American Catholics Must Stand Up to This Dictatorship of Lies

Even more sickening than today’s ICE killing is your government insisting you didn’t see what you just saw.

Thank you for reading! Letters from Leo is a reader-supported publication. If you find value in my work, please consider becoming a paid subscriber or making a one-time donation.

Saturday morning on a busy Minneapolis street, federal agents tackled and gunned down a local man in broad daylight. The 37-year-old U.S. citizen, an intensive care nurse named Alex Pretti, was wrestled onto the sidewalk by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers; seconds later, agents fired a rapid volley of ten shots into him.

Bystanders screamed in horror, many recording video of the incident. The man lay motionless, killed on the spot.

Shortly after, the Department of Homeland Security put out a statement claiming Pretti had “approached [agents] with a handgun” and that an agent fired in self-defense while attempting to disarm him.

But eyewitness footage showed a very different story — Pretti was already pinned down and was disarmed before officers shot him in the chest and head. He had a cell phone in his hand, not a weapon, in the moments before agents opened fire.

In a scene straight out of a nightmare, the same officers then turned their guns and tear gas on outraged bystanders who rushed in to protest, dispersing the crowd with chemical irritants and stun grenades

Perhaps even more sickening than the killing itself is the government’s insistence that what we all saw with our own eyes didn’t really happen. In the immediate aftermath, officials in Washington doubled down on a false narrative — just as they did two weeks ago when ICE agents killed 37-year-old Renée Good in Minneapolis.

Back on January 7, Good was shot through the temple and the chest as she sat in her car. Witnesses say she posed no threat, yet federal authorities claimed she tried to run over an agent. Even after an independent autopsy confirmed the fatal shots and no evidence of a struggle, the government maintained that Good was a domestic terrorist.

Now it’s the same playbook all over again.

This is gaslighting on a grand scale — a reality-denying propaganda campaign reminiscent of Pontius Pilate scoffing at Jesus, “Truth? What is truth?”

The late Pope Benedict XVI, who grew up under the lies of the Nazi regime, warned that society was “building a dictatorship of relativism that does not recognize anything as definitive and whose ultimate goal consists solely of one’s own ego and desires”.

His words could not be more applicable to Trump-Vance’s America in 2026. In a dictatorship of relativism, there is no objective truth — only narratives that serve those in power. Right now, our government asks us to abandon the objective reality we saw with our own two eyes in favor of a convenient fiction that protects its own ego and agenda.

Federal officials seem to believe they can shape truth to their will, like Pontius Pilate sneering “Truth? What is truth?” to Jesus before condemning to death. This cynical disregard for truth — the willingness to say two plus two is five if it protects authority — is a hallmark of authoritarian regimes.

It calls to mind George Orwell’s 1984: “The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”

Watching DHS officials deny the plain reality of Alex Pretti’s death, it’s hard not to hear echoes of Orwell. This erosion of truth is fundamentally dangerous. If we lose our grip on truth, we lose the foundation of justice.

As Catholics, we know that truth is not some abstract concept — it is a person, Jesus Christ. In the words of Teresa of Ávila, “Truth suffers but never dies.”

The truth may be suppressed, mocked, or momentarily defeated by this dictatorship of lies, but it will never be extinguished. In the end, it will eventually prevail.

American Catholics, in particular, cannot shrug this off or hide in our pews. We are no longer a powerless minority in this country; we are a community tens of millions strong, with resources, institutions, media platforms, and yes — even a pope from our homeland.

We have a voice, and a moral duty to use it.

If we decide collectively that Trump and Vance should no longer lead this country, rest assured, they will no longer be in charge.

If we won’t stand up now against blatant injustice and state violence, who will? If we won’t call a lie a lie, who are we serving? God certainly doesn’t need our complicity with evil. We’re called to be disciples of truth and just. We must not be handmaidens of this dictatorship of lies.

Now is the time for American Catholics at every level — bishops, priests, and laypeople alike — to get off the sidelines. We have to stand up and be witnesses to the truth. That means not only acknowledging what is happening, but actively opposing the lies and cruelty that have taken hold.

