In Minneapolis, federal immigration officers forcibly subdued Alex Pretti during a protest on January 13, as newly emerged video recordings reveal. The incident, occurring 11 days before Pretti was fatally shot by Border Patrol officers, shows Pretti kicking the tail light of a federal vehicle before being taken to the ground. His struggle with the agents is clear, and at one point, his winter coat is removed during the altercation.
The recordings display Pretti shouting at the officers with obscenities and subsequently moving away from them after the scuffle. When his back faces the camera, a handgun can be seen tucked into his waistband, although there is no indication in the footage that he reaches for the weapon or that the federal agents notice it.
An individual with direct knowledge of the episode, speaking anonymously due to the sensitivities surrounding the family, verified to this publication that the man in the videos is Pretti and shared that he had informed his family about this confrontation.
The release of these videos has quickly reignited national discussions regarding Pretti's death. Pretti, aged 37 and employed as an intensive care nurse at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center, has become a central figure in debates on law enforcement practices. Donald Trump Jr., the son of the former president, shared one video on the social media platform X, accompanied by the comment, "Just a peaceful legal observer."
Steve Schleicher, an attorney based in Minneapolis representing Pretti’s parents, emphasized that this previous incident does not justify the subsequent shooting. In an official statement, he noted, "A week before Alex was gunned down in the street—despite posing no threat to anyone—he was violently assaulted by a group of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Nothing that happened a full week before could possibly have justified Alex’s killing at the hands of ICE on January 24."
Homeland Security Investigations has acknowledged reviewing the videos and the associated incident. It remains unclear whether officers involved in the January 13 encounter were also part of the team when Pretti was shot.
The deadly shooting occurred on a neighboring street to where Pretti had been recording immigration officers. Bystander footage captures an officer pushing Pretti, followed by multiple agents attempting to restrain him on the sidewalk. When an officer notices Pretti’s licensed firearm, he alerts others by shouting, “He’s got a gun.” Shortly after, two officers discharge their weapons, resulting in Pretti’s death. Officials from the Trump administration responded swiftly, asserting that Pretti approached the officers with a gun and attacked them.
However, several video recordings from the scene depict Pretti never brandishing his weapon or attacking the officers. Instead, they show him holding a phone and being shot in the back while on the ground.
The footage from the prior week came from two sources: one filmed by Max Shapiro, a Minneapolis attorney who witnessed the event, and another by The News Movement, an online media content provider.
Shapiro described receiving a message via the Signal app alerting to immigration enforcement activity in the area. Upon arriving, he noticed the observers expressing distress and yelling, while officers were attempting to disperse the crowd amidst a cacophony of whistles and shouts.
The video from The News Movement depicts Pretti, identifiable by glasses, a dark baseball hat, and a winter coat, vocally confronting federal vehicles. At one moment, he appears to spit and verbally insult the driver’s side of a black Ford Expedition using the term “trash.” Moments later, Pretti kicks the vehicle’s taillight, causing visible damage and dislodging the rear light assembly. Shapiro commenced his filming shortly after this act.
Both videos capture an immigration officer donned in a gas mask and helmet exiting the vehicle and approaching Pretti. The officer grabs Pretti’s shirt at chest level and pulls him toward the vehicle. As Pretti struggles, he is forced onto the street and down to his knees, with the officer falling atop him in an attempt to restrain him.
Several other officers in full protective gear surround Pretti, endeavoring to control the situation. Some officers stand guard between the group and the assembled, vociferous crowd. Eventually, tear gas canisters were deployed, prompting the officers to withdraw.
After the confrontation, Shapiro approached Pretti and offered comfort, to which Pretti responded affirmatively, then checked with others involved, inquiring, “Are we all OK? Are we all safe?”
Shapiro acknowledged that while the videos might be used to portray Pretti negatively by some, he perceived him as a concerned individual deeply affected by the consequences of the Trump Administration’s intensified deportation efforts. “I’m no immigration policy expert,” Shapiro added. “But there has to be a better way to go about this.”