author of books & stories with an adventurous spin
Scandal and Subterfuge in the Race to Reach the North Pole? The two men who claimed to have reached the North Pole first would stop at nothing to hold the coveted title. Please check out the story, excerpted and adapted from my book Mysteries of the National Parks, in the Saturday Evening Post!
A modern road trip along the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail in Missouri and Illinois reveals forts, mounds, river towns, outdoor adventures, and quiet surprises. Check out the story and photos in the digital edition of Terrain Magazine!
A springtime road trip along the Natchez Trace Parkway, which stretches 444 miles across the Deep South, reveals fascinating historic sites and fun woodland adventures. Come along for the ride at Blue Ridge Outdoors!
From a half-million symmetrical lakes to a lost gold mine, our national parks and public lands are home to fascinating and bizarre mysteries you can unravel on the ground. Read more at outsideonline.com!
The recent killings of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis and other practices by masked ICE officers appear to violate the U.S. constitution in several ways. These constitutional violations seemingly provide an opportunity for widespread bipartisan and nonpartisan opposition to ICE practices around the country.
Yesterday (Jan 24, 2026), masked ICE officers appear to have initiated an assault against U.S. citizen Alex Pretti, a nurse at a local Veterans Affairs hospital. During that assault, ICE officers discovered Pretti’s licensed firearm, which he was lawfully carrying but had made no attempts to brandish or use. While simultaneously beating Pretti, ICE officers took possession of this firearm shortly before killing Pretti.
ICE officials have made several conflicting statements, including claiming that Pretti approached officers with a gun in his hand and that he later resisted efforts to disarm him. However, bystander videos directly contradict official ICE statements.
Summary and Analysis of Incident
I have closely analyzed various videos, and I offer the following summary and analysis of the event.
Before the incident began, bystander videos show that Pretti was directing traffic and using his phone to film an encounter between two protesting women and ICE Officer #1.
The two women can be identified throughout the incident given that one is wearing an orange backpack and the other is wearing a brown leather jacket. These two women blow whistles while approaching ICE Officer #1, who is about to enter a black SUV.
ICE officer #1 is wearing a black mask, but his involvement in the incident can be followed by identifying his tan beanie, green jacket, blue jeans, tan backpack, and a pair of tan hanging side holsters. ICE Officer #1 next appears to shove these two women away from the black SUV and in the direction of the oncoming car that Pretti had been directing forward.
Pretti steps forward yelling: “Hey, do not push them into the traffic.”
The two women move across the street, and Pretti simultaneously moves toward them.
ICE Officer #1 crosses the street and engages Pretti by shoving him back. The woman in brown leather jacket then embraces Pretti, followed by ICE Officer #1 advancing again and shoving Pretti back a second time, which causes the woman in brown leather jacket to move with him.
Next, ICE Officer #1 forcefully shoves the woman with orange backpack to the ground.
ICE Officer #1 begins widely pepper spraying Pretti and both women. In response, Pretti raises his hands and steps backward, moving to shield the woman with orange backpack and possibly help her to her feet.
ICE Officer #1 starts to yank Pretti away, while Pretti briefly clutches the woman with orange backpack.
Other ICE officers now join the fracas, helping to further separate Pretti, followed by taking him to the ground nearby.
While Pretti is restrained, ICE Officer #1 beats Pretti with the pepper spray can.
Another ICE officer in a gray jacket comes over and removes a firearm from Pretti’s waistband.
Immediately after this, a different ICE officer pulls out his firearm and begins to fire shots at Pretti. This is immediately followed by ICE Officer #1, who pulls out his firearm and also fires shots. A total of at least ten shots are fired at Pretti, killing him.
ICE Practices Violate Second and Fourth Amendments
Through their actions, ICE officers may have violated Pretti’s Second Amendment right to lawfully bear arms. Thus, federal ICE officers may have potentially violated a founding provision of the U.S. Constitution, which needs to be thoroughly investigated.
Today (Jan 25), at least one ICE official has stated the Second Amendment does not apply in Pretti’s case. Under that argument, ICE adopts the position that even in engagements that ICE initiates or escalates against US citizens, whether on purpose or accident, that those individuals’ Second Amendment rights and potentially other civil liberties are suspended.
That should be deeply troubling to all US citizens given that ICE is also currently claiming that it can conduct raids and enter homes based solely on administrative warrants that ICE itself produces, as opposed to judicial warrants signed by a neutral judge.
Warrantless ICE raids seem to be a violation of the Fourth Amendment’s provision outlawing unreasonable searches and seizures by the federal government. The Fourth Amendment applies to all people currently within the boundaries of the United States, regardless of their citizenship or resident status.
How You Can Respond
Write letters to your congressional representative and two senators, or you can call and leave a message.
Request that congress order an immediate investigation of ICE and the killings of US citizens Alex Pretti and Renee Good.
Any investigation should also examine other actions by ICE officers, agents, and officials across the country, including other killings, shootings, and searches that have not received such scrutiny.
Consider mentioning to your rep and senators that you are aware of their sworn oath to protect and defend the U.S. Constitution, which is supposed to supersede allegiance to political party or president, and that you will consider their response to this situation during future elections.
Please feel free to copy or adapt any part of this message for use in your own letter.
To assist you, here are two relevant links:
Write your U.S. senators via the official Senate website:
https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm
Write your U.S. rep using the Find Your Representative feature on the HOR website:
https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative
During the epic 2025 season, I set out in mid-January to see how many Southeast and Mid-Atlantic winter resorts I could hit during a whirlwind sixteen-day road trip. The answer was seventeen resorts spread across six states. By the end, I wasn’t exactly “running” on fumes. It was more like limping on coffee. Check out the story for Blue Ridge Outdoors!
Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area makes for a surprisingly adventurous destination on the Pennsylvania-New Jersey state line. Check out the story at Blue Ridge Outdoors!
A cycling adventure on the connected Silver Comet and Chief Ladiga Trails has much to offer Southern riders. Check out the story in the biking issue of Blue Ridge Outdoors!
From unexplained phenomena to baffling disappearances, follow the clues while discovering our country’s treasured protected areas.
“It felt like paddling through soggy cereal. My wife and I were deep within Everglades National Park, struggling to kayak past dense mats of periphyton, a mass of algae, fungi and other organisms. Making matters worse, numerous water trail markers were missing, seemingly swept away by recent hurricanes. After several confusing detours, the sun was getting low, and we were getting worried…”
After a long break from multiday paddling, a self-support kayak trip on the rugged Big South Fork of Cumberland River reveals tips, mistakes, and best practices for overnight kayaking and rafting trips. Check out the full article at Blue Ridge Outdoors!