Katy Perry, other celebrities urge citizen action after Minnesota shootings

By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON, Jan 26 (Reuters) – Singer Katy Perry and other U.S. celebrities have called for citizens to contact lawmakers and speak out against federal immigration officials’ killing of two U.S. citizens during the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota.

Perry asked her Instagram followers on Monday to write to their U.S. senators and urge them to oppose funding for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, which is a part of the Department of Homeland Security.

The killings this month of Renee Good, a mother of three, and intensive care nurse Alex Pretti have sparked demonstrations against President Donald Trump’s surge of agents in Minnesota.

“The Last of Us” star Pedro Pascal posted drawings of Good and Pretti on Instagram with the message: “Pretti Good reason for a national strike.”

Singer Billie Eilish, also posting on Instagram, called Pretti “a real American hero” and urged others to raise their voices: “hey my fellow celebrities u gonna speak up? or”.

The National Basketball Players Association, the union for NBA players, issued a statement on Sunday that players “can no longer remain silent.”

“Now more than ever, we must defend the right to freedom of speech and stand in solidarity with the people in Minnesota protesting and risking their lives to demand justice,” it said.

Trump administration officials said the recent killings were acts of self-defense by officers, although video evidence from the scenes contradicted that characterization.

U.S. celebrities have often spoken out on behalf of social and political causes. Many criticized police brutality after the killing of George Floyd and U.S. ally Israel’s assault on Gaza.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Edmund Klamann)