Witness to One Shooting, Arrested at Another: The Federal Coincidence Machine
📰 THE STORY: The Intercept reports that a man who was a witness to an earlier police shooting was arrested by federal agents at the scene of the killing of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, on unrelated outstanding warrants. This arrest, occurring during heightened tension around another incident of police violence, raises eyebrows about the timing and federal presence. 🔍 WHAT THEY'RE NOT TELLING YOU:
Historical Context: This isn't an isolated incident. The FBI has a storied history of infiltrating and disrupting activist movements, from COINTELPRO operations against civil rights and anti-war groups in the 1960s-70s, to more recent surveillance of Black Lives Matter and Indigenous rights activists (e.g., Standing Rock in 2016). State repression is a feature, not a bug, of maintaining systems of
power. Double Standard: When police witness or are involved in shootings, they are often given days, weeks, or even months before being questioned, if at all, and their accounts are frequently taken at face value. Yet, an activist present at a scene is immediately targeted for arrest on 'unrelated' charges, effectively removing a potential witness and sending a chilling message to others. The
system protects its own, while scrutinizing its critics through a microscope. Follow the Money: The budgets for federal law enforcement agencies like the FBI and DHS have ballooned for 'domestic security' and 'counter-terrorism' post-9/11. These funds, often justified by vague threats, are routinely diverted to surveil and suppress domestic dissent. Billions flow from taxpayers into these