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Former MLB Gold Glove outfielder Kole Calhoun tore into the Trump administration Monday after the Border Patrol-involved shooting in Minnesota over the weekend.
Calhoun posted a lengthy statement on his Instagram Stories, starting with his claim that Alex Pretti — the Minneapolis man who was shot and killed Saturday — was “immediately murdered.”
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Los Angeles Angels right fielder Kole Calhoun (56) runs the bases after hitting a solo home run against the Boston Red Sox during the eighth inning at Fenway Park on August 11, 2019. (Brian Fluharty/USA TODAY Sports)
He then recalled his playing days for the Los Angeles Angels, Arizona Diamondbacks, Texas Rangers and Cleveland Guardians, and how he played with teammates from different backgrounds and was happy to see some of them able to send money back to their home countries to help their families buy houses.
The 38-year-old Arizona native said he used to sit in the middle of the political discourse and tried to stay out of the conversation for the most part. But that was until the latest shooting involving federal officers took place.
“The United States we live in now could not be more divided, but this is a turning point,” he said. “The images and videos from Minnesota are alarming on all fronts, that what this country was built on and our core values ​​as a society are under attack. There is (a) right way to do things and a wrong way, and the tactics on display for the world to see, those designed to instill fear and intimidation to recruit for this administration, are the wrong way.
Texas Rangers left fielder Kole Calhoun (56) throws the ball into the infield during the sixth inning against the Seattle Mariners at Globe Life Field on July 16, 2022. (Jerome Miron/USA TODAY Sports)
BRUCE PEARL RIVER TIM WALZ, DEMOCRAT AFTER MINNESOTA SHOOTING INVOLVED WITH BORDER PATROL
“What this administration is doing when it comes to immigration is blatantly racist, targeting people based on the color of their skin or the sound of their last name. There is a much more civilized way to do this that involves working with state officials as opposed to imposing the administration’s will on a state whose citizens have stood up for their neighbors and said this is not right!
“I’ve been silent because it’s easy. But silence is a privilege and silence is complicit. Standing up and speaking up for what you believe in takes courage. I don’t care what side you’re on or who you voted for, it’s wrong. It’s wrong and it’s infringing on the basic freedoms we have in this country. Wake up! Speak out!”
In the wake of the shooting, Border Patrol Agent Gregory Bovino, the face of the Trump administration’s campaign to arrest and deport criminal illegal immigrants, will leave Minnesota, along with some border agents, amid violent and sometimes deadly clashes between federal authorities and anti-ICE agitators.
Bovino and an unspecified number of U.S. Border Patrol agents will leave the state as soon as Tuesday, multiple federal sources told Pakinomist.
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent raises a finger moments after detaining a man during an immigration raid, days after an ICE agent fatally shot Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 18, 2026. (Leah Millis/Reuters)
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President Donald Trump said earlier Monday that he spoke with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey about the shooting.
