The “woman in the pink coat” seen filming Department of Homeland Security agents murdering Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday came forward for a lengthy interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper Tuesday. Her name is Stella Carlson, and she was on her way to work to paint children’s faces at a church when she heard the sound of whistles, got out of her car and began recording what is now crucial evidence in the Pretti killing. She said she came forward to identify herself in the hope that DHS agents would do the same.
Carlson’s sometimes tearful comments are both inspiring and chilling.
“I couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” she said about Pretti’s murder. “I knew he was gone because I watched it.” She also described the DHS agents “ripping his clothes open with scissors” and “maneuvering his body around like a rag doll, only to discover that it could be because they wanted to count the bullet wounds … like he’s a deer. … Like they’re in a video game. They were looking at us and laughing.”
After Carlson expressed a feeling of impotence, Cooper said, “You documented this. You didn’t run away.”
“I am not one to run when I’m afraid,” she replied. “No way was I going to leave Alex by himself, undocumented. That wasn’t an option. I mean, obviously, somebody was just executed in the street. I knew I was in danger, we all were. But I wasn’t going to leave if we weren’t all cleared out. … I knew that this was a moment and we all have to be brave and we all have to take risks.”
Was Pretti’s death a murder? Cooper asked.
“Yes, I know it is. It was an assassination in full view, in the middle of the streets, of somebody who has served our country and continues to at the veterans’ hospital,” Carlson said. “Nobody should have to worry about being assassinated in their streets, especially in America.”
Also shocking is the fact that Carlson said nobody from the federal government has contacted her despite the fact they claim to be investigating what happened. “Their goal is to protect themselves and to spin stories,” she added.
Carlson went on to express the fear, frustration and heartache I’m sure many others in Minnesota and across the country share. “There’s nobody who can step in to protect us [from] all of those human rights violations,” she said. “This is only the beginning of a very long road … We’re all ready to move forward with productive ways to make this better. But how do we do that when our local officials in the state of Minnesota also have their hands tied?”
She called her seminal video “one small thing I can do." Even though worries about becoming a target. She hopes that her actions will inspire others to do the same.
“We only have each other,” Carlson said.
