Early Friday morning, caretakers arrived at Alex Pretti’s memorial, finding it doused in two gallons of synthetic motor oil.
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Motor oil is not flammable, and much of the memorial remains unharmed. Volunteer caretakers quickly gathered throughout the morning to wash the ground and chairs, and to clean offerings that visitors leave at the site. Caretakers expect the site to be cleaned and reset by the end of the day as volunteers continue arriving to help.
Minneapolis police responded to the scene.
Alex Pretti was disarmed, restrained, then shot and killed by federal agents on Jan. 24 during Operation Metro Surge, weeks after agents shot and killed Renee Good. Volunteer caretakers have looked after the memorial site ever since.
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Minnesota Reformer is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Minnesota Reformer maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor J. Patrick Coolican for questions: [email protected].
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