Executives of one of America’s biggest venture capitalist companies are fighting publicly among themselves over shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis
The fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis on Saturday (January 24) has divided the internet on a scale that even one of America’s biggest venture capitalist firms is not spared. In what can be called a rare and highly public display of internal discord, partners at Khosla Ventures spent the weekend trading barbs on social media over the action. As the tech CEOs and leaders condemned the killing of a 37-year-old nurse, three key figures of at the venture openly clashed over the actions of federal law enforcementThe ‘infighting’ was ignited by partner Keith Rabois, who appears to be a staunch supporter of the Trump administration. His backing of the defense of the Border Patrol agents involved in the shooting drew immediate and sharp criticism from his own colleagues, including the firm’s founder, Vinod Khosla, who distanced the firm’s views from his.
‘No law enforcement has shot an innocent person’
As news of Pretti’s death spread on social media, Rabois took to X (formerly Twitter) to argue that the 37-year-old nurse was at fault. “No law enforcement has shot an innocent person. Illegals are committing violent crimes everyday,” Rabois replied to a post. In a separate post, he argued, “no i agree that these are felons. it is not racist to oppose criminals”, and “absolute BS. but it doesn’t matter, hey drive up rents and consume health care and tax $”. He also noted, “legal immigrants are great.”“he unequivocally attempted to draw his weapon. fuck you,” he said in another one. In a post that discussed citizens’ ability to exercise their First, Second, and Fourth Amendment rights, Rabios said, “yes but interfering w a law enforcement operation is not protected by any of those amendments.”
Ethan Choi distanced himself and the firm from Keith Rabois comments
Partner Ethan Choi quickly responded to Rabois’ comment, and publicly distance the firm from Rabois’ statements.“I want to make it clear that Keith doesn’t represent everyone’s views at Khosla Ventures… at least not mine. What happened in Minnesota is plain wrong. Sad to see a person’s life taken unnecessarily,” Choi posted.His post was quickly reshared by founder Vinod Khosla, who threw his weight behind Choi. In a stinging assessment, Khosla described the federal agents as “macho ICE vigilantes”.“I agree with @EthanChoi7 . Macho ICE vigilantes running amuck empowered by a conscious-less administration. The video was sickening to watch and the storytelling without facts or with invented fictitious facts by authorities almost unimaginable in a civilized society. ICE personnel must have ice water running thru their veins to treat other human beings this way. There is politics but humanity should transcend that,” he said in a post.Meanwhile, a coalition of more than 60 CEOs from Minnesota’s largest companies – including Target, 3M and UnitedHealth Group – signed a letter, urging “immediate de-escalation,” while several other prominent Silicon Valley figures took to social media to denounce the action.