Renowned Christian martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who resisted Nazi tyranny, famously wrote, “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil.” We cannot afford silence or ambivalence now. Tyrants want us to look away. They want us to numb ourselves to the constant outrages, to become passive and cynical. But we follow a Lord who said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Our task is to keep proclaiming and living that truth — no matter the cost.

Crucially, Pope Leo and other spiritual leaders remind us that how we resist evil matters. We are not allowed to fight lies with lies, or meet hate with hate.

As Pope Francis warned in an address to the U.S. Congress a decade ago, “To imitate the hatred and violence of tyrants and murderers is the best way to take their place.” In other words, if we adopt the tactics of the oppressor — if we demonize, dehumanize, or seek vengeance — then we become what we claim to oppose.

Our resistance must be rooted in the “fierce love” of Jesus Christ. This love is not meek or submissive in the face of evil; it is a fierce love that boldly says “No” to injustice.

It is not weakness — it is power perfected in weakness, the power that conquered the Roman Empire not by the sword but by the witness of the martyrs. It is a love that can even be deadly to falsehood, because it witnesses to a truth worth dying for.

This Christ-like love compels us to stay in the fight for justice, but always on God’s terms, not by adopting the venom of our adversaries.

So what does it mean, practically, for Catholics to stand up in this new dictatorship of lies? Here are three concrete steps:

1. Be Witnesses to What Is Happening. Do not look away from the suffering of our neighbors. Get out into your community and keep your eyes open. We have to be the ones who shine light on what is hidden in darkness. In Minneapolis, it was ordinary people with cell phones — modern-day witnesses — who exposed the truth of Alex Pretti’s death when official reports obscured it.
   
   In a culture of denial, simply seeing and testifying is a revolutionary act. Refuse to be a bystander.
   
   If federal agents are terrorizing immigrant families in your city, show up, document it, and share what you see. Mercy, as James Keenan reminds us, is the willingness to entering into the chaos of others’ lives to offer love. Our salvation is intertwined with our neighbor’s; we can’t save our own soul by turning a blind eye to another’s pain. Commit to witnessing the truth and making it known.
   

2. Speak the Truth, Always. In your conversations, in your parish, on social media — reject the temptation to hedge or sugarcoat evil. Call things by their real names.

   
   What happened in Minneapolis was not “regrettable enforcement” — it was a state-sanctioned killing. We owe our country the truth, spoken with clarity and charity. Yes, speaking out will invite backlash. Do it anyway.
   
   The first apostles, filled with the Holy Spirit, did not tone down their message to appease the authorities in Jerusalem; St. Peter told them to their faces: “With the help of wicked men, you put Jesus to death by nailing him to the cross, but God raised him from the dead”
   
   Have that same conviction. Tell this godless regime what they’re doing to their people. Trust that when we speak truth in the public square, God can use it to prick consciences and even to redeem a nation steeped in lies.
   
   Every time you refuse to go along with a convenient falsehood — every time you gently but firmly correct MAGA lies — you are pushing back against the dictatorship of relativism and affirming that some truths are non-negotiable.
   

3. Win Hearts Through Friendship. It’s easy to write off the millions of Americans who have bought into the Trumpist MAGA movement as irredeemable. Yes, there are ringleaders of this movement who sow lies and cruelty — they will answer for that on Judgment Day.
   
   But many who follow are simply afraid, misled, or caught up in the crowd. How do we free them from the lie? Not by owning them in Twitter arguments or hurling insults. The most effective agent of conversion is friendship.
   
   I say this not as a naïve idealist, but as someone who has worked in national politics for fifteen years: you rarely argue someone out of their ideology, but you can love them out of it.
   
   Think of one person in your life — a relative, a colleague, a neighbor — who has fallen under the spell of this culture of falsehood and anger. Resolve to reach out in genuine friendship. Have a beer. Ask about their life. Listen to their concerns.
   
   And yes, when the moment is right, speak truth to them — but do it in the context of a relationship that shows you truly care. You might be the “exit ramp” God provides for that person to leave the highway of hatred.
   
   Remember, we still live in a democracy for now. Elections can change course by a small margin (Trump and Vance won by only 1.5 points last time).
   
