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It's 6 0 6 right now.
Thank you so much for joining us this morning.
You are listening to Civic Media Mornings on the Civic Media Radio Network.
My name is Jamie Martenson.
And I'm Brian Noona.
Good morning.
Welcome to another week.
In Paradise, to say the weekend was disappointing, hectic, tragic, would all be understatements.
And we are going to want to talk to you today, though.
Jamie, we
want
people to be able to share what's going on with them.
855-75-CIVIC.
That's 855-75-248-42.
And let me just start and indulge me, if you will,
because I've
been...
giving a lot of thought to how we were going to start the show today and we've been going back and forth and talking and since Saturday and really for the last few weeks there's so many thoughts and emotions swirling around my haunted house of a brain and it seems like nothing makes sense anymore but what I do know is that all of us have a responsibility to speak out when we see wrong doing so
If you give me a second, that's what I'm going to do.
These are my thoughts.
Mine alone, they're not meant to reflect the opinions of Jamie, anybody else on the show, Civic Media is a company.
It's all me for better or worse.
So if you got an issue, you know who to talk to.
The new direction of Civic Media is that we always lead with the facts, not my facts or your facts, but the facts.
Opinions and emotions are not facts, although in a situation like this, they're hard to ignore and so we won't.
We know the facts of the tragic event that occurred Saturday morning in Minneapolis.
Fact, Alex Pretty, a 37-year-old ICU nurse at the VA, was shot and killed by ICE agents.
Fact, Alex Pretty was in possession of a lawful firearm that he had a permit to carry.
Fact, Minnesota is an open-carry state.
Fact, Alex Pretty was not undocumented.
He was born in Illinois, raised in Green Bay and a resident of the Twin Cities.
Fact, a U.S.
citizen was killed by agents of our government and that should concern and terrify you.
Then we got facts that are being disputed as opinion.
Now, if you watch the many videos of the incident, which I have, Alex Pretty was holding his phone and recording ICE activities, which is a right that we all have under the Constitution.
He went to the aid of a woman who had been pushed to the ground by ICE agents and was pushed to the ground himself by more than six agents.
The videos appeared to show his gun being removed from its poster by an agent.
There is no footage of Alex brandishing his firearm, and then he was shot multiple times in the back.
Now, part of the new show here that we've been doing and the new direction of the company is to ask for and listen to opinions that differ from Jamie's in mind.
Now, I'm only speaking for me, but this morning, I don't want to hear any justifications or defenses on Saturday's tragedy.
I'm heartbroken.
Not only because a man who, by all accounts, was a caring, decent, and involved person was murdered by agents of our government, but heartbroken because the direction our country seems to be headed.
I can't entertain any of, well, he shouldn't have had a gun, nonsense, from people who praised a kid who brought an AR-15 to a riot he was one state removed from.
I can't listen to talking points put forth by the federal government blaming this on local leaders who have urged calm and who have repeatedly asked the administration to pull back the occupation to lower the temperature on an already dangerous situation.
I'm heartbroken but I'm also angry and in my opinion you should be too.
I will not and you should not be gaslit by officials trying to tell you that what you saw with your own eyes isn't real or that anyone who dares stand up to a potential tyrannical government is a domestic terrorist.
Most sensible people know that we need to revise our immigration policies and we agree that
that hardened criminals who are undocumented need to be deported, but I will not be deceived by the fact that this so-called immigration crackdown is for the good of national security or targeting the worst of the worst, when the Attorney General demands voting rolls in exchange for an ICE withdrawal, and red states with more undocumented aliens than places being occupied are not the focus of operations by massed agents.
I can see, and hopefully you can see, there aren't ICE occupations in Dallas or Houston or Miami or Boise or Oklahoma City, red cities.
Where is ICE focusing?
Minneapolis, Chicago, Portland, Los Angeles.
Cities in blue states where leaders have taken a stand against the current administration, which is proving to be the ultimate sin in their eyes.
So today, we do want to hear from you.
We want to hear your anger, your grief, and your thoughts on what comes next.
