WINDHAM-On Jan. 13, amid widespread killings of demonstrators in Iran, President Trump posted on Truth Social "Iranian Patriots, keep protesting-take over your institutions!!! Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price."
However, Trump justified the killing of Renée Good in Minneapolis, falsely claiming she "willfully and viciously" ran over a federal immigration officer who was "recovering in the hospital." (Video evidence shows the agent, Jonathan Ross, briskly walking away after shooting Good.)
Vice President J.D. Vance and other White House officials (sounding remarkably like Ayatollah Ali Khamenei) dutifully parroted that Good and her wife were "professional left-wing agitators" engaged in an act of "domestic terrorism." The Department of Justice already has exonerated Ross and blocked Minnesota officials from conducting their own investigation.
When Alex Pretti was killed by two federal officers - later identified as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez - Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and FBI Director Kash Patel rushed to judgment, branding Pretti a "violent agitator" who intended to massacre agents.
Videos show Pretti holding a phone, not a gun. He was shot numerous times while at least four ICE and border patrol officers restrained him. Trump, instead of calling for an investigation, blamed the Minneapolis police for not protecting these agents.
Why does the president call Iranian demonstrators "patriots" but brand American demonstrators insurrectionists? Why does he say that Iranian security forces will pay a big price for killing demonstrators while his administration does nothing to hold ICE accountable for shooting Good and Pretti?
It's time for Americans to adopt the advice Trump tweeted to Iranians. Remember the names of not just the shooters, but also Trump's appointees and the politicians who condone the Homeland Security agencies' unrestrained brutality.
They need to pay a big price next November, if not sooner.
Bill Dunkel
Windham
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