Closing summary
It’s 10.45pm in Minneapolis and we’re going to pause our live coverage in the aftermath of federal immigration officers’ fatal shooting of VA nurse Alex Pretti.
Here are the latest key developments – thanks for being with us.
Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, have described Saturday’s shooting of 37-year-old Pretti as “a heartbreaking tragedy” and “a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party”.
Bill Clinton joined the condemnation, saying the US was facing a historic moment that would shape it for years to come and urging Americans to speak out and “show that our nation still belongs to we the people”.
Calls for an investigation into the killing have come from all sides of the political divide, including Republicans such as Vermont governor Phil Scott and Nebraska senator Pete Ricketts, and the NRA and other pro-gun groups.
Minnesota governor Tim Walz has appealed to Donald Trump to withdraw federal agents from the state, imploring the president to “please show some decency”.
Trump blamed Democrats for causing “chaos” leading to the deaths of Pretti and of another US citizen in Minneapolis, Renee Nicole Good, on 7 January.
Updated
Walz rejects Trump administration request to turn over state voter rolls – report
Minnesota governor Tim Walz has rejected the Trump administration’s call to repeal so-called sanctuary policies and share Medicaid, food assistance and voter data with the federal government to “bring an end to the chaos in Minnesota”, CNN is reporting.
“It’s not a serious attempt,” Walz said on Sunday.
Attorney general Pam Bondi sent a letter to Walz on Saturday urging him to repeal sanctuary policies and to allow the justice department’s civil rights division to access the state’s voter rolls, the report continues.
Donald Trump on Sunday repeated the demands – as we posted earlier – calling for Minnesota Democrats “to formally cooperate with the Trump administration to enforce our nation’s laws, rather than resist and stoke the flames of division, chaos and violence”.
CNN says other state officials criticised Bondi’s letter, with Minnesota secretary of state Steve Simon calling it “deeply disturbing”. Representative Ilhan Omar, who represents Minneapolis, claimed in a post: “This was never about immigration or fraud. It was always about rigging elections.”
Updated
The Trump administration’s secretary of veterans affairs, Doug Collins, has confirmed that Alex Pretti was a VA nurse while blaming local and state Minnesota officials for his death at the hands of federal immigration officers.
Collins said in a post on X:
We can confirm Alex Pretti was a nurse at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center. As President Trump has said, nobody wants to see chaos and death in American cities, and we send our condolences to the Pretti family. Such tragedies are unfortunately happening in Minnesota because of state and local officials’ refusal to cooperate with the federal government to enforce the law and deport dangerous illegal criminals.
Updated
Democratic ex-presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton have spoken out against the shooting of nurse Alex Pretti, as we’ve reported, with Obama saying it is a wake-up call and Clinton urging Americans to “stand up” for democracy.
On Sunday Obama and his wife, Michelle, described Pretti’s killing as “a heartbreaking tragedy” and “a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault”.
Clinton joined the condemnation, saying the US was facing a historic moment that would shape it for years to come and urging Americans to speak out and “show that our nation still belongs to we the people”.
The calls have come as pressure mounts on the Trump administration from all sides of the political divide to fully investigate Pretti’s killing by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis.
You can read more on that and all the day’s key Trump stories in this rundown here:
Updated
Days after thousands of demonstrators braved bitter cold to march through the streets of Minneapolis to demand an end to Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown in their city, organisers are calling for another labour strike.
The New York Times is reporting at least 200 people in University Baptist Church on Sunday called for a second demonstration, with speakers urging local businesses and employees to strike.
On Friday, organisers said as many as 50,000 took to the streets, while scores of businesses across Minnesota closed for the day.
Organisers of the protests said their demands included legal accountability for the ICE agent who shot dead Renee Good.
The AFP news agency has been speaking to local residents who gathered on Sunday at a makeshift memorial to honour Alex Pretti.
“I’m angry and I’m sad for this loss,” a resident named Lucy said at the memorial site on Nicollet Avenue, in the southern part of the city.
But I’m not scared to stay and I’m not scared to continue to fight and stand for what’s right, even when it puts my physical safety at risk.
Anna Parthun, a nurse, said:
I heard about the shooting of Alex and came with some fellow nurse friends who wanted to come and pay our respects.
“I’m here on behalf of the Jewish community of Minnesota, and we are absolutely standing in solidarity against these ICE actions,” a Minneapolis resident named Elizabeth said.
Another mourner, a man named Andy, stressed the importance of solidarity in the face of oppression.
“If they come for you, and they come for them, and you don’t show up, there’s nobody there to come for you,” he told AFP.
So we’ve got to band together as a community and society and oppose this all.
Updated
The chaplain of the Minnesota Timberwolves has issued a poetic criticism against not speaking up about what’s happening in Minneapolis.
Matt Moberg began his statement by saying:
If you’re a church posting
prayers for peace and unity today
while my city bleeds in the streets,
miss me with that softness
you only wear
when it costs you nothing.Don’t dress avoidance up as holiness.