We want to share our pain with you and let you share yours with us.
For me, today is a day of reflection, grieving, strategizing, and examining the facts.
It's not a day to argue with people who want to spout talking points and are incapable of empathy or rational thought.
That's for another day.
All right, I'm taking a breath.
I'm going to let Jamie talk.
Thank you for indulging me.
I just needed to get...
I need to get
that off my...
chest before we got started.
Very well said.
And I have some thoughts.
And mine are a little bit more personal because of my relationship with Minneapolis.
Before we get to that, though, is Cindy still on the phone, Boy Quorum?
OK, let's go to Cindy.
She was at a protest in Appleton yesterday.
Cindy, what do you have for us this morning?
Yes, I went down yesterday.
And even with the cold, oh my god, it was so well attended.
It was just it was heartwarming to see all the people that came out yesterday.
And then I was on a Zoom call last night with something called the Faith Leaders of the United States, and there was over 10,000 people on that phone call.
And I also learned of something this weekend that I was kind of uplifting to me.
There's a website out there called www.leavingmega.com where there are all kinds of people coming together to support each other in the face of leaving this craziness.
Thank you so much for the thoughts this morning, Cindy.
Well,
Cindy, thanks for, yeah, thanks for getting out there and resisting.
Roger, over on our text line from Steven's point this morning saying, fact, videotape does not lie.
And if you want to chime in this morning, 1-855-752-4842, that's 1-855-75 Civic, Republicans, first time callers, veterans, we'd love to hear from you and have your thoughts this morning as well.
I mentioned that my thoughts are a little bit more personal.
And I've said this several times and just thinking about this neighborhood, you might hear me get a little choked up because where this is taking place is called the Whittier neighborhood of the Twin Cities.
And this is one of my favorite places in all of the cities.
It is a tapestry of people.
It's a tapestry of color and locally owned businesses.
There are murals painted on the side of buildings and there are playgrounds on basically every corner.
It's one of those places you can walk down the street and
And you don't have to think twice about who's next to you.
Today, if you're watching the live stream, I'm wearing a midwest sweatshirt.
And this was a sweatshirt that I actually bought less than a year ago at a local Minnesota shop, about three blocks from where Alex Pretty was shot and killed after we ate at Glamdahl Donuts, which is the same shop he was standing in front of when he died.
Our family had traveled to Minneapolis at Dexter's request because this is the place where he wanted to do nothing more than celebrate his 18th birthday on February 19th.
It's one of his favorite places and he wanted nothing more than to be in his favorite place when he turned 18 years old.
So for me, this is personal because seeing what's happening in Minneapolis at the hands of our own government agents, it makes me sad.
It makes me angry just like Brian said.
And I know that a lot of you listening this morning are likely feeling all of the same emotions.
Minneapolis will always have a piece of my heart.
I would love nothing more than to be there with my friends who have been protesting.
I would love nothing more than to be handing out blankets and hot chocolate and water.
I would love to be doing all of that.
And I know Brian and our senior producer Frank probably had a lot of the same emotions when ICE events were taking place in Chicago a few weeks ago.
But even if you don't have a personal connection to any of these cities, Minneapolis, Chicago, Portland, LA, and now Maine, where we're seeing ICE agents, this should still make all of you sad and angry as well.
because what happened to Alex Paredi to a VA ICU nurse legally recording ICE on a sidewalk and also to Renee Good just a couple of weeks ago, this is a mom whose glove box was shoved and overflowing with kids' toys.
This is murder.
And if you think that this is just a liberal viewpoint, again, my viewpoint, I want you to get to know me and I need you to ask questions about me and what I actually believe, because I didn't actually agree with President Biden's immigration policy.
I thought it was way too lenient.
And I believe that more should be done to humanely overhaul our immigration system in this country.
I also believe that undocumented immigrants who have committed crime should be prosecuted with the same due process afforded to any other individual.
What is happening in Minneapolis, though, goes far beyond our political beliefs and how we choose to vote, because really at the core of it, how we choose to vote is still one of the greatest constitutional rights we have in this country.
