The situation in Minneapolis just went from bad to worse. Viral videos from different angles reveal a federal officer pinning Alex Pretti, 37, down before finally shooting him. As the debate about whether he threatened federal agents with a gun wears on, protesters are filling the streets, and tensions have never been higher.
Pretti was an Intensive Care Unit nurse who had been protesting President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, which was inspired by a speculative YouTube video about Somali-run day cares in Minnesota. One graphic angle showed Border Patrol agents having a scuffle with an unidentified woman in what federal agents are now describing as a “targeted immigration enforcement operation,” and Pretti can be seen approaching the agents to shield the person. Pretti is then pepper sprayed, wrestled to the ground — before he is fatally shot.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem later gave the administration’s version of events in a press conference. Noem said, “The individual approached U.S. Border Patrol officers with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun. The officer attempted to disarm this individual, but the armed suspect reacted violently. Fearing for his life and the lives of fellow officers around him, an agent fired defensive shots. Medics were on scene immediately [and] tried to deliver medical aid. He was pronounced dead at that time.”
But according to the BBC and various other publications, some videos show a different angle, where a federal agent comes into the scuffle with an empty hand and then pulls out of it with a gun — all before any shots are fired. This suggests that Pretti might have been disarmed before he was shot, which would contradict Noem’s version of events. The confusion has now caused an unmitigated disaster, with protesters soon after clashing with federal immigration agents brandishing batons.
Pretti’s family also issued a statement to the AP saying: “The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting. Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked by Trump’s murdering and cowardly ICE thugs. He has his phone in his right hand and his empty left hand is raised above his head while trying to protect the woman ICE just pushed down, all while being pepper sprayed. Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man.”
The administration is doing very little to quash the anger being expressed by Minnesotans. In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, a crowd of protesters gathered around the site of Pretti’s death, calling the federal agents cowards and chanting “ICE out now.” One officer was caught on video responding “Boo hoo” to the protesters — a reaction that has also gone viral and is only making protesters more irate.
The president took to Truth Social to respond to the matter. He posted the gun that allegedly belonged to Pretti, laid all the blame on the fraud that’s going on in Minnesota, and continued his swipes against Rep. Ilhan Omar. He finished off his statement saying, “LET OUR ICE PATRIOTS DO THEIR JOB! 12,000 Illegal Alien Criminals, many of them violent, have been arrested and taken out of Minnesota. If they were still there, you would see something far worse than you are witnessing today!”
Donald J. Trump Truth Social Post 02:06 PM EST 01.24.26
— Commentary Donald J. Trump Posts From Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) January 24, 2026
This is the gunman’s gun, loaded (with two additional full magazines!), and ready to go – What is that all about? Where are the local Police? Why weren’t they allowed to protect ICE Officers? The Mayor and the Governor… pic.twitter.com/BO1HbiXKyQ
This story is still developing.
Published: Jan 25, 2026 01:01 pm