Don’t call silence “peacemaking.”
Don’t light a candle and think it
substitutes for showing up.
As reported earlier, the Timberwolves held a moment of silence for Alex Pretti before its game against the Golden State Warriors, which was postponed yesterday after the fatal shooting.
The chaplain continued his statement by saying an ICE agent had taken a photo of him and told him threateningly, “We’ll be seeing you soon.”
Moberg said:
Peace isn’t what you ask for
when the boot is already
on someone’s neck.
Peace is what the powerful ask for
when they don’t want to be interrupted.Unity isn’t neutral.
Unity that refuses to name violence
is just loyalty to the ones holding the weapons.
Updated
Here are some of the latest images coming in from Minneapolis.
Updated
More Republicans call for investigation after Pretti killing
A growing number of Republicans are pressing for a deeper investigation into federal immigration tactics in Minnesota after the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti – a sign that the Trump administration’s accounting of events may face bipartisan scrutiny.
The Republican chairman of the House homeland security committee, Andrew Garbarino, has sought testimony from leaders at ICE, Customs and Border Protection and US Citizenship and Immigration Services, saying “my top priority remains keeping Americans safe”, the Associated Press is reporting.
A host of other congressional Republicans have pressed for more information, including representative Michael McCaul of Texas and senators Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.
Their statements, in addition to concern expressed from several Republican governors, reflects a party struggling with how to respond to federal agents’ killing of Pretti.
Updated
Minnesota governor Tim Walz has appealed to Donald Trump to withdraw federal agents from Minnesota, a day after US border patrol officers shot and killed Alex Pretti.
“What’s the plan, Donald Trump?” Walz asked at a news conference on Sunday. “What do we need to do to get these federal agents out of our state?
“President Trump, you can end this today. Pull these folks back; do humane, focused, effective immigration control – you’ve got the support of all of us to do that,” Walz said. “Please show some decency. Pull these folks out”.
Walz offered an impassioned plea to the US public, many of whom have been caught between supporting immigration control and opposing actions of its enforcement under the Trump administration in the interior.
Walz said that even if the public once sided with ICE operations, the time had come to oppose them. “Which side do you want to be on?” he asked.
The full report is here:
Trump says administration 'reviewing' Pretti shooting
Donald Trump has declined to say whether the federal officer who fatally shot Alex Pretti had acted appropriately and that his administration is reviewing the incident, the Wall Street Journal is reporting.
The president also said immigration-enforcement officers would leave the Minneapolis area “at some point”.
The WSJ reported that during the short interview Trump didn’t directly answer when asked twice whether the officer who shot Pretti had done the right thing. Pressed further, the president said: “We’re looking, we’re reviewing everything and will come out with a determination.”
The report also said Trump criticised Pretti for carrying a gun during protest activity, quoting the president as saying:
I don’t like any shooting. I don’t like it. But I don’t like it when somebody goes into a protest and he’s got a very powerful, fully loaded gun with two magazines loaded up with bullets also. That doesn’t play good either.
Trump also signalled a willingness to eventually withdraw immigration enforcement officials from the Minneapolis area, the report said, quoting him:
At some point we will leave. We’ve done, they’ve done a phenomenal job.
Updated
Bill Clinton calls on Americans to 'stand up' for democracy
Bill Clinton has said the US is facing a historic moment that will shape it for years to come and has urged Americans to speak out and “show that our nation still belongs to we the people”.
The former president issued a statement saying horrible scenes had played out Minneapolis and elsewhere “that I never thought would take place in America”.
That included peaceful protesters exercising their constitutional rights being “arrested, beaten, teargassed, and most searingly, in the cases of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, shot and killed”.
Clinton’s statement – posted on X – continued:
All of this is unacceptable and should have been avoided. To make matters even worse, at every turn, the people in charge have lied to us, told us not to believe what we’ve seen with our own eyes, and pushed increasingly aggressive and antagonistic tactics, including impeding investigations by local authorities.
Over the course of a lifetime, we face only a few moments where the decision we make the actions we take will shape our history for years to come. This is one of them. If we give our freedoms away after 250 years, we might never get them back.
It is up to all of us who believe in the promise of American democracy to stand up, speak out, and show that our nation still belongs to We the people.
Updated
Trump has also called on Democratic governors and mayors across the US to cooperate with his administration on law enforcement, rather than stoking “division, chaos and violence”.
Trump’s post on Truth Social also called on Congress to “immediately pass legislation to end sanctuary cities, which is the root cause of all of these problems”.
Trump blames Democrats for 'chaos' leading to deaths
Donald Trump has blamed Democrats for causing “chaos” that led to the deaths of two Americans at the hands of federal agents.
The president also claimed on his Truth Social platform that Democrat-run “sanctuary” cities and states were refusing to cooperate with ICE and “actually encouraging leftwing agitators to unlawfully obstruct their operations”.