   A lot of self-ascribed MAGA commenters on social media are saying the ICE shooting wasn’t justified. You can only lie to people for so long. Eventually these people will have enough of it, and there’s evidence the dam is breaking.

   

   Erick Erickson@EWErickson

   We are watching the Trump Administration lose normies in real time tonight. The midterms are coming.

   12:14 AM · Jan 25, 2026 · 55.1K Views

   ---

   311 Replies · 111 Reposts · 1.13K Likes
   

   Dave Smith@ComicDaveSmith

   I’m an immigration restrictionist. I believe that we have the right to remove any and all people who entered our country illegally. Also, ICE is out of fucking control. A bunch of pussies, drunk on power going around intentionally escalating violent interactions and intimidating

   9:46 PM · Jan 24, 2026 · 1.2M Views

   ---

   4.16K Replies · 1.24K Reposts · 12.4K Likes
   

   Dana Loesch@DLoesch

   Statements like this don’t help. What he has or didn’t have isn’t the issue. What he was doing, with or without it, is the issue. Did he draw on agents? Reach for it? Was it on him? Again, being armed is different from being armed in commission of obstructing federal LEO.

   

   Disclose.tv @disclosetv

   NOW - Border Control Chief Greg Bovino: "The suspect also had two loaded magazines and no assessable ID. This looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement."

   8:55 PM · Jan 24, 2026 · 177K Views

   ---

   244 Replies · 184 Reposts · 1.28K Likes
   

   Tim Pool@Timcast

   I don't believe this for 2 seconds Peretti was a radicalized leftist who wanted to "dearrest" and obstruct. He refused to be detained and fought feds. They saw the gun, yelled GUN Gun and he got shot. There's no reason to think he was trying to massacre LEOs

   

   Libby Emmons @libbyemmons

   Crazy BREAKING: Armed agitator Alex Pretti appeared to want ‘maximum damage’ and to ‘massacre’ law enforcement when shot by BP in Minnesota: Greg Bovino https://t.co/YzeAAfPLT0

   8:41 PM · Jan 24, 2026 · 865K Views

   ---

   866 Replies · 135 Reposts · 2.55K Likes

   Every heart and mind we win back from the thrall of untruth makes a real difference for our country’s future. Give people an alternative community to belong to, one grounded in hope instead of fear. As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. showed, loving your opponent is not weakness but a tactic of spiritual warfare — it’s how tyrants are ultimately defeated.

Our faith assures us that the light shines in the darkness and the darkness will not overcome it. We must hold fast to that hope. Keep the faith, even in this dark chapter of American history.

We will get through this moment — but only if we answer the call God has given us right now.

It is no accident that we are alive in 2026, witnessing these events. God entrusts this time to us and is inviting us to be co-workers in the struggle for a more just nation for our children and for all who will come after us. We must not squander the gift of this calling.

American Catholics have a special duty at this hour to say, “Not in our name.” Not in the name of the Gospel will we allow the vulnerable to be persecuted. Not in the name of our God will we allow lies to supplant truth or cruelty to masquerade as justice.

To those in power who deal in violence and deceit — the evildoers, thugs, and murderers — we say: Not in our name. Not in the name of our God. We stand with the crucified, not the crucifiers. And we will continue to stand, come what may, until this dictatorship of lies is toppled by the invincible truth that lives and reigns forever.

Letters from Leo is open to anyone who wants to be informed and inspired by our pope — and to turn that inspiration into action that leaves America and the world more just, less cold, and more alive with hope.

If you’d like to invest in our mission during this new year, here are three ways you can help:

• Subscribe as a paid member to receive exclusive posts about the life and formation of Pope Leo and help sustain this newsletter.

• Donate with a one-time gift to fuel this project’s mission.

• Share this post (and Letters from Leo) with a friend who might enjoy it.

Paid subscribers will also have access to our Sunday Reflection Series and the Q&A mailbag opening this week, where you can ask me anything about American politics, Catholicism, Donald Trump, Pope Leo, JD Vance — or my own faith, biography, and life.

Whether you give $0, $1, or $1,000, your presence here matters — no matter your faith or your politics.

Thank you for reading. I’ll see you on the road.