On January 24, Alex Pretti was fatally shot nine times by ICE officers when he reached out to help a woman who had been pushed harshly to the ground. Less than two weeks earlier, Renee Good had been shot and killed by an ICE officer as she attempted to drive away from the ICE officers. Shortly after Alex Pretti’s death, I wrote my Senator, David McCormick, asking him to support efforts fora full and accurate investigation of the incident and to remove ICE immediately from Minnesota. On Feb 2. I received a full-page letter outlining his response. He acknowledged the tragedy of the event and has supported calls for a full investigation of the incident. ICE leaders, like Kristi Nohm, JD Vance, and Steven Miller, have called both Pretti and Good “domestic terrorists” and that all the protesters represent a left-wing conspiracy;” Senator McCormick has not stooped that low but has been quite quiet about the whole incident.
For that reason, I was glad to receive his 1 1/2 page letter explaining his views. What follows is my response to his response to me. Some will say that I was being too soft on him, but I have used a common communication tool called the “sandwich approach,” where you say nice things at the beginning and the end and give your criticism in the middle. That is what I have done here. I am not only posting it here, but I have also sent the actual letter to him. So here goes.
February 3, 2026
Dear Senator McCormick,
Thank you for your letter of February 1, 2026, in response to my request that the ICE officers be held accountable for the deaths and damage they have caused during their heightened presence in Minneapolis. I thank you for your call for a full investigation of the officers involved in the death of Alex Pretti on January 24.
In your letter, you also reaffirmed your support of the U.S. Federal agents operating in Minneapolis. You state that the “officers risk their lives daily to protect our communities and uphold the rule of law. Law enforcement officers face extraordinary challenges, which are often compounded by inflammatory rhetoric, in this case by Minnesota elected officials.”
I doubt many Minnesotans would share your assessment of the stressful situations the ICE and other Federal officers find themselves. They are the ones carrying and using guns. They are the ones kicking open front doors and breaking car windows without a warrant, face-masked, and spraying pepper spray directly to people’s faces at close range. The inflammatory rhetoric you denounce is in response to the Mob and gang-like behavior of the ICE agents. The people shouting, holding signs, and calling ICE names have a First Amendment right to do so. If the federal troops in Minneapolis were not adequately prepared for that response, they have their higher-ups and trainers to blame.
You are a graduate of West Point and served as a military officer for 15 years. You know that even in war, there are certain protocols that must be followed, even in the midst of battle. Police officers receive the same training. By their ferocious behavior the members of ICE all too often show that they either do not know or do not care about those protocols within which they must do their jobs. Many people are suffering, and some are dying because their behavior is in many cases, illegal and certainly unethical, and are a counter to how military officers should act in their roles. In Minnesota, a judge has called them to change their ways over 100 times, but those rulings have been ignored. Who says they are above the law? Yet you want to blame those nonviolently protesting their presence and actions, which you know is a First Amendment right.
By supporting the actions of ICE, you are betraying your own military training and again failing to challenge President Trump, Kristi Nohm, Steven Miller, JD Vance, and others who call people like Alex Pretti “domestic terrorists.” You and I have seen the videos and know who should be bearing the title “terrorist..” Just because someone disagrees with a law, that does not make them a terrorist, but if someone shoots unarmed persons because they disagree with your actions, they deserve to be called a terrorist and be held accountable for their actions.
I implore you to be honest with yourself and your fellow Senators and look honestly and closely at how this situation is handled going forward. While ICE has not come yet in high numbers to Philadelphia and other parts of Pennsylvania, those of us who live here know our time is coming, and we are preparing ourselves for that day. When and if ICE comes, thousands of citizens will be shouting ICE Out, Go Home! Senator McCormick, what will be your public stand then?
Sincerely,
Dr. Drick Boyd
2205 Windsor Circle
Broomall, PA 19008