Trump’s post continued:
By doing this, Democrats are putting Illegal Alien Criminals over Taxpaying, Law-Abiding Citizens, and they have created dangerous circumstances for EVERYONE involved. Tragically, two American Citizens have lost their lives as a result of this Democrat ensued chaos.
Updated
Another Republican senator has called for an investigation into the killing of Alex Pretti, saying the US has to “maintain our core values as a nation”.
Nebraska senator Pete Ricketts posted on X that the country “witnessed a horrifying situation this weekend” .
His post said:
My support for funding ICE remains the same. Enforcing our immigration laws makes our streets safer. It also protects our national security. But we must also maintain our core values as a nation, including the right to protest and assemble.
I expect a prioritized, transparent investigation into this incident.
Updated
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has accused JD Vance of unremorsefully defending the “open killing” of regular Americans exercising their rights.
AOC posted on X in a response to the vice-president:
You are defending the open killing of everyday Americans for exercising their Constitutional rights.
First, the mother of a 6 year old child. Now, an ICU nurse to veterans. Both shot at nearly point blank range.
All without reflection or remorse. People will not forget this.
The post followed one from JD Vance saying state and local officials were refusing to co-operate with immigration enforcement and that had “created the chaos so they can have moments like yesterday, where someone tragically dies and politicians get to grandstand about the evils of enforcing the border”.
Updated
The Minnesota Timberwolves held a moment of silence for Alex Pretti before its game against the Golden State Warriors, which was postponed yesterday after the fatal shooting, the New York Times reports.
“We extend our love, support and heartfelt sympathies to Alex’s family, friends and our community during this difficult time,” the announcer said, with an image of Pretti on the big screen in the Minneapolis arena. “Please join us in honoring the life and memory of Alex Pretti with a moment of silence.”
Head coach Chris Finch told reporters before the game that “for the second time in less than three weeks, we’ve lost another beloved member of our community in the most unimaginable way”. Quoted by the NYT, Finch added that he agreed with the decision to postpone yesterday’s game, “because playing basketball just didn’t feel like the right thing to do.”
Updated
Did Alex Pretti record video of his encounter with the federal agents who killed him?
While we know that the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti was recorded by multiple witnesses, and that the Trump administration’s claims about what happened are directly contradicted by the publicly available video, there is one more likely source of video that has not been made public yet: the video Pretti himself appeared to have been recording on his phone from the very start of his encounter with the federal agents who killed him.
Like the fatal shooting of Renee Good in the same part of Minneapolis earlier this month, which was recorded by the ICE officer who shot her, Jonathan Ross, it seems likely that this incident was also recorded by a participant.
But, so far, that video has not been released.
Late Saturday, Minnesota state authorities asked a judge to order the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees US border patrol and ICE, to preserve all of the evidence of the shooting in its possession. In its filing, the state pointed to reports that “federal personnel apparently seized cell phones” from witnesses, and that might well include the phone Pretti was holding up until the moment he was tackled to the ground and shot multiple times.
The federal judge did issue a restraining order, instructing the federal authorities that might have witness video, including Pretti’s own, “from destroying or altering evidence”.
But, in marked contrast to the aftermath of the shooting to death of Good, when the Department of Homeland Security released Ross’s own video, apparently believing that it would exonerate him, so far the federal government has not released any video recorded by Pretti.
Updated
The online fundraiser for the family of Alex Pretti had raised nearly $700,000 by this afternoon, a day after federal agents killed the US citizen and nurse in Minneapolis in a shooting that ignited another round of street protests against Donald Trump’s administration and its immigration crackdown in the city.
Protesters take to the streets of Minneapolis the day after Alex Pretti was fatally shot by federal immigration agents.
Among the signs are placards reading, “ICE OUT” and, “We all saw it,” referring to video footage of the killing.
Updated
Democratic calls for Noem's impeachment grow over fatal shooting of Alex Pretti
Democratic senator Jacky Rosen is calling for the impeachment of Kristi Noem, saying that she believes the homeland security secretary is attempting to “mislead the American public” about the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis yesterday.
Rosen, a moderate from Nevada who was part of the group that helped Republicans end the 43-day government shutdown last year, comes amid a growing fury from congressional Democrats who have also vowed to block the DHS funding bill. A House resolution to launch impeachment proceedings against Noem has the support of more than 100 Democrats, but few Senate Democrats have so far weighed in.
Rosen said in a statement to The Associated Press:
Kristi Noem has been an abject failure leading the Department of Homeland Security for the last year — and the abuses of power we’re seeing from ICE are the latest proof that she has lost control over her own department and staff.
Rosen said Noem’s conduct is “deeply shameful” and she “must be impeached and removed from office immediately”.
Rosen’s statement follows that of Massachusetts senator Ed Markey, who is one of the more left-leaning members of the Senate Democratic caucus. Markey said last week that Congress should begin impeachment proceedings against Noem, “who is right now actually orchestrating on the streets of our country this almost vigilantism on the part of ICE agents terrorizing cities all across the country.”
