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A-List Actors Lash Out At ICE After Latest Incident

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Olivia Wilde
Photo Credit: "Olivia Wilde" by Gage Skidmore is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/?ref=openverse.

A fatal Minneapolis shooting involving immigration agents ignited celebrity outrage, political backlash and a rare moment of hesitation from President Donald Trump as pressure mounted over federal enforcement tactics.

The flashpoint came after 37-year-old Alex Pretti, a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs ICU nurse, was shot and killed during an encounter with immigration agents, marking the second anti-ICE protester killed this month.

Federal officials initially described Pretti as armed and resisting agents, while local witnesses claimed he had been disarmed before shots were fired.

Trump weighed in cautiously when questioned, signaling discomfort with the deadly outcome while stopping short of a full defense of the unidentified agent.

“I don’t like any shooting. I don’t like it,” Trump told The Wall Street Journal, reacting to the growing scrutiny.

The president balanced that sentiment with concerns about weapons at protests.

“But I don’t like it when somebody goes into a protest and he’s got a very powerful, fully-loaded gun with two magazines loaded up with bullets also. That doesn’t play good either,” he added,

As criticism intensified, Trump announced his administration would review the incident and left open the possibility of pulling immigration agents from Minneapolis.

“We’re looking, we’re reviewing everything and will come out with a determination,” Trump told the outlet as questions swirled around the enforcement operation.

He also hinted at an eventual exit without committing to a timeline.

“At some point we will leave. We’ve done, they’ve done a phenomenal job,” Trump said, offering praise even as scrutiny sharpened.

The shooting quickly spilled beyond politics and into pop culture, with Hollywood figures using high-profile platforms to condemn ICE during the Sundance Film Festival.

Actress Olivia Wilde made her stance unmistakable while promoting her film “The Invite,” appearing on the red carpet wearing an “ICE OUT” pin.

Standing amid festival celebrations, Wilde framed the moment as jarringly out of sync with events unfolding across the country.

“We’re all here getting to celebrate something really beautiful and hopeful in film storytelling,” she told Variety, before turning somber.

“But the world is hurting right now, and this country is hurting. And it’s appalling,” Wilde continued.

Her remarks grew sharper as she addressed the killing directly and the broader enforcement climate.

“I’m appalled and sickened,” Wilde said, rejecting what she described as creeping acceptance of violence.

“We can’t go another day just sort of accepting this as our new norm. It’s outrageous. People are being murdered,” she added.

Wilde pushed further, condemning the visibility of violent footage online and calling for action.

“And, I don’t want to normalize seeing people being murdered on the internet. On film. It’s. It’s hideous,” she said.

She urged supporters to back efforts aimed at dismantling ICE entirely.

“And so if we can do anything out here to support the movement to cast ICE out, to delegitimize this unbelievably criminal organization, then that’s what we should be doing,” Wilde declared.

Wilde also praised the scale of protests erupting nationwide, framing them as courageous despite growing risks.

“I think so many Americans are [speaking out]. I mean, you see the marches happening around the country,” she observed.

“Americans are speaking up in huge numbers, and it’s dangerous to be a protester now and people are still going out to the streets, which is incredibly inspiring,” Wilde added.

Natalie Portman echoed similar themes while promoting her film “The Gallerist,” describing the national mood as dark even amid celebration.

“This is such a joyful community celebrating film here and we’re so excited to be showing ‘The Gallerist,’” Portman told Variety.

“But we’re also at a moment in our country’s history that is quite devastating,” she continued.

Portman directly criticized immigration enforcement, tying her remarks to the Minneapolis killing.

“It’s really impossible not to talk about what is happening right now and the brutality of ICE and how it has to stop immediately,” she said.

At the same time, she pointed to what she viewed as resilience among Americans.

“But also, there’s a beautiful community that Americans are showing right now. They’re showing up for each other, protecting each other and fighting for their freedom,” Portman said.

“It’s a bittersweet moment to celebrate something we’re so proud of on the backdrop of our nation in pain,” she added.

Tensions around the festival escalated further after Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., reported being assaulted at a Sundance party.

Frost claimed a man attacked him while invoking Trump and racial insults.

“Last night, I was assaulted by a man at Sundance Festival who told me that Trump was going to deport me before he punched me in the face,” Frost wrote on X.

He alleged the suspect fled while shouting racist remarks. Police later arrested Christian Young, determining he unlawfully entered a private party before assaulting Frost and a female attendee.

The fallout continued online as liberal author Stephen King weighed in with a blunt comparison. “ICE is the American Gestapo,” King wrote on X.

The reference invoked Nazi Germany’s secret police, a comparison echoed days later by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

Walz likened federal immigration enforcement in the state to the Holocaust and Anne Frank’s story following the second fatal shooting in Minneapolis.

“We have got children in Minnesota hiding in their houses, afraid to go outside,” Walz said during a briefing.

“Many of us grew up reading that story of Anne Frank,” he added.

Walz argued the fear gripping families could define a generation. “Somebody is going to write that children’s story about Minnesota, and there’s one person who can end this now,” he said, pointing to Trump.

The governor accused the president of smearing Pretti and misleading the public.

“This family has gone through enough,” Walz said of Pretti’s relatives.

“And to have the most powerful man in the world drag their dead son with absolutely no evidence and gaslight the entire country,” he added.

“Sitting behind a keyboard at 2 a.m. and besmirching a VA nurse and a son and a coworker and a friend is despicable beyond all description,” Walz continued.

Trump fired back on Truth Social, warning Walz to stop encouraging disruptions.

He accused sanctuary city rhetoric of creating danger and blamed Democrats for deadly consequences.

“Tragically, two American Citizens have lost their lives as a result of this Democrat ensued chaos,” Trump wrote.

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