Spider-Man voice actor urges blocking ICE funding after Minneapolis shooting

Kotaku reports that Yuri Lowenthal, the actor who voices PlayStation’s Spider-Man, urged Americans to oppose further funding for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after federal officers wrestled a man to the ground and shot him roughly 10 times on a busy street in Minneapolis.

In an Instagram video and posts, Lowenthal said, "We must speak out against injustice," and implored viewers to call their senators "every day next week" and tell them "no more money for ICE." Lowenthal has played Peter Parker in each of Insomniac Games’ Spider-Man releases and is seemingly set to return for an eventual, unannounced Spider-Man 3, plans for which leaked in 2023. The death of 37-year-old Alex Pretti at the hands of masked agents has intensified calls for lawmakers to block an increase in funding for ICE, and judicial scrutiny has led to ICE’s acting head being summoned to appear in court this week or risk being held in contempt.

ICE was recently awarded a $75 billion funding increase on top of its existing annual budget of $10 billion. A top Border Patrol official, Gregory Bovino, wrote that the "real victims" in Pretti’s killing were the agents. Lowenthal also wrote, "Call your reps every day this week," repeating his call for sustained constituent pressure.