Calls for Noem’s impeachment also grew louder in the House as the Democratic caucus had a phone call with Minnesota’s governor Tim Walz and the state’s attorney general Keith Ellison, both former congressmen, a person familiar with the private call told the AP.
Most of the House Democratic lawmakers who spoke during the meeting called for Noem’s impeachment, another person familiar with the call told the news agency.
New York representative Laura Gillen, a Democrat who was one of only seven House Democrats who voted to fund the DHS last week, said today that “there must be accountability, which is why Secretary Noem must be impeached immediately”.
“She is not focused on safety or border security; she’s focused on chaos and self-promotion, undermining local law enforcement and stoking violence as a result,” Gillen said in a post on X.
Updated
More than 60 chief executives of leading Minnesota-based companies signed an open letter today, calling for state, local and federal officials to de-escalate local tensions after the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti (though the letter does not name him).
“With yesterday’s tragic news, we are calling for an immediate deescalation of tensions and for state, local and federal officials to work together to find real solutions,” the business leaders said in the letter, released by the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce.
Among the companies that signed the letter were major retailers Best Buy and Target, as well as General Mills, United Health Group, and NFL team the Minnesota Vikings. The executives said they have been in close communication with the White House, vice-president JD Vance, Minnesota governor Tim Walz as well as local mayors.
“In this difficult moment for our community, we call for peace and focused cooperation among local, state and federal leaders to achieve a swift and durable solution that enables families, businesses, our employees, and communities across Minnesota to resume our work to build a bright and prosperous future,” the letter reads.
Updated
Alaska senator Lisa Murkowski also called for a “comprehensive, independent investigation” into the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti.
In a post on X, the GOP congresswoman wrote:
The tragedy and chaos the country is witnessing in Minneapolis is shocking. The killing yesterday of Alex Pretti, a U.S. citizen, by ICE agents should raise serious questions within the administration about the adequacy of immigration-enforcement training and the instructions officers are given on carrying out their mission. Lawfully carrying a firearm does not justify federal agents killing an American—especially, as video footage appears to show, after the victim had been disarmed.
A comprehensive, independent investigation of the shooting must be conducted in order to rebuild trust and Congressional committees need to hold hearings and do their oversight work. ICE agents do not have carte blanche in carrying out their duties.
And further to that, James Comer, a GOP representative of Kentucky and chairman of the House oversight committee, said on Fox News earlier today that Donald Trump should consider removing ICE agents from Minneapolis and sending them to another state.
If “there’s a chance of losing more innocent lives or whatever,” Comer said, “then maybe go to another city and let the people of Minneapolis decide: Do we want to continue to have all of these illegals?”
Updated
Further to my earlier posts about Republican elected officials breaking with the Trump administration to condemn and/or demand an investigation into the fatal shootings of American citizens in Minnesota by federal agents, representative Michael McCaul, of Texas, has called for a “thorough” investigation.
He wrote on X:
I am troubled by the events that have unfolded in Minneapolis. As an attorney and former federal prosecutor, I believe a thorough investigation is necessary—both to get to the bottom of these incidents and to maintain Americans’ confidence in our justice system.
I look forward to hearing from DHS officials about what happened here and how we can prevent further escalation in the future.
He called on “both sides” to “turn down the temperature right now”.
Updated
The National Basketball Players Association has put out a statement on the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti and Renee Good saying that NBA players “can no longer remain silent”.
“Now more than ever, we must defend the right to freedom of speech and stand in solidarity with the people in Minnesota protesting and risking their lives to demand justice,” the statement reads. “We refuse to let the flames of division threaten the civil liberties that are meant to protect us all.”
Earlier, we reported that sports stars including two-time NBA All-star Tyrese Haliburton condemned the killing of Pretti yesterday. “Alex Pretti was murdered,” the Indiana Pacers guard wrote. Two-time WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart held a sign reading “ABOLISH ICE” before her team’s game in Unrivaled, the league she co-founded. Another WNBA star, Angel Reese, posted “Praying for our country” on X.
'Enough is enough': Vermont's Republican governor calls for Trump to de-escalate after fatal Minnesota shootings
Vermont’s governor Phil Scott earlier issued a statement calling for Donald Trump to de-escalate federal actions in Minnesota, the latest Republican to do so, saying: “Enough is enough.”
Enough … it’s not acceptable for American citizens to be killed by federal agents for exercising their God-given and constitutional rights to protest their government.
At best, these federal immigration operations are a complete failure of coordination of acceptable public safety and law enforcement practices, training, and leadership.
At worst, it’s a deliberate federal intimidation and incitement of American citizens that’s resulting in the murder of Americans. Again, enough is enough.
The President should pause these operations, de-escalate the situation, and reset the federal government’s focus on truly criminal illegal immigrants. In the absence of Presidential action, Congress and the Courts must step up to restore constitutionality.
