ICE

The new video of Alex Pretti busting the taillight of a federal vehicle days before being shot to death is very critical to the shooting ... but not for the reasons you might think.

Harvey Levin's been stewing on the new footage of Pretti violently clashing with federal immigration officers -- with a gun in the waistband of his pants -- 11 days before being shot and killed by CBP agents ... and he's got a lot of thoughts, and even more questions.

First off, Harvey says Alex clearly crossed a line and is lucky he didn't get arrested ... and he's also giving these agents props for using the appropriate amount of force with Alex.

Stacey Abrams may not be a congresswoman anymore, but she's very much locked in ... she told us the bloodshed we've been seeing in Minnesota is a direct result of a "military occupation of American cities," which "cannot stand."

We caught up with the voting-rights activist and former candidate for Georgia governor at LAX yesterday, where she explained ... "We are in the midst of an authoritarian takeover by the Republican party led by Donald Trump."

According to Abrams, "Their intention is to dismantle democracy as we understand it and our responsibility is civil resistance."

Holy open mic, Batman ... the Dark Knight rose up in Santa Clara earlier this week to slam the city council's cooperation with ICE!

A man dressed as the Caped Crusader -- identified as "Batman" on the monitor Tuesday -- swooped down on the podium like Gotham's defender himself ... instantly launching into a tirade which began with an expletive.

In the 3-minute speech, Batman accuses the city council of allowing the federal government to walk all over them ... and, he expresses his concern about hundreds of masked men coming to Santa Clara. As you know, the federal government announced in October ICE agents will be present at Levi's Stadium on Feb. 8, the day of the Super Bowl ... but sources told TMZ Sports today there is no plan for ICE to conduct immigration enforcement at the site, so details remain sketchy.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement will have a presence in the San Francisco area next weekend, according to DHS, but there are a few places ICE won't be arresting undocumented people ... at the actual Super Bowl.

Sources tell TMZ Sports there is no plan for ICE to be at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, February 8 ... meaning there will be no immigration enforcement at the site of Super Bowl LV.

We're also told there hasn't been talk of ICE enforcing immigration policy at NFL-sponsored events across the Bay Area in the days leading up to kickoff.

Yet another new angle of the newest video of Alex Pretti tussling with federal agents in Minneapolis, 11 days before he was shot to death, has surfaced ... and you can see the violent altercation and clearly hear the insults he hurled at the officers leading up to the scuffle.

Watch the intense video recorded on January 13 -- at about 17 minutes in, Pretti trots up as a crowd forms around two SUVs blocking traffic ... he shouts insults at the agents and eagerly flips them the bird, and dares them to pepper-spray him and assault him.

An agent confronts him, then backs off as they get into their SUVs ... you can see Pretti spit toward the open rear door, then kick the vehicle's taillight. At that point, agents get back out and wrestle him to the ground as protesters continue to scream at the agents.

We showed you another angle of the same chaos Wednesday, with a closer view of the late ICU nurse being slammed to the ground. He's somehow able to get up ... and the protest continues on as agents deploy tear gas to break up the crowds of angry residents and drive off.

Lady Gaga took a moment at her concert in Japan to blast ICE ... calling out the way they "mercilessly" target families in a passionate speech.

The singer-songwriter was performing in Tokyo Thursday night ... when she took a break from playing songs to get real about the state of the USA.

Gaga says she's headed back home after her incredibly successful 'Mayhem Ball' tour ... and her heart's aching for all the families dealing with immigration raids and other scary situations with the federal law enforcement agency.

Alex Pretti busted the tail light of a federal agent's SUV days before he was shot to death ... and the tense exchange -- while he was armed -- played out on camera.

The Minneapolis ICU nurse, who was killed by Customs and Border Protection officers Saturday, appears in a video reportedly recorded January 13 and published by The News Movement. Pretti's wearing a remarkably similar outfit to the one he wore 11 days later when he was shot.

The clip starts with Pretti yelling and appearing to spit on the vehicle as federal officers are driving away from the area ... before he brings his foot up and kicks and shatters the rear right tail light, leaving it hanging by cords.

Bruce Springsteen went for the jugular on his new track "Streets of Minneapolis" ... trashing the Trump Administration's attitude and actions against the city and its ongoing unrest.

Springsteen dropped the track accompanied by a statement n his website, explaining he wrote the song on Saturday, recorded it Tuesday, and released it today ... he dedicated it to the citizens of Minneapolis, immigrant neighbors, and the memories of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, who were both shot and killed by federal agents in the city this month.

Springsteen makes several references to "King Trump" and brands federal officers "thugs."

He also calls out "dirty lies" pushed by Trump adviser Stephen Miller and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, who both defended the actions of the federal officers who killed Pretti and falsely labeled him a terrorist.

Noem claimed Pretti brandished a gun at the agents who shot him ... though video later showed he never touched his firearm, which he was legally permitted to carry. Miller also alleged without evidence Pretti "tried to murder federal agents."

Springsteen's song finishes with a pledge to "remember the names of those who died on the streets of Minneapolis."

Springsteen isn't the only one who's spoken out about the unrest in the Twin Cities recently ... celebrities like Billie Eilish and Jimmy Kimmel have been loud about federal immigration activity in Minnesota.

