MINNEAPOLIS ‒ Hands trembling in the subzero cold, Tasha Crazybull flicked her lighter again and again and again until the bundle of dried sage caught flame.
As the dried plants began wafting fragrant smoke into the frigid air, Crazybull cupped her hands and drew it over her head in a ritual long used to bring purification and positive energy.
Around her clustered dozens of other mourners who also came to Nicolett Avenue to pay respects at the site where federal immigration agents on Jan. 24 shot and killed Alex Pretti.
Pretti, an ICU nurse at the Veterans Administration, was attending a protest against immigration enforcement, and his death has sparked a fresh nationwide debate about how President Donald Trump’s administration is carrying out plans for the largest mass deportation in history.
In a community known as "Minnesota nice," the violence that has erupted on the city's street has trigged anger, grief and feelings of helplessness.
