Federal agents kill Alex Pretti in Minneapolis; protests and national debate escalate
Federal immigration agents shot and killed 37-year-old Alex Pretti in Minneapolis during an enforcement operation, touching off large, sometimes violent, protests and a widening national debate over federal enforcement tactics. Multiple bystander videos and witness accounts have fueled conflicting narratives: federal officials said officers fired after an armed man "violently resisted," while family members, local leaders and many demonstrators say footage shows Pretti holding a phone and dispute claims he posed an imminent lethal threat. State leaders demanded federal agencies withdraw or operate with greater restraint; the governor moved to lead the investigation after federal agents initially blocked state access. The killing follows an earlier Jan. 7 fatality involving federal immigration authorities, has prompted protests across cities, partisan rancour in Washington over DHS tactics and funding, and renewed scrutiny of rules governing federal operations in local jurisdictions.