What is happening right now is about humanity.
This administration is intentionally stoking division.
It's instilling fear and it wants to create chaos.
And if you're a Republican who voted for this administration, I don't blame you.
I don't hold you personally accountable for what's happening.
But I would like your perspective.
Are you okay with what's happening to U.S.
citizens on our streets?
Because I'm not.
I wouldn't be okay with this if it was a Democratic president.
I am not okay with this under any other Republican president.
And I can't believe as human beings that you would be okay with this too, because that's what we are at the core.
We are still humans.
And I want to believe, honestly, Brian, I want to believe that we are better than this, because I truly believe that we are better than this.
Well, yeah, it's very, again, you said it all too.
It's
And when you know when you know those places and you know the people it's it hurts even more and you're right when it was happening here It's
you
know, this is this is where I live.
This is you know, I don't I Don't care if the person living next to me has their papers I if the person next to me who's living next to me Is a good person
We say hello, they take care of their house, they go to work, they raise their family.
I can count on them if something goes wrong.
They can count on me if something goes wrong.
I've never checked anybody's immigration papers, their status.
When we lived in California, I'm sure there were people in my neighborhood who may or may not have had all their paperwork in line.
But you know what?
They were great neighbors.
your points about immigration policy are 100% accurate.
We do need to change the immigration policy.
And for all the arguments of, well, President Obama deported more people, yes, he did.
And so did, and President Biden deported a lot of people.
And I don't have a problem with people being deported.
If you can't see the difference, because be honest, if you're supporting these tactics,
Did we ever hear about any of these deportations?
No, because we weren't being occupied by some masked group of agents who are going into people's homes, who are ripping people apart, who are murdering citizens on the street.
All of the deportations that happened before, they just, they happened.
And it was, I don't know,
I don't know if anytime you're deporting someone, if it can be 100% humane, but there was not this sort of fear and carnage and everything else that is going along with this policy, and it is just a smoke screen.
Jamie said it, and we've all said it, and it's becoming more and more obvious.
It is a smoke screen to create distractions so that, you know, in the end, if you...
We can we can have all sorts of unrest and not have elections into in November and that's That's my opinion.
We welcome yours of course 8 5 5 7 5 civic 8 5 5 7 5 2 4 8 4 2 as you can imagine We've got a lot to discuss over about Alex Prettys murder at the hands of ice.
We welcome your comments and your input on the show
Let's let's Jamie how about after we when we come back we get to know a little bit more about Alex for the people who May have missed it.
I don't know how you'd miss it over the weekend
Yeah, I think and then yeah, we can talk about that a little bit come when we come back we of course we want to talk about some of the Current actions that we know of as of this morning that are coming out of Minneapolis So we will get to all of that It is 6 19 right now.
You are listening to civic media mornings.
My name is Jamie Martenson
And I'm Brian
Noonan.
Good morning.
This is the Civic Media Radio Network.
622, right now, you're listening to Civic Media Mornings on the Civic Media Radio Network.
If you're listening in Madison on WMDX or in Wausau and WXEO, we are glad that you are here.
My name is Jamie Martenson.
And I'm Brian Noonan.
Good morning.
Another frigid Monday to get us started minus seven in Madison and that cold throughout the state and all through the network.
I'm done.
I'm done with the cold.
I'm done with a lot of things today.
Quite
frankly, there's just, I've reached my limit.
It's breaking point time.
Yesterday, I actually had to as
After we had traded all kinds of messages between all of us and I was working on different things for the show, I was like...
I'm gonna have an old-fashioned.
I need something.
As I'm sitting in front of the computer, I'm like, I need a little whiskey in my life.
But, yeah.
Yeah, I agree.
And here's the thing too.
I think if you were watching the news on Friday and you saw the ice out protests and 50,000 strong marched through the streets of Minneapolis, right?
You woke up with a little bit of hope and you were like, this is amazing.
Look at these people and what they're doing.
And you saw all these posts on social media.
of restaurants turning into small hospitals in the Whittier neighborhood so that they could help people who have been tear gassed or you saw restaurants who were literally feeding people.