With risk of a partial government shutdown growing, Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer has said he is seeking to advance the five other funding bills and rewrite the Department of Homeland Security bill, according to Punchbowl News, in the wake of “the blatant abuses of Americans by ICE in Minnesota”.
In a statement, via Punchbowl News, Schumer said:
Senate Democrats will not allow the current DHS funding bill to move forward.
Senate Republicans have seen the same horrific footage that all Americans have watched of the blatant abuses of Americans by ICE in Minnesota.
The appalling murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti on the streets of Minneapolis must lead Republicans to join the Democrats in overhauling ICE and CBP to protect the public. People should be safe from abuse by their own government.
Senate Republicans must work with Democrats to advance the other five funding bills while we work to rewrite the DHS bill. This is the best course of action, and the American people are on our side.
Last night, Schumer said his party would block the funding package altogether next week if it included money for the DHS in the wake of another fatal shooting of a US citizen in Minnesota by a federal agent.
The announcement, which dramatically escalated the potential for another partial government shutdown, came as anger towards homeland security, which oversees ICE, intensifies after a group of federal agents violently restrained and then fatally shot 37-year-old ICU nurse Pretti in Minneapolis, weeks after the fatal shooting of Good, also 37, by an ICE agent.
Updated
Minneapolis residents, angry and anxious, resolve to fight on as they mourn Alex Pretti
in Minneapolis
At the scene on Sunday, a tribute continued to grow – flowers, candles and signs stuck into the snowbank and on the asphalt – for Alex Pretti, the 37-year-old nurse who was observing ICE when he was killed. His death came less than three weeks after Renee Good, also 37, was killed by a federal agent in the city. In Minneapolis the scene of a growing vigil is now all too common.
Spray paint saying “ICE OUT” and “Fuck ICE” could be found throughout the area, on freeway overpasses and the sides of buildings. “RIP Alex,” signs at the shooting site said. People huddled in thick winter coats, one with a blanket wrapped around them, to pay their respects and keep watch on the memorial.
Glam Doll Donuts, across the street from the shooting, posted a photo out its front windows, lined with signs saying ICE wasn’t welcome but everyone else was, on social media on Sunday morning. Bystander video from that location spread widely the day before. The owners wrote that this view out their windows, which they’ve had for almost 13 years, would “never be the same”. They said the shop would be open for a few hours on Sunday, with “minimal donuts”, as a place for anyone needing some warmth and community.
“The tragedies we continue to experience together are horrifying but our people are beyond beautiful and we don’t take your shit,” they wrote.
The unrelenting federal campaign on the city has residents angry and anxious, resolved to fight back but aware that their resistance continues to grow more dangerous after the deaths of two observers. Beyond those who have worked in the streets to follow, document and alert residents to agents, an unofficial network of neighbors many thousands deep continues to grow to take kids to school, deliver groceries and supplies to people who can’t leave home and organize rides for those not driving for fear of agents pulling them over.
RT Rybak, the former mayor of Minneapolis, wrote that this global spotlight for the city can show people how to unite in a “common purpose” of protecting each other. “A community uniting around the idea that everyone belongs does not mourn alone,” he wrote.
Read Rachel’s full report here:
'A profound disregard for human life': NY governor Hochul calls on Noem and Bovino to resign or be fired
New York governor Kathy Hochul has lambasted the Trump administration for telling “a shameless, bold-faced lie” to justify the killing of Alex Pretti in Minnesota and called for the resignation of Kristi Noem and Greg Bovino.
The homeland security secretary has “shown a profound disregard for human life” and “forfeited her right to lead”, Hochul said, calling for Noem’s resignation or for Donald Trump “to do the right thing and just fire her”.
“And Gregory Bovino, who has helped lead and defend and escalate these operations, should also be fired,” she said.
“It’s a shame that I have to say this in America, but no one is above the law,” she added. “And make no mistake, when these people who have abused the power entrusted to them by their offices are finally out of power, states, including New York, will hold them accountable.”
Updated
Striking a decidedly different tone, Donald Trump earlier posted on his Truth Social plaftorm:
Minnesota is a Criminal COVER UP of the massive Financial Fraud that has gone on!
The US president posted similarly yesterday about the state and has yet to offer any condolences to Alex Pretti’s family, referring to the killed nurse only once – simply as a “gunman” – in a lengthy post yesterday.
Updated
Hundreds brave subzero temperatures to gather at a makeshift memorial at the site where Alex Pretti was fatally shot by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis yesterday.
Written in the snow are the words: “Long live Alex Pretti”. A sign on the memorial reads: “Stop fucking killing us.”
Updated
State records contradict Bovino's claims about target of Saturday's operation
Bovino said that the operation in Minneapolis had originally been targeting Jose Huerta-Chuma, who he described as a dangerous undocumented immigrant who needed to be taken off the streets.
