Marvel’s Spider-Man actor Yuri Lowenthal has spoken out against ICE after Alex Pretti was shot and killed by officers.
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On Saturday morning, an ICE agent (United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement) shot and killed Alex Pretti after a brief altercation during a “targeted” immigration enforcement operation. They claim it was an act of self-defence but according to eye witness accounts, the 37-year-old nurse was unarmed at the time of the shooting. Two weeks ago, ICE agents in Minneapolis also shot and killed Renee Nicole Good.
The killings have inspired a wave of backlash with protests breaking out across Minneapolis. “The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault,” Barack Obama wrote on X but Donald Trump has defended the organisation. “They’ve done a phenomenal job,” he told the Wall Street Journal this weekend.
Following Alex Pretti’s murder, Yuri Lowenthal took to Instagram to share an impassioned speech. “We must speak out against injustice,” he started. “I know that this is not new for large swathes of the American people but every day that we stay silent, it makes it easier for them to shoot us in the streets and round us up and genocide entire people. We must speak out and we have to take care of each other. I implore you, if you are an American citizen, call your senators every day next week and tell them ‘no more money for ICE’. We will not stand for it.”
“The more we stay silent to try and shore up a failing illusion of normalcy, the more we trade pieces of our soul and the easier we make it for them to shoot us in the street,” he wrote alongside the video. “Call your reps every day this week. Tell them how furious you are, how scared you are, and that they must speak out against what’s happening. The simple message they need to hear is ‘no more money for ICE’.”
As well as voicing Spider-Man in Marvel’s Spider-Man, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and Marvel Rivals, Yuri Lowenthal has had roles in Diablo 3, Prince Of Persia, Dead Or Alive, Fallout: New Vegas, Saints Row: The Third, Persona 3 and Arcane.
The US Government has used several gaming memes for ICE adverts and despite backlash, has promised to keep using them to recruit new agents. “We will reach people where they are with content they can relate to and understand, whether that be Halo, Pokémon, Lord Of The Rings, or any other medium,” a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said in a statement. “DHS remains laser focused on bringing awareness to the flood of crime that criminal illegal aliens have inflicted on our country. We aren’t slowing down.”
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