There was hope.
And then we woke up Saturday morning and all things changed.
Frank from Poignette reaching out on our text line this morning saying that we said it all very well and thank you very much.
So thank you
for listening this
morning, Frank.
And if you want to chime into this conversation today, we would love to hear from you.
1-855-752-4842.
That's 1-855-75 Civic.
We'd love to hear your reflections.
We'd love to hear your thoughts, whether you were out in any protest because several places
across the state also held protests over the weekend.
So we'd love to hear from you and hear your thoughts on what happened this weekend in Minneapolis.
And I think one of the things I'm hearing mostly from people in Minneapolis and people here is enough, enough.
That's what I'm
hearing.
Enough is enough.
And I think that is a fair statement to say in the midst of what we've been seeing.
But we wanted to talk more about Alex Pretty and who he was.
Yeah.
By all accounts, he was a good guy.
Now, I don't know him personally, but you listen.
The problem is you hear two different stories.
You hear the stories from his family.
You hear the stories from his neighbors.
You hear the stories from coworkers.
And you go, oh, this is a guy born in Illinois, grew up in Green Bay, was very active in sports in high school, graduates.
He goes to the University of Minnesota.
He gets one degree.
Then he is a research scientist.
Then he decides to become a registered nurse.
This guy, you know, and he's working at the VA.
And then, you know, so.
By all accounts, the kind of person you want to be neighbors with, you want to be friends with.
Registered gun owner, again, Minnesota, Opa-Kerry State.
You could debate gun control all you want, but this is the law.
He was following the law.
His only criminal behavior, it seems, a couple of traffic tickets.
I would like to meet somebody who has had no traffic tickets.
you know, he's good.
And Jamie, there was a...
A message on social media
from
a co-worker.
Do you
want to share that and share our...
Yes.
And this co-worker was actually scheduled to be with us this morning.
And at the last minute, she decided because of the emotions involved, because of fear of retaliation, she was not able to join us even for just a few minutes, which we completely understand.
But here's what she had to say on social media.
Alex was a nurse I worked with at the VA in the ICU.
He used to tell people off when they made sexist comments to female physicians.
He bought me coffee when I had a really bad day as an intern and saved my mental health more than once while there for a month.
I laughed alongside him daily.
He made a point to teach medical residents without judgment, but with a smile on his face and a joke.
Photos from today show him as he will rest in power, a healer, a defender, and a fierce protector of humanity.
It's pretty it's pretty sure I I don't think anybody I know will make a statement like that about me
I was just gonna say I hope somebody is able to make a statement like about me like that someday
So again, this is a guy who by all accounts seems great There's a there was a statement from his family That they put out be after they put this out after Kristi Noem went up with her nor usual
uh dog and pony show and we trotted out the same disparaging comments about everybody who dares to stand up he is a domestic terrorist uh you know what then look at judging by the news footage of not only the protests in the twin cities and you mentioned it before but kudos to them for showing up in this whether it shows that when you push people far enough they will
It doesn't matter how uncomfortable they are, they will go out.
The protests in Chicago yesterday, across all of Wisconsin, we'll talk to somebody from one of our reporters from Green Bay in a little bit.
People have had enough.
And I can't imagine on a number of levels being Alex Pretti's parents.
Not only did you lose your son to violence at the hands of our own government, but then
You have to listen to his character be assassinated.
You have to listen to him being labeled a domestic terrorist.
All of these lies when everybody in the world can see what happened to your son.
We'll do the statement after the break because I don't want to cut it.
I'm still at a loss.
That's what's frustrating, because in this job we're not supposed to be at a loss.
We're supposed
to have a hot take.
Sometimes you just don't have words, and sometimes there is no hot take other than what we're seeing is wrong.
What we're seeing is wrong.
That's the hot take.
It's immoral, it's wrong, and it shouldn't be happening on the streets of any country, let alone what's considered to be the greatest country in the world.
It should not be happening.
100% correct.
