Minneapolis protester killing sparks Hollywood backlash at Sundance Festival

Sundance stars condemn Minneapolis protester killing

Hollywood stars used their red carpet appearances at the Sundance Film Festival on Saturday to condemn the killing of an American protester shot dead on the streets of Minneapolis by federal immigration agents, calling attention to the broader context of the controversial enforcement actions.

Actress Olivia Wilde, in Park City, Utah, for the premiere of The Invite, called the death of a second protester in just three weeks at the hands of federal agents “unfathomable.”

“I can’t believe that we’re watching people get murdered in the street,” she told AFP.

“These brave Americans who have stepped out to protest the injustice of these ICE quote/unquote ‘officers,’ and watching them be murdered — it’s unfathomable. We cannot normalize it.”

Wilde's comments come after the killing of 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti, who died after being pinned to the ground and shot multiple times by federal agents.

Pretti's death came weeks after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer shot and killed Renee Good, also 37, in her car in the city.

Wilde, who wore an "ICE OUT" badge, said the US government violence against people exercising their right to free expression was "un-American."

"We may have a government that is somehow trying to make excuses for it and legitimize it, but we (Americans) don't."

Fellow actress Natalie Portman, who was promoting "The Gallerist," got emotional as she described her feelings over a "horrible day."

"What is happening in our country is just obscene," she told AFP in Park City.

"What (President Donald) Trump and (Homeland Security Secretary) Kristi Noem and ICE are doing to our citizens and to undocumented people is outrageous and needs to end."