Former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton on Sunday condemned the unrest in Minnesota following the killing of Alex Pretti, describing the moment as a critical test for American values and calling on the public to speak up and take action.

Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama said Pretti’s death was a “heartbreaking tragedy” and warned it should serve as a national wake-up call.

“It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault,” the Obamas said in a statement.

They criticized what they called “unprecedented tactics” by the Department of Homeland Security, saying Americans have been “rightly outraged by the spectacle of masked ICE recruits and other federal agents acting with impunity and engaging in tactics that seem designed to intimidate, harass, provoke and endanger the residents of a major American city.”

The Obamas also accused the Trump administration of escalating tensions rather than imposing accountability on federal agents. They said public explanations for the shootings of Pretti and Renee Good — who was killed earlier this month by an ICE officer in Minneapolis — were not based on serious investigation and appeared to conflict with video evidence.

Calling for civic engagement, the Obamas urged Americans to “draw inspiration from the wave of peaceful protests in Minneapolis and across the country,” and expressed hope that federal officials would work with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey to “avert more chaos and achieve legitimate law enforcement goals.”

The White House responded by accusing Obama of exploiting the situation to sow division. Spokesperson Abigail Jackson said the former president should instead encourage Democratic local leaders to cooperate with the administration’s immigration enforcement efforts.

“Instead, they are attacking law enforcement and defending criminal illegal aliens with convictions for murder, rape, assault, and more,” Jackson said in a statement.

Former President Bill Clinton also weighed in, calling the scenes in Minneapolis “horrible” in a social media post.

“Over the course of a lifetime, we face only a few moments where the decisions we make and the actions we take will shape our history for years to come. This is one of them,” Clinton wrote.

He accused current leaders of misleading the public and urged Americans to stand up for democratic principles.

“It is up to all of us who believe in the promise of American democracy to stand up, speak out, and show that our nation still belongs to We the People,” Clinton said.

The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Clinton’s statement.