8-5-5-7-5 Civic.
That's 8-5-5-7-5-2-4-8-4-2.
If you want to join the conversation this morning, we would love to hear from you.
And we'll all make it through together.
And we've got a lot more to cover, so stick with us.
We're
going to do a little fact checking, too, this hour, Brian.
Yes.
We're going to do a little fact checking, because it's important.
It's 629 right now.
Civic media mornings.
I'm Jamie Martenson.
And I'm Brian Noonan.
Good morning.
This is the Civic Media Radio Network.
635 right now.
Thank you so much for joining us on the Civic Media Radio Network.
You're listening to Civic Media Mornings.
My name is Jamie Martinson.
And I'm Brian Noonan and we want to hear from you this morning.
It was a rough weekend in Minneapolis and that has trickled down to everybody in this country.
It has a thought on what happened the tragic murder of Alex Pretty at the hands of ICE on the streets of Minneapolis.
It's unbelievable.
It is shocking and it should be angering to everybody with any sense in their dome 8 5 5 7 5 civic 8 5 5 7 5 2 4 8 4 2 is how you get ahold of us how you share your thoughts That's the phone line.
That's the text line I don't understand the magic of how both of them work in conjunction, but they do so that's it We were talking we're gonna do Jamie has been putting together because we are all about facts emotion comes into conversations and it doesn't matter whether
we're talking about a horrific event like Saturdays or something silly like French fries.
Emotions are
always going
to come into conversations, but facts are the basis.
But before we get to those facts, we had mentioned the two stories you're hearing about Alex Pretty.
Thankfully, the one about him being a decent, hardworking, caring young man.
are far outweighing the usual tripe that's being served up by Christie Gnome.
This was a statement from his family after Christie Gnome had disparaged him and called him, well, her usual, the domestic terrorist.
From Michael and Susan Pretty, we are heartbroken, but also very angry.
Alex was a kindhearted soul who cared deeply for his family and friends and also the American veterans.
who he cared for as an ICU nurse at Minneapolis VA Hospital.
Alex wanted to make a difference in this world.
Unfortunately, he will not be with us to see his impact.
I do not throw around the hero term lightly.
However, his last thought and act was to protect a woman.
The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting.
Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked by Trump's murdering and cowardly ICE thugs.
He has his phone in his right hand and his empty left hand is raised above his head while trying to protect the woman ICE just pushed down, all while being pepper sprayed.
Please get the truth out about our son.
He was a good man.
Thank you.
And that's the statement from Michael and Susan Pretty, Alex's parents.
And we're gonna try to do just that.
We're gonna try to get the word out about what a good man he was.
We've got some claims that have been made by this current administration.
We've got some audio and we're gonna do a little fact checking this morning, okay?
Sounds good to
me.
So, claim number one.
Pretti approached agents with intent to carry out mass violence.
This is what border patrol commander Greg Bovino said agents, he said agents were conducting a targeted operation around 9.05 a.m.
stated that Pretti approached the agents while armed with a nine millimeter semi-automatic handgun.
Here's what we do know according to the video, okay?
It actually confirms that Alex Pretti was present near the Federal operation of Minneapolis.
It does not show him pointing a firearm, attempting to fire a weapon or advancing on agents with a gun raised.
He is seen holding a cell phone, which is legal to do, and appearing to record.
Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino claimed that Pretti's actions suggested, quote, he wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement, a motive that was then repeated by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Cut number three.
Yeah, that's not exactly what
happened.
Defensive shots to a man who is on his stomach on the ground and the defensive shots to go into his back.
Right.
Yeah.
And again, if it wasn't so horrific, it would be laughable.
The fact that the lies they've tried to perpetrate
on
us and they float them out with no effort at
all.
It's like they're breathing.
If they open their mouth, it's lies.
Yes.
Yes.
Now, under Minnesota law, let's be clear here.
And you alluded to this earlier in the show.
Carrying a handgun in public is legal as long as you have a permit.
And Pretty was reported to be a lawful gun owner.
Yes.
Yes.
