GREEN BAY (NBC26) — Hundreds of protesters gathered in downtown Green Bay on Sunday to call for an end to ICE operations following the death of Alex Pretti, a Green Bay native who was shot and killed during an encounter with federal agents in Minneapolis on Saturday.
The demonstration was described by organizers as the largest of several protests across Wisconsin on Sunday, with participants marching through the streets carrying signs and chanting against Immigration and Customs Enforcement policies.
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"It really strikes home," said Steve Herro, a De Pere resident who joined the march.
Joselyn Torbenson, a Preble High School alumnus who graduated a few years after Pretti, was among those calling for change.
"Today I cried," Torbenson said. "This is one that brought me to an hour of tears."
Bella Scott, a Green Bay resident and ICU nurse, attended the protest after learning about Pretti's connection to her community. Scott said her classmate knew Pretti personally through work at the VA hospital in Minneapolis.
"His preceptor at the VA in Minneapolis was Alex Pretti, and I just want to say I am thinking of him and his family. Everyone in Minnesota. Everyone I know and don't know," Scott said.
Scott described Pretti as someone who dedicated his life to caring for others, both professionally and personally.
"Not only was he an amazing nurse, he was an amazing person, always caring for other people, that was just his line of work. And as we saw the way that he ended his life was still caring for other people," Scott said.
Herro said he participated in the demonstration to show solidarity with those affected by immigration enforcement.
"I'm out here in solidarity with those who are being intimidated, harassed, unjustifiably arrested," Herro said.
Protesters are calling for justice for Pretti and pushing for changes to immigration enforcement policies. Some community members have started a memorial at Preble High School's main entrance.
