The winter is fully here in Delaware. We got nine inches of snow that has yet to melt due to the cold weather. It has frozen solid and will be with us for many more weeks. During these long cold days we tend to stay indoors.

However, I answered the call to travel to Minneapolis to witness the cruelty of ICE agents traumatizing a community. I joined several hundred other ministers, Imams, and rabbis who came to be in solidarity with the faith community of the city and state.

While I was there, we experienced a lockdown in a church due to ICE agents who injured people who were brought to the church for treatment. On my way home, I learned of the murder of Alex Pretti by ICE agents who gunned him down in cold blood.

When I got home, I recorded and posted a statement. Here is the transcript of my words:

Eyes Not Lies Statement

I am the Reverend Dr. Richard Speck. I am a minister at the First Unitarian Church in Wilmington, Delaware. I’m recording this video as part of the Eyes Not Lies, which is a call for clergy to bear honest witness to what we are seeing and to refuse misinformation. In this video, I see Alex Pretti coming to the aid of a woman who’s being pushed into the ice by the federal agents. I see the federal agents spraying people with chemicals to blind them. And I see them wrestling Alex Pretti to the ground. where he is eventually held down by several agents and then a gun is shot into him several times killing him instantly. I’m sharing this because truth does matter and because what we are seeing must not be denied. So join me. Watch this video for yourself. Tell the world what you have seen with your own eyes to combat these lies.

You can watch my short statement HERE:

I will have a more complete report in the Elderberries coming out soon. Until then, we must prepare ourselves for more mayhem from the government and learn again the tactics of non-violence resistance.

Yours in the Faith,

Richard Speck, UURMAPA President