Law enforcement, local law enforcement backed that up.
This is fact.
They said he was licensed to carry that gun.
He owned the gun legally.
Everything was above board with him.
And again, it's hilarious, the Second Amendment folks now are like, why do you have a gun?
I don't know, because you voted to let him have a gun.
Well, and it's funny that even members of the NRA this weekend basically came out and said what they're seeing in this is beyond the pale of what even the NRA is comfortable with.
So this tells you we've maybe hit a new Rubicon when that organization is advocating for something different.
Now, here's another claim that this is claim number two.
They are saying that pretty
had no ID on him.
Noam actually said this during her remark saying that he had no ID that they could find on him.
Now, here's what we do know.
This is the facts.
None of the multiple videos reviewed show any of the federal agents actually asking Alex Pretti for identification during the encounter.
Footage from multiple angles actually depicts a pretty rapid escalation where agents are shoving civilians, they're spraying Pretti with a chemical irritant, and then there's that
physical struggle that we've all seen play out.
There's no visible attempt in any of the videos to question Pretty or request his ID and federal authorities have not explained how or when they determined that he lacked identification.
Claim number four.
This is the one that gets me.
Medics immediately delivered aid according to Bovino.
Let's go to cut number five, please.
Now, Noam also repeated this assertion later in the day.
Here's what we do know.
These are the facts.
Video from the scene shows Alex Pretti motionless on the ground as federal agents move back and the situation continues to unfold.
Authorities have not released any body-worn camera footage, dispatch logs, or detailed timelines showing when medical aid began after the shooting.
There were nearby pedestrians who ran to the scene after hearing gunshots and asked ICE agents if they could assess Pretti.
Agents initially required the doctor to show a medical license.
Somebody at least had to show ID.
The pediatrician said no agents were observed performing CPR or checking for a pulse on prety before they were initially blocked.
After pressing again, an agent allowed this pediatrician to approach.
The doctor reported no detectable pulse and began chest compressions until emergency personnel arrived.
Those are the facts.
And that doctor has filed an affidavit, so it is there.
It's the same if we go back to the good case.
where a doctor tried to render aid and initially was, and in that case, was refused altogether.
In this case, the doctor just started.
He's not going to deal with any of that.
Another claim that this administration has made.
This one is interesting.
Claim number four, protesters violently assaulted officers, including biting off an agent's finger.
Nome described the aftermath as a violent riot and made a specific allegation.
Cut number six, please.
All right, so here's what we do know, Brian, as far as the facts.
Wait a minute.
I don't know.
Maybe we stick with the fallacy on this one.
I like that somebody bit off somebody's figure.
I like those kind of protesters.
Get a little chomp chomp in.
Wow.
All right, what is, listen.
Just just knowing who said it.
I
know
it's it's false
sure,
but you have the facts
I do back.
Let's
hear it so federal official shared images on social media of Homeland Security agents bloody finger allegedly injured during the protests shortly after the shooting of Alex Prudy protests did gather in Minneapolis chanting and banging on trash cans and other objects Demonstrators dragged garbage dumpsters dumpsters into the street and other locations to block traffic as part of their protest at least one dumpster was
reportedly set on fire during the demonstrations.
Minneapolis State Patrol officers arrested at least two people who crossed police tape during the unrest.
Law enforcement deployed tear gas and flashbang devices as officers pushed crowds back.
No evidence, though, of anybody's finger ever getting bitten off in the altercations.
Big shock.
Wow Frank or Len rather jumps in on the text line and you can't do 8 5 5 7 5 civic 8 5 5 7 5 2 4 8 4 2 Len says he's in Madison who you gonna believe me or your lying eyes watch the videos read the analysis of them most importantly from multiple sources which to Len that's a Wonderful point because if you look all of a sudden the Wall Street Journal yeah, the Washington Post New York Times all these papers that have been
You know kind of kind of kowtowing a little bit to the administration are all independently analyzing these videos
and
all saying the exact same thing so You can Kristi Noem can blather on all she wants The American people know and that's why people are taking to the street we have and you said it and Tim Wall said it we've had enough
yeah
We've had enough.
