PROTESTERS took to the streets across the United States over the weekend after a man was “executed” in Minneapolis during President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.

Footage aired across social media showed a group of officials from the Immigration Customs Enforcement (Ice) agency surrounding Alex Pretti, an intensive care unit nurse on Saturday before shooting him after a brief struggle.

The footage showed Mr Pretti, a legal gun owner, was disarmed by Ice officials before being shot. 

After the shooting, an angry crowd gathered and protesters clashed with federal officers, who wielded batons and deployed stun grenades.

The Minnesota National Guard was assisting local police at the direction of Governor Tim Walz, officials said.

Guard troops were sent to both the shooting site and a federal building where officers have squared off with demonstrators daily.

Information about what led up to the shooting was limited, police chief Brian O’Hara said.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that federal officers were conducting an operation and fired “defensive shots” after a man with a handgun approached them and “violently resisted” when they tried to disarm him.

Bystander footage of the shooting that emerged soon after, show Mr Pretti with a phone in his hand but none show him with a weapon.

During a news conference DHS secretary Kristi Noem accused Mr Pretti of trying to “impede a law enforcement operation.” She questioned why he was armed but did not offer details about whether Pretti drew the weapon or brandished it at officers.

President Trump accused local politicians, including the Democratic governor and mayor, of “inciting insurrection, with their pompous, dangerous, and arrogant rhetoric.”

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York urged Democrats to “refuse to vote to fund Ice.”

The Communist Party of the USA (CPUSA) condemned the killing as a “continuation of the fascist invasion of Minneapolis and an increase in state-violence against our working class and people. 

“We are calling for arrests of all federal agents involved in these tragedies and for Ice to be removed completely from Minnesota by building on the general strike.”

The CPUSA was referring to the general strike in Minneapolis on Friday which saw thousands of workers walking out on strike and more than 700 businesses closing to protest against the presence of Ice agents.

The Party of Socialism and Liberation said: “The people need to use our power to shut down business as usual and make it impossible for this reign of terror to continue.”