Jemele Hill has called on President Donald Trump to do some ‘soul searching’ following a wave of federal agent shootings in Minneapolis.
The city has been gripped by unrest following the deaths of 37-year-old Veterans Affairs nurse Alex Pretti and 37-year-old mother Renee Nicole Good in recent weeks.
Pretti was fatally shot by federal agents on Saturday during an immigration enforcement operation, less than three weeks after Good was killed by ICE agents in the same city.
The former ESPN personality claimed the deployment of ICE is a ‘rogue and lawless’ act of political retaliation that is ‘terrorizing the people of Minneapolis’.
Speaking to reporters at LAX on Tuesday, Hill did not hold back as she addressed the escalating crisis in the Midwest.
‘What I think is that, in the last month, we have seen two American citizens executed in the streets,’ Hill said to TMZ.
Former ESPN star Jemele Hill has ripped into ICE after the death of two American citizens
Hill called on US president Donald Trump to do some ‘soul-searching’ after the tragedies
‘We have a rogue and lawless law enforcement agency in ICE terrorizing the people of Minneapolis. It’s clear political retaliation.’
Hill questioned whether the current administration’s tactics reflect the core principles of the country.
‘We have to decide is this the kind of leadership that we really feel like is reflective of the American values that we say that we have,’ she added.
‘The shame of it is, not only did we have two citizens who were murdered in the street but we had federal officials in very high positions lying to the American people, as if we didn’t see the video,’ she said.
She also noted that Black communities are all too familiar with the reality of state-sanctioned violence.
‘Unfortunately, when it comes to state violence in particular, Black people know exactly what this is, because we’ve seen this happen too many times,’ Hill remarked.
The commentator stated she hopes the recent tragedies serve as a major ‘inflection point’ for the United States.
Video shows agents wrestling with Pretti and taking him to the ground before he was shot
Alex Jeffrey Pretti was gunned down during a struggle with federal agents in Minneapolis
Renee Good was shot to death by ICE agents in Minneapolis earlier this month
‘I just really hope this is a real inflection point. I hope Donald Trump is able to do some soul-searching,’ she continued.
‘I hope he can understand that what he’s unleashed is going to tear the fabric of this country apart.’
Hill’s comments come amid reports of ICE agents being deployed to provide security for the upcoming Super Bowl in Santa Clara.
The Trump administration has remained firm on its immigration policies despite the growing ‘ICE OUT’ protests spreading nationwide.
