‘Banality of evil is going to kill this country’: Former King County sheriff lambasts lawmakers’ silence

After 37-year-old Alex Pretti, an intensive care nurse, was killed by a U.S. Border Patrol officer in Minneapolis Saturday, the Trump administration tried to portray him as an armed disruptor intent on harming agents, but videos tell a different story, The Associated Press reported.

Former King County Sheriff John Urquhart rebuked the federal government’s claims on “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio.

‘Not true’: Former King County sheriff rebuts Trump admin. on shooting

“They said he was brandishing a weapon — not true. He was a domestic terrorist — not true. This was an assassination attempt of federal agents — this is not true. That he came armed to shoot federal agents — not true. That he brought a gun to a peaceful demonstration. Who does that? Well, a lot of people do that. They brought guns to Charlottesville, brought guns to the demonstrations in Olympia, to the governor’s mansion. So that’s not the least bit unusual, and it’s totally legal,” Urquhart remarked.

“Federal agents were acting in self-defense — that’s not true. Threatening a massacre of law enforcement — not true. Agents feared for their lives — not true. He had a gun; only criminals carry guns — again, not true. Everything they’ve said was not true, based on the video evidence that we have from several different angles and now from sworn depositions filed in federal court by two witnesses, one of whom was five feet away from the shooting,” he continued.

Urquhart noted Pretti was disarmed before he was shot nine or 10 times.

“You cannot do that. A police officer cannot shoot somebody because he used to be armed, or even that he may be armed; they can only shoot them if there is a clear and present threat of serious bodily harm,” he added.

Former King County sheriff urges people to look at the evidence

Urquhart urged people, regardless of political affiliation, to look at the evidence presented.

“Look at the video and come to your own conclusions,” he said.

Urquhart believes Pretti could have been easily handcuffed, and deadly force was not necessary.

“This is unprecedented, and that’s why it’s so disappointing to me as a law enforcement officer who’s been in this job for umpteen decades, who knows how it should be done, and it’s not being done, and that’s scary as hell,” he said.

Lawmakers on both sides slammed for silence

Urquhart criticized lawmakers on both sides of the aisle for staying silent.

“There’s a philosopher who talked about the banality of evil, about World War II and about Germany specifically, the banality of evil when people in the face of wrongdoing, do nothing, and that’s really what’s going on in this country,” he said.

“It’s not just the Republicans that don’t want to speak out, even on this particular situation. John Fetterman, good Democrat from the state of Pennsylvania, has not said one d*** word about this shooting. That is the banality of evil that allows this to continue. I swear to God, every single senator, every single representative, ought to be standing on the rooftop talking about this. It’s the banality of evil that’s going to kill this country,” he continued.

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.