Actor and comedian John Leguizamo is drawing a line in the ICE ... telling fans if they support U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement -- then don't bother supporting his work.

He laid it out crystal clear in his Instagram Story on Wednesday ... demanding folks who are happy with the way ICE is carrying out their work to stop buying tickets to his shows and watching his films, and says they should unfollow his social media as well.

John's command comes as tensions continue to boil following the shooting death of Alex Pretti Saturday in Minneapolis. While the Department of Homeland Security initially said Pretti approached agents with his weapon drawn ... video shows he never brandished his concealed firearm.

Ice-T might share a common name with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but that's where the similarities end ... he told us citizens should be careful, even when protesting peacefully ... because ICE agents might attack.

We got the rapper and actor out in NYC Tuesday, where he had a message to his fans in Minnesota who are demonstrating their dissent against violent immigration raids ... "Stand strong and stay out the way. These cats will kill you."

The Grammy winner has actually been outspoken against ICE for a while now. Clips from an old live show have been making the rounds lately, showing Ice-T changing the lyrics of his classic "Cop Killer," singing "ICE Killer" instead.

Since then, things have sadly gotten much worse.

Following weeks of protest in Minnesota, residents of Phoenix, Arizona are now responding to federal agents descending on their city … and fresh video shows a crowd blasted by pepper-spray in a drive-by attack by DHS officers.

In new video, protesters gather at a sidewalk to yell at two trucks driving past ... and get hosed in their faces by pepper-spray without real provocation. Watch the clip ... people hold signs and chant in the parking lot of Zipps Sports Grill in north Phoenix when two unmarked pickup trucks pull up.

The video shows the passenger-side window of the second truck open, and a torrent of pepper-spray is fired at the group standing on the sidewalk. The men inside -- later identified by a local news outlet as HSI officers -- drive off as one pedestrian is brought to their knees by the chemicals.

Chaos at a Minnesota town hall where Rep. Ilhan Omar was speaking ... a man rushed up to the podium and squirted her with an unknown substance ... and it's all on video.

The Congresswoman was meeting in her Minneapolis district Tuesday for her first town hall since Border Patrol agents shot and killed Alex Pretti when she was approached by the liquid-spraying maniac.

Omar had just called on Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to resign when the man leapt out of his seat and charged at her ... squirting her top with an unknown, liquid substance.

Jemele Hill says President Donald Trump's deployment of ICE is tearing the fabric of the United States apart ... and, she hopes he can do some soul-searching before it's too late.

We ran into the TV personality at LAX on Tuesday ... and, we asked her about the recent killings of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota, as well as the ongoing unrest in the city.

Hill says Americans have witnessed two state-sanctioned executions in the streets this month alone ... and high-ranking government officials lied about at least one of them.

The fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by federal agents Saturday in Minneapolis has seen an explosion of sympathy and support from across the nation over the past three days ... but not from Megyn Kelly.

The conservative commentator blasted the late ICU nurse's conduct on Monday's episode of "The Megyn Kelly Show" and flat-out said she doesn't feel sorry for Pretti.

Kelly criticized people protesting violent immigration enforcement actions in Minneapolis ... she said if she had to protest publicly, she'd do so by standing on the sidewalk -- and not "interfering" with officials.

She said Pretti was part of a group of "organized agitators" who were looking to interfere with authorities ... and described him as "subversive."

Megyn added Pretti was attempting to "cause trouble" for federal agents -- and the trouble "came back on him."

Pretti, who was recording a group of federal agents, was shot and killed after he was wrestled to the ground and assaulted by several U.S. Border Patrol agents. He had a concealed weapon and a legal permit to carry it.

Trump Administration officials have claimed the shooting was self-defense, but multiple videos show Pretti did not brandish his gun, and was not attacking or resisting the agents.

Two different agents shot at Alex Pretti in the incident Saturday that left him dead ... this according to a Department of Homeland Security report to Congress.

Customs and Border Protection relayed the results of its initial investigation into the shooting of Pretti ... admitting to Congress a Border Patrol agent and a Customs and Border Protection officer both fired their guns.

According to CNN, the report reads ... "CBP personnel attempted to take Pretti into custody. Pretti resisted CBP personnel’s efforts and a struggle ensued. During the struggle, a (Border Patrol agent) yelled, ‘He’s got a gun!’ multiple times. Approximately five seconds later, a (Border Patrol agent) discharged his CBP-issued Glock 19 and a (Customs and Border Protection officer) also discharged his CBP-issued Glock 47 at Pretti.”

Attorney and cohost of "The MeidasTouch" podcast Ben Meiselas is weighing in on a question on the back of all of our minds ahead of Super Bowl LX ... will ICE enter the stadium and potentially make the event about them?

Ben -- who represented former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick -- stopped by "TMZ Live" Tuesday, and he started by sharing his hopes for the big day, saying ... "I hope we don't have masked agents running around in California and running around the Super Bowl ... I certainly hope that."

But the reality could be different.

Ben said, "I know by now -- and I think the American people should realize by now -- that kind of blind hope that this regime, as I call it, will do the right thing ... I'm not there yet."