He said Huerta-Chuma was in the process of being taken into custody when “agitators, rioters and anarchists” prevented the arrest.
But the Minnesota Department of Corrections flatly contradicted Bovino’s characterization of Huerta-Chuma as having a “significant criminal history”.
According to DOC records and Minnesota court data, the individual has never been in Minnesota DOC custody and has no felony commitments.
DOC records also revealed an inconvenient detail: someone with that name was held in federal immigration custody in a local Minnesota jail in 2018, during Trump’s first administration, and was released by federal authorities under Trump’s watch.
Updated
Federal agents involved in Pretti shooting scene reassigned outside of Minneapolis 'for their safety', Bovino says
Bovino added that they still don’t know how many shots were fired and “all agents that were involved in that scene are working, not in Minneapolis, but in other locations, that’s for their safety.”
Updated
When asked about the videos that show Alex Pretti was unarmed before being shot and killed, Bovino said: “Many videos out there, many different accounts that you may see that I may see.”
Folks, this why we have something called an investigation, to take what you’re talking about, to take those videos, to take witness statements, to take, officer statements, all those minute details that will paint a true picture, not a freeze frame concept, and paint a larger picture of what really happened. That is why we investigate, so we can get to the truth, so there’s not speculation.
Meanwhile, at the Department of Homeland Security press conference in Minneapolis, the commander of the US border patrol Greg Bovino lectured the hall and listeners virtually about “choices” and how “many actions that take place are due to our choices.”
“And then when you choose,” he said, “When someone chooses to listen to a politician, a so-called journalist, a community leader that spouted that type of vilification towards law enforcement or anything else we choose to listen to that that is a choice, and there are consequences and actions there also. I think we saw that yesterday.”
'You know what you saw': Walz tells America the country is at 'an inflection point'
Closing the press conference, Tim Walz pays tribute to Alex Pretti as a son, ICU nurse and someone “beloved by his community” and calls on the Trump administration to stop “gaslighting the country” and “smearing” Pretti’s name, adding that his family “has been through enough”.
He tells Americans:
You know what you saw, and then you heard the most powerful people in the world ... narrate to you what you were looking at, that this was a domestic terrorist … sullying his name within minutes of this event happening.
Federal agents then closed the crime scene, “sweeping away the evidence”, Walz adds. Someone needs to be held accountable for the shooting, he says, as he renews calls for Trump to pull ICE agents out of Minneapolis.
He says that “sitting behind a keyboard at 2am and besmirching a VA nurse and a son and a co-worker and a friend is despicable beyond all description.”
Walz asks people to put aside political bias out of “basic human decency”.
This is an inflection point, America. If we cannot all agree that the smearing of an American citizen and besmirching everything they stood for and asking us not to believe what we saw, I don’t know what else to tell you.
Updated
Ellison also notes that his office and county officials secured a temporary restraining order from a federal judge last night barring federal officials from destroying evidence from Alex Pretti’s shooting, “including any evidence that federal agents took from the scene, preventing state authorities from inspecting it”.
“We’ve never had to do anything like this before,” he says. “The fact that anyone would ever think that an agent of the federal government might even think about doing such a thing was completely unforeseeable only a few weeks ago.”
It is imperative that we preserve as much evidence as possible so that state investigators are able to access the evidence to ensure a fair and thorough investigation.
Ellison highlights similarities with the aftermath of the shooting of Renee Good where state investigators were also denied access to the scene and “to this moment are still being denied access to the investigative file”.
Federal officials 'refused access' for state investigators to Pretti shooting scene, Minnesota AG says
Minnesota attorney general Keith Ellison says federal officials denied state investigators from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension access to the scene of Alex Pretti’s shooting yesterday, which prompted legal action by the state.
They arrived on site after the shooting and were refused access. They then secured a judicial warrant, a warrant signed by a judge, which has never been needed before and were still refused access.
This is uncharted territory.
Telling Minnesotans that he’s proud of their peaceful, resolved defense of their neighbors and the constitution, Walz tells residents to “stay peaceful and stay safe”.
“Change is coming, and we can feel it, but this fight still goes on,” the governor adds.
Urging Americans to put politics aside and speak out, Walz says:
We’re no longer having a political debate; we’re having a moral debate.
Updated
'What side do you want to be on?' Walz asks Americans in wake of another fatal shooting
Walz asks Americans watching: “What side do you want to be on?”
He asks them to consider whether they stand with “an all powerful federal government that can kill, injure, menace and kidnap its citizens off the streets,” or with Pretti, “a nurse at the VA hospital who died bearing witness to such government,” or the side of “a mother whose last words were, ‘I’m not mad at you’,” or the side of “tens of thousands of peaceful citizens who showed up to march when the wind chill was 40 below, because they love this state and they love this country.”
You’re allowed to decide at any point that you’re not with this any more. If you voted for this administration … you’re still allowed to look at what’s happening here in Minnesota and say, ‘This isn’t what I voted for and this isn’t what I want’.
