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The Tear-Gassed Comic Book Retailer On The Streets Of Minneapolis

The viral ICE protestor from Minneapolis is Greg Ketter, founder of DreamHaven Books & Comics, established in 1977

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Article Summary

  • Minneapolis bookstore owner Greg Ketter became a viral protest figure after ICE demonstrators were tear-gassed.
  • Ketter, founder of DreamHaven Books & Comics, has been a Minneapolis icon in sci-fi, fantasy and comics since 1977.
  • His raw, emotional reaction at the protest sparked nationwide support and overwhelmed the store’s website with orders.
  • DreamHaven, rebuilt after prior Minneapolis unrest, now looks to direct donations toward local food shelves in need.

The expressions of frustration and anger by one man on the streets of Minneapolis have gone viral, after reporters captured video of him walking the tear gas-filled streets after a 37-year-old resident, Alex Pretti, was shot and killed that morning. As immigration agents continued to fire tear gas canisters at protestors, he was seen shouting "F-ck you! Stop! Look out! Damn!" As a cameraman asked, he was okay, he replied, "I'm just angry! I'm 70 years old, and I'm f-cking angry!" before taking a bottle of water, walking off into the smoke and disappearing." The MS Now video and incident coverage were picked up by Huffington Post, Buzzfeed and the Guardian.

The Comic Book Retailer In The Smoke On The Streets Of Minneapolis

But what they didn't know then was that the (almost) 70-year-old protester was Greg Ketter, founder of DreamHaven Books & Comics, established in 1977 as a Minneapolis independent bookstore specialising in comic books, science fiction, fantasy, and horror, and which won the Will Eisner Spirit of Retail Award in 1999. DreamHaven Press, best known for publishing small runs of Neil Gaiman's lesser-known works, is the store's in-house publishing company.

The Comic Book Retailer In The Smoke On The Streets Of Minneapolis

Greg Ketter posted to Facebook in the wake of the attention, to explain, "I was angry enough to go to the site of Alex's murder to pay respects and witness for myself the ICE thugs who support these actions. I got there about an hour after the murder and went right up to the intersection that ICE had taped off and stood guard. There were perhaps 50-100 of them and several hundred observers/protesters milling around. Some were right up front yelling and swearing. I became one of them. No one made a move toward the agents but suddenly several canisters of tear gas were thrown into the crowd. A number of agents broke the tape and ran after people along a side street to my left for no reason I could see. I stood where I was as more tear gas and flash bombs (they were loud) were thrown at us. There was shooting, probably pepper balls. Most people had backed off but a few had gas masks and stayed near the line. I had no gas mask and I don't know what made me stay but I did. And I was screaming even louder. I was screaming and sobbing, not from gas, but from Fury and sadness. I don't think the gas had affected me at this point. A gas-masked camera man had been circling around near me asked if I was OK. I was physically fine but I had snapped. I was so angry that people hired by our government could do this to innocent people. Hence the rant which seems to have gone viral. People have been so kind – from the concerned people there at the scene offering me help to the many, many thousands who have watched the video and offered their support. Those who ordered books from us (it will take a bit to get things sorted out) and eventually crashed our website (working on that too), I thank you."

DreamHaven Books & Comics was known for hosting events, author interviews and signings through the eighties and nineties, with the likes of Poul Anderson, Clive Barker, Robert Bloch, Harlan Ellison, Joe Haldeman, Spider Robinson, F. Paul Wilson, Gene Wolfe, Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett and Roger Zelazny. Harlan Ellison called Dreamhaven "a book-seeker's cave of miracles". After the George Floyd-related protests, DreamHaven Books & Comics was heavily damaged, and the rebuild was funded from crowdfunding, volunteers and online orders. Greg concluded saying " People discovered the old GOFUNDME we had after the riots after George Floyd was murdered and our store was heavily damaged and have been making donations there. I'm greatly touched by that but I would like to offer that money to our local food shelves if donors wouldn't mind. The store is intact and doing well and the money should go to a greater cause."

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Rich JohnstonAbout Rich Johnston

Founder of Bleeding Cool. The longest-serving digital news reporter in the world, since 1992. Author of comic books The Flying Friar, Holed Up, The Avengefuls, Doctor Who: Room With A Deja Vu, The Many Murders Of Miss Cranbourne and Chase Variant. Lives in South-West London, works from The Union Club on Greek Street, shops at Gosh, Piranha and Forbidden Planet. Father of two daughters, Amazon associate, political cartoonist.
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