Caretakers maintain Alex Pretti memorial despite repeated vandalism

More than nine months after immigration agents disarmed, shot and killed Alex Pretti in the Whittier neighborhood of Minneapolis, the site of his death on Nicollet Avenue is marked with carefully arranged flowers, candles, art and other offerings brought by visitors from near and far. 

As the snow melted in the spring and the flowers accumulated over the winter began to decay, some neighbors took charge of cleaning and refreshing the memorial every day — replacing wilted flowers, clearing snow and dirt and neatly arranging the memorial’s items.

Lately, these caretakers have been facing another challenge: vandalism.

First, it was raw bacon left among the paintings and cards — a common tactic in Islamophobic hate crimes. On Sept. 11, motor oil coated the memorial, an unsuccessful attempt at burning the mementos. Then, raw tuna hidden throughout the flowers and greenery; the memorial’s signature banner cut from its cords and stolen; a bucket appearing to contain human feces.

On several occasions since September, the caretakers arrived at the memorial in the morning to find it had been covered in spray paint overnight. Another time, the vandal emptied a can of truck bed liner over the site, the sticky black substance presenting a new challenge for those who cleaned the items piece by piece. 

The incidents have shaken the community of people who have taken charge of the memorial — and insulted the memory of Pretti, whose killers have yet to be named by authorities or charged in the shooting. Pretti’s parents, speaking publicly for the first time Tuesday, said they’ve had no contact with the federal government since their son’s death. 

“Whatever happens, we will be there to restore and repair and recover and clean,” said Jadah Green, one of the caretakers. “Now I think, ‘Okay, you’re coming with whatever violence you have in your life, and you’re inflicting that on the memorial, and the memorial is just going to generate more love.’”

The Minneapolis Police Department is investigating the vandalism. 

“The reported vandalism is troubling and we recognize the pain the repeated damage has caused the Pretti family and the community members who continue to maintain the memorial in his honor,” Brian Feintech, a spokesperson for the Minneapolis Police Department, said in a statement. “These incidents remain open and active investigations. In the meantime, we hope this site remains a place where people can come together to remember, mourn, and find comfort.”

The memorial has become a site for people to gather, grieve and process — not only Pretti’s death, but the entire impact of Operation Metro Surge and the actions of the Trump administration. 

Jeff Wendelberger, another caretaker, said he’s had hundreds of conversations with visitors to the memorial. Some are neighbors who experienced firsthand the chaos wrought by federal agents on the day of Pretti’s death. Others are international visitors, who view Pretti’s killing as an indication of the rise of fascism in America, Wendelberger said. 

Shortly after the immigration agents shot and killed Pretti, Wendelberger rushed to the scene, just a few blocks from his home, and joined in the protest. After the agents left in a cloud of tear gas, he vowed to stay near the scene, to tell visitors exactly what happened that day. 

The killing was “an absolute desecration, not only to our community and our neighbors — our neighborhood — but to humanity,” Wendelberger said. 

He also vowed to clean up the physical remnants of the agents’ presence there — the spent pepper balls and gas canisters, more and more appearing over time as the snow melted. That cleanup work naturally transitioned into caring for the memorial. 

Susan Pretti, the mother of Alex Pretti, said Tuesday that the memorial represents her family’s connection to Minneapolis and what the city experienced during Operation Metro Surge. (Susan and Michael Pretti, Alex’s father, live in Colorado.)

“It means a great deal to us that someone — many people — give their time and effort to take care of it,” Susan Pretti said. “What lovely people.”