Updated
Walz repeats his call for Trump to pull federal agents from the state.
We believe in law and order in this state. We believe in peace. And we believe that Donald Trump needs to pull these 3,000 untrained agents out of Minnesota before they kill another person.
Walz says he spoke with Alex Pretti’s parents yesterday and expressed his deepest sympathies.
Through his parents’ words, Walz describes Pretti as having lived “a life of generosity, service-oriented”, from enjoying outdoor activities in the state to “being down there on the street as a first amendment witness to what ICE is doing to this state”.
“Now we’ve got two Minnesotans dead,” the governor says, referring to Pretti and Renee Good. “So my question is what’s the plan, Donald Trump? What is the plan? What do we need to do to get these federal agents out of our state?”
“You thought fear, violence and chaos is what you wanted from us, and you clearly underestimated the people of this state and nation,” he says.
We are tired, but we’re resolved. We’re peaceful, but we’ll never forget. We’re angry, but we won’t give up hope. And above all else, we are clearly unified.
If it was the intention of Donald Trump to make an example of Minnesota, then I’m damn proud of the example that the world’s seeing.
Updated
Walz holds press conference on fatal shooting of Alex Pretti
Minnesota governor Tim Walz is currently holding a press conference on the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis yesterday. I’ll bring you all the key lines here.
A reminder that earlier this morning, Walz called on Donald Trump to pull federal agents out of the city “before they kill another American in the street”.
Updated
Summary so far
There have been lots of developments in response to the shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday. Here’s a breakdown of what you might have missed:
The family of Alexi Pretti said they were “heartbroken but also very angry” after Donald Trump and his officials referred to Pretti as a “gunman” who had approached US border patrol officers. “The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting,” they said.
A senior Republican senator called for ‘a full joint federal and state investigation’ into the shooting. Louisiana’s Bill Cassidy said the credibility of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security was in the balance.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer has said Senate Democrats will not vote for a spending package that includes money for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE. This increases the possibility that the government could partially shut down on 30 January when funding runs out.
An online fundraiser for the family of Alex Pretti had raised nearly $500,000 by Sunday morning. The “Alex Pretti is an American Hero” campaign on the GoFundMe platform surpassed its goal of $20,000 quickly after organizer Keith Edwards launched it on Saturday.
Senior US border patrol official Greg Bovino continued to defend the shooting, claiming that Pretti “brought a weapon” and “injected himself into a crime scene”. This is despite video footage showing Pretti holding a phone, not a weapon.
FBI director Kash Patel has suggested that Alex Pretti had broken the law by carrying the gun that he had a legal permit to carry. In an interview with Fox News, he provided no evidence to support the Trump administration’s claims that Pretti posed a threat to federal officers.
Barack and Michelle Obama have called Alex Pretti’s killing a “heartbreaking tragedy”. “It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault,” the couple said in a statement.
Pressure is mounting from across the political spectrum on Donald Trump’s administration to fully investigate the shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Both Democratic and Republican Senators have have called for an investigation today.
You can read our in-depth report on how political figures have responded to the incident, including Barack and Michelle Obama, who called the killing “a heartbreaking tragedy”.
Updated
'Outraged' nurses union calls for ICE to be abolished
National Nurses United, the US’s largest union for registered nurses, has released a statement expressing outrage at the shooting of Alex Pretti and calling for ICE to be abolished immediately.
The nation’s nurses, who make it their mission to care for and save human lives, are horrified and outraged that immigration agents have once again committed cold-blooded murder of a public observer who posed no threat to them.
The statement paid tribute to Pretti, a registered nurse who cared for veterans in an intensive care unit and also took his activism to the streets.
ICE and all related immigration enforcement agencies have repeatedly shown through their violence, terror, and lawlessness that they pose a dire public health threat to the entire country and all our communities. ICE agents have been kidnapping hard working people - mothers, fathers, and children - and now murdered a registered nurse, one of the most trusted professions in the country.
Nurses demand the immediate abolition of ICE.
'This has to stop': Pretti shooting should be a 'wake-up call to every American' that core values are under assault, say Obamas
Former president and first lady Barack and Michelle Obama have called Alex Pretti’s killing a “heartbreaking tragedy”.
“It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault,” the couple said.
In a statement, the Obamas went on:
For weeks now, people across the country have been rightly outraged by the spectacle of masked ICE recruits and other federal agents acting with impunity and engaging in tactics that seem designed to intimidate, harass, provoke and endanger the residents of a major American city.
They add that the Trump administration “seem eager to escalate the situation” and have tried to explain the shootings of Pretti and Renee Good without “any serious investigation - and that appear to be directly contradicted by video evidence”.
This has to stop.
Updated
Earlier this morning, Minneapolis officials said they had reopened streets in the area near where Alex Pretti was killed yesterday, and that “Minnesota National Guard assignments have also ended at the site”.
