Comrade Lunchbox"
Check out more activists events at the Calendar
An unprecedented amount of our taxpayer dollars gets funneled to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to carry out Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda. Congress must act.
These rogue agencies have a long history of abuse, violence, and human rights violations – from separation of families to shutting out asylum seekers to raids in our communities. The events of 2020 have only exacerbated matters. CBP agents have been deployed against Black Lives Matter protesters, and horrific accounts of abuse, inadequate COVID-19 precautions, and deaths are being reported in detention centers nationwide. This must stop: Send a message to Congress to divest from ICE and CBP now.
This article first appeared on Substack
I started working on this cartoon before the events unfolded in Minnesota today. In case you haven't heard yet, ICE has shot a third person today. This is another fatal shooting.
I did not get to dive into the story until after I had completed this cartoon. I had something else occupying my time today as well. When I was finally able to look up, I watched the video.
I saw the video after hearing that the man who was shot had a weapon. At the start of the video, it resembled the Rodney King beating, except Rodney King wasn't shot at the end. It looked like a gang of ICE thugs was holding the man down and beating him. At the end, while still being held down, one of the agents shoots the guy.