The US celebrities speaking out after shootings in ICE surge
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Several celebrities have recently taken to social media to express their outrage over the fatal shootings of two individuals in Minneapolis by federal agents.

Alex Pretti and Renee Good lost their lives during operations conducted by federal agents purportedly targeting illegal immigrants. The White House has described both incidents as acts of “self-defense” against “domestic terrorists” and “assassins.”

However, local authorities remain doubtful about the legitimacy of these claims, as footage captured by witnesses at the scenes appears to challenge the federal accounts.

Renee Good and Alex Pretti were both shot dead by US federal agents. (Supplied)

There are also accusations against ICE and Border Patrol agents for other violent actions in the city, even against those who are legal citizens.

Following Pretti’s death—where he reportedly approached agents while carrying a licensed firearm—Hollywood stars are now raising their voices in protest.

Two celebrities known for speaking their values – The Last of Us star Pedro Pascal and singer Billie Eilish – were among the loudest.

Pascal shared multiple posts to his Instagram Sunday night drawing attention to the killing of both Pretti and Good.

One of Pascal’s posts included drawings of Pretti and Good with the words “Pretti Good reason for a national strike” along with snippets from a New York Times editorial titled “Two People Are Dead. Americans Deserve to Know the Truth.”

Writing on Instagram, Pascal said: “Truth is a line of demarcation between a democratic government and an authoritarian regime. Mr Pretti and Renee Good are dead. The American people deserve to know what happened.” He also tagged the New York Times.

Pedro Pascal
Actor Pedro Pascal. (Getty)

On Instagram, Eilish posted to her stories several times, including one calling Pretti “a real American hero”.

Eilish called out the overwhelming silence from many of America’s cultural luminaries, posting a selfie with the words: “hey my fellow celebrities u gonna speak up? or”

Actor Tessa Thompson, who has previously protested ICE, posted a message to her Instagram story saying “This is what service and protection looks like” along with a clip of media coverage.

Tessa Thompson at the fifth annual Academy Museum Gala on Saturday, October 18, 2025, at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles.
Tessa Thompson has been known for her anti-ICE messaging. (Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Billie Eilish urged her fellow celebrities to speak up. (Getty)

By Monday morning, singer Katy Perry was urging her Instagram followers to write to their senators.

“I could not be prouder to be American right now, by the way the Americans are acting. And I could not be sadder to be American right now with the way the government is behaving,” Portman told Deadline.

Actor and comedian DL Hughley also posted to social media – though earlier than most, shortly after Good’s shooting.

”There is no living with this Trump magafascism. It must be removed from power before it commits even more horrific atrocities and forcibly shuts down any real possibility of resistance.”

Hughley also shared a quote from poet Langston Hughes which read, “Fascism is a new name for the terror black people have always faced in America.”

Elsewhere, actors Mark Ruffalo and Glenn Close, no strangers to speaking out, also condemned the violence by federal agents.

FEBRUARY 12:
Mark Ruffalo is no stranger to speaking his mind. (Getty)
“Alex Pretti is a hero,” Ruffalo wrote on Bluesky, resharing a post about Pretti being a nurse with the Veterans Administration and a dog owner.

Prior to that he also shared a link to the video of Pretti being shot, writing: “Cold blooded murder in the streets of the USA by an occupying military gang, creating havoc. We have fought wars in other countries for less than this.”

On Instagram, Close read from prepared remarks, saying that while she has been mostly out of the country since September, she has “watched, with the rest of the world, our democracy being systematically disemboweled and torn apart.”

Meanwhile, some Republicans in Congress are pushing for a deeper investigation into the shootings, and the White House has walked back some of its more flammatory rhetoric, but has warned protesters not to impede federal officers.

After weeks of sniping at each other, US President Donald Trump and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz actually spoke by phone, with both charactersing the conversation as positive.

Trump posted about his conversation with Governor Tim Walz. (Truth Social)

Trump wrote in a social media post earlier Monday that the two “actually” seem to be on the same page in wanting to work together on immigration issues in Minnesota.

He said the people the administration is seeking “are any and all Criminals that they have in their possession” and Walz “very respectfully, understood that.”

Walz’s office released a statement saying the White House had agreed to look into either reducing the number of federal agents in Minnesota or working with the state “in a more coordinated fashion on immigration enforcement regarding violent criminals.”

With CNN and Associated Press.

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