The city added in a news release that there “were no arrests or reports of burglaries or fires overnight, and activity remained overwhelmingly calm and peaceful”.
Kristi Noem has told Fox News that she has “grieved” for the parents of Alex Pretti, who was shot and killed by a border patrol agent in Minneapolis yesterday.
I’m grieved for them. I truly am. I can’t even imagine losing a child. And I can’t imagine a tragic situation.
The homeland security secretary then proceeded to place blame on Pretti for having a concealed weapon and for “confronting” officers. A reminder that, as we’ve been reporting, Pretti had a concealed carry permit and video footage of the incident does not show him brandishing the weapon at officers. Conversely, videos show Pretti was holding a phone, and was disarmed before he was fatally shot.
Without evidence, Noem told Fox News:
We can’t have individuals that are impeding law enforcement operations and then showing up with guns and weapons and no ID and confronting law enforcement, like, that is one of the reasons that we see situations like this unfold.
Asked about first amendment rights, Noem said individuals should comply with officers who tell them to “back off”, and added, without providing any evidence that Pretti had behaved in the obstructive manner described:
When an officer tells you to back off and gives you orders you should comply and explain you shouldn’t show up with weapons that no ID and no indication of how they’re going to be used, and that aggressive interaction, laying hands on law enforcement officers, clearly, is a crime, and it is something that should not be acceptable.
Updated
Further to my earlier post about the handful of Republicans expressing growing concern about “federal tactics and accountability” in Minnesota, former congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has urged Americans across the political spectrum to “take off their political blinders”.
The former Trump loyalist took to X to suggest that had the victim of the Minneapolis shooting had been a “MAGA guy” in the Biden era, those in the movement would be outraged.
“Legally carrying a firearm is not the same as brandishing a firearm,” she wrote, adding: “There is nothing wrong with legally peacefully protesting and videoing.”
Greene resigned from the House earlier this month after a dramatic falling out with Trump, who labelled her a “traitor”.
“You are all being incited into civil war, yet none of it solves any of the real problems that we all face, and tragically people are dying,” she wrote.
NRA and pro-gun groups call for ‘full investigation’ into killing of Alex Pretti
The National Rifle Association (NRA) has joined other gun lobbying and advocacy groups that are typically aligned with Donald Trump in calling for the Republican president’s administration to conduct a “full investigation” into the killing of Alex Pretti, the 37-year-old nurse who was shot dead by federal immigration officials in Minneapolis yesterday.
Pretti was reportedly legally permitted to carry a gun and is a citizen of the US, where it is a constitutional right to bear arms. Widely circulated video of his shooting death does not depict Pretti ever holding a gun. It does show an officer reaching to Petti’s lower back and stepping away with what appeared to be a pistol – and Petti being subsequently shot to death.
The NRA waded into the national dialogue over Pretti’s killing after Bill Essayli – who was appointed by Trump to temporarily serve as a US attorney in California in 2025 – posted on social media: “If you approach law enforcement with a gun, there is a high likelihood they will be legally justified in shooting you.”
In response, the NRA posted:
This sentiment … is dangerous and wrong. Responsible public voices should be awaiting a full investigation, not making generalizations and demonizing law-abiding citizens.
As we reported earlier, Gun Owners of America, a non-profit lobbying organization, also criticized that claim from Essayli – who is now an acting first assistant US attorney for California’s central federal district court.
“Federal agents are not ‘highly likely’ to be ‘legally justified’ in ‘shooting’ concealed carry licensees who approach while lawfully carrying a firearm,” the group posted. It added that the US constitution’s second amendment “protects Americans’ right to bear arms while protesting – a right the federal government must not infringe upon.”
California governor Gavin Newsom’s press office responded to the NRA’s criticism of Essayli, saying on social media, “Wow. Even the NRA thinks Trump’s [justice department] stooge in California has gone too far for claiming federal agents were ‘legally justified’ to kill Alex Pretti.”
Newsom’s press office added:
Your position is truly horrible when even the NRA calls you out.
Here’s the full report:
Organizers in Minnesota have encouraged “hyper local gatherings” with the people they see regularly to gather in dispersed places, as opposed to thousands gathering and making for an easier and bigger “target for ICE”.
One local man has shared with my colleague Jana that he and his neighbors have been gathering in front of their house where there is a park with public art, as they do during summer block gatherings, bringing candles and flashlights with them as they sing together for peace.
Updated
Growing number of Republican lawmakers join calls for full investigation into Alex Pretti’s killing
A handful of Republicans have expressed growing concern this morning about the tactics that federal immigration officials are using in Minnesota after a US border patrol agent fatally shot Alex Pretti in Minneapolis yesterday.
Oklahoma governor Kevin Stitt said the killing of the 37-year-old intensive care unit nurse was a “real tragedy”. He told CNN earlier:
I think the death of Americans, what we’re seeing on TV, it’s causing deep concerns over federal tactics and accountability. Americans don