This
is where it is.
Now, Jamie, that had to be the final
erroneous claim that they made.
No, no, no, no.
Here we go.
Wait, what, there's more?
There were plenty more.
I had to parse through the claims.
But we're going to end with this one.
Okay, this is claim number five.
There are plenty more.
Do some reading.
I encourage you to do a little research on this.
Yes.
Claim number five.
State and city leaders encouraged violence and lawlessness.
Nome accused Governor Tim Walz and Mayor Jacob Frey have encouraging attacks on law enforcement and protecting criminals.
This is cut number seven, please.
So here's what we do know.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has publicly criticized the federal immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis.
He's called for it to end after the fatal shooting of not only Renee Good, but now Alex Pretty.
He described the situation as dangerous.
He urged federal agents to pull out of the state.
He's even urged Minnesotans to remain peaceful and has not encouraged violence in any of his statements.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Fry also criticized the federal presence, questioning the continuation of the operation and its impact on public safety.
This is cut eight, please.
It doesn't sound like he's asking them to go out and be angry.
In fact, he says, be peaceful.
And well, that doesn't matter, Jamie.
His words are not, you know, you didn't hear that correctly.
Potato or potato.
If you listen
closely, yes, he was saying, listen, people of Minneapolis, let's destroy our own city to play right into the hands of this administration's plot.
And of course, of course...
Mayor Fry and Governor Walls are going to urge peace.
It's their city.
It's their state.
They don't want their citizens or their property or anything destroyed.
But that doesn't matter because we're going to stick, and by we, I mean this administration, we're going to stick with our talking points.
We are going to hope that there are enough people that will believe our blather and just take our word for it sight unseen.
Or even if they do watch it, they will believe what we tell them rather than what they see.
which is something that I just can't fathom.
When we come back, we're going to talk to Connie Feldman, she's a civic media reporter from Green Bay.
We'll talk about what was going on there yesterday and what's going on there still today.
We're gonna hear more from Alex Pretty in the next hour too.
There's a lot coming up, so don't go away and always you can jump in 8-5-5-7-5-2-4-8-4-2.
It's 6.48, you're
listening to Civic Media Mornings on the Civic Media Radio Network.
6.52 right now.
Thank you so much for joining us this morning.
If you are listening in Eau Claire on 93.5 The Tap or in La Crosse on WLCX, maybe you're in Richland Center on WRCE.
We are glad that you're along for this very important conversation this morning.
If you're listening to Civic Media Mornings, my name is Jamie Martenson.
And I'm Brian Noonan, and if you want to get involved in the conversation, 855-75 Civic, that's 855-752-4842.
Mark's been hanging on.
He's in prayer to sack.
Hi, Mark.
Yeah, good morning.
I can't help but compare some of this that's going on now to what happened in the occupied countries in Nazi Germany with the, you know, the troopers breaking in and finding people that were hiding in people's attics.
And because Anne Frank, that's where she was.
All those people that were hiding throughout Europe at one point in time, and then the Gestapo and all that were going around looking for them to deport them to detention camps so they could eliminate them, and the quotas that they have for giving people out of this country.
So many of these people, from what I've heard, actually are in the legal process, let the Trump administration decide, oh, we don't want those people here, so we're going to cancel their statuses and ship them out.
People have come here, you know, completely illegally.
And the Biden administration, as the Obama administration before, was actually deporting people, but without these scenes of violence, without this violence going on.
And this is the Trump administration trying to incite violence.
And how long before they declared giving out, I heard you giving out blankets and hot chocolate, how long before they declare that a terrorist act?
Probably watered people in the voting lines.
Thank you so much.
Well, Mark, thanks for the
call.
Yeah.
I mean, and, and those are legitimate questions.
I mean, we've, we've already seen some of these administered this administration, try to, uh, oddly enough, you bring up blankets and hot chocolate, but you've seen them, uh, make sure that we can't make voters comfortable waiting in line, right?
