The streets of Iowa City were filled with bicycles on Saturday afternoon with roughly 100 community members biking to commemorate Alex Pretti who was killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, agent on Jan. 24.
In a movement organized by Angry Catfish Bicycle Shop in Minneapolis, Pretti’s local bike store, bike shops and groups across the country protested ICE and stood in unity for Pretti and Renee Good, who was also killed by ICE in Minneapolis.
Angry Catfish reported 230 rides across the world, including rides across 43 states and 14 countries.
Before cyclists took off from the Iowa City Bike Library, North Liberty resident Sara Klosterboer sang “Streets of Minneapolis” by Bruce Springsteen which was released on Jan. 28 in response to ICE. Klosterboer said biking in this event was a way to show support and unity to Minneapolis.
“Getting the word out is part of a huge movement around the country,” she said. “What’s going on in Minneapolis is ridiculous, and you need to stand up against it.”
The event was organized by volunteers at the Iowa City Bike Library, including Matt Burkey. He said since Pretti was an avid cyclist, this was a great way for the community to memorialize him.
“Cycling is an unofficial family fraternity,” Burkey said. “Everyone who’s out there on the road feels a kinship with each other over the shared experience, and it feels like Alex could have been any of us.”
Among the cyclists was 96-year-old Al Hood, a retired professor from the University of Iowa.
Hood said he participated in the “No Kings” protest that took place in October 2025 and plans to continue to speak out against the Trump administration.
“I’m 96 and I’m mad as hell,” he said.
UI Graduate Research Assistant Claire Trettin said the memorial ride was organized in Iowa City as Pretti’s passing resonated deeply within the Midwest biking community.
“I learned about it, and wanted to participate and show that we’re still strong and we’re still resisting everything that’s going on,” she said.
Trettin said the memorial ride was also meant to make a visible statement within the Iowa City community, using the presence of cyclists to demonstrate collective support and solidarity.
“Biking itself is such a visible event in our community,” she said. “By showing up in force, it’s showing that Iowa City has all of these people who have skills and strength behind them. We can show up in force when needed.”
Klosterboer said while it is important to speak out and participate in events such as this bike ride, the best way to make a change in the face of ICE is to talk to lawmakers and members of Congress.
“I think the lawmakers and policy makers are the ones that can really see what’s going on in the community, and therefore be able to speak our voice, which is what’s left of our democracy,” she said. “And to get the word out to the higher-ups that they are not OK with this.”