And
so, uh, you know, we're just one step potentially away from saying that this is something you can't do for, for those out protesting.
Michael over on our text line chiming in as well, he says, it seems that Christine Ohm is losing her.
and repeating her lies, she just sounds like she is dialing it in.
Frank from Poignette says, these people are thugs, they are the terrorists, and provoking it all.
If you want to chime in this morning, 1-855-752-4842, 1-855-75 Civic.
I think we got to bring Connie in here, though,
now.
Yeah, we've had, we were hearing all about the protests, obviously, in Minneapolis, but there were many, many protests around the country and in Wisconsin.
Alex Pretty,
As we've learned, grew up in Green Bay, went to high school there, was involved in all sorts of things, and a huge protest in Green Bay yesterday.
Connie Feldman is with us.
She's Civic Media's reporter at WGBW in Green Bay.
Good morning, Connie.
Thanks for being here.
Good morning, guys.
Thanks for having me.
So give us a little update on what happened yesterday because it was not a balmy day to be out protesting in Green Bay.
Now,
still sub zero temperatures here.
Wind chills were between 20 and 30 below, but that didn't stop thousands of people from actually flooding the streets of downtown Green Bay.
Alex was a hometown boy, went to Preble High School here in Green Bay, and people were carrying signs chanting just to have their voice heard.
lot of rebel pride going on here in Green Bay.
And what were you hearing, Connie, from some of the organizers and some of the who want more immigration enforcement in Minneapolis?
Did they have any messages during the protest yesterday?
They
were... How do I say this on the radio?
They had some colorful comments against immigration enforcement.
I read a sign that said Green Bay will tolerate this cold.
We won't tolerate ice.
So they had some strong messages against the type of immigration enforcement going on in Minneapolis.
We want to make sure that something like that doesn't happen here at Green Bay.
Connie Feldman, our guest civic media's reporter at WGBW in Green Bay.
Connie, you mentioned Alex going to Preble High School.
We've talked about the things we saw in the press, but what were you hearing from
people who who knew him when he was younger or there was a statement read from one of his former teachers.
There's a lot to say about him.
Yeah, he was very well loved here in Green Bay, involved in a lot of activities at Preble High School is pretty well known around this area for its music program.
He was also involved in sports.
He ran track and played baseball, but he was a very talented singer.
He was in musicals and show choir there at Preble.
But earlier than that, I spoke to a man who was with Alex in the Green Bay Boys Choir, which is a young people's choir up to age 15.
And what he was saying is Alex is just, he remembers him being a tremendously caring person, very kind, always wanting to help others, help the little kids who were in that choir.
It's pretty prestigious choir here in Green Bay.
What he was telling me is it doesn't surprise him knowing Alex from that young to that he ended up being a nurse an ICU nurse and caring for others and it was he was very angry that what he felt what Alex was doing the type of person he was to help other people out is what ultimately he said ended his life.
We only have just a few seconds here left Connie.
But are you hearing of any other events that might be taking place in the Green Bay area over the next few days?
I would, you know, honestly, I would have to round up things that are going on here.
But I would hate to misinform people so I can't say for sure.
Sure.
We know we appreciate that.
And we appreciate your time this morning, Connie.
Thank you very much.
It's I'm sure
I'm sure it will not be the last time Green Bay residents speak out against what's going on up there.
I'm sure you'll be hearing from us.
Thank you guys for having me.
Connie Feldman is Civic Media's reporter at WGBW in Green Bay.
She has to go and get her 7 o'clock news report ready.
And we've got to start wrapping things up for this hour.
But when we come back, we have a very interesting interview with the Executive Director of Law Enforcement Action Partnership.
This was recorded
prior to this weekend.
We reported it at the end of last week when the big talk was about ICE and their warrants.
We'll get to that.
We'll get to more of your texts and calls at 855-755-248-42.
A lot more to cover on this tragic event.
There is.
It is 6.59 right now.
You're listening to Civic Media Mornings.
I'm Jamie Martinson.
Brian Noonan also joining me on the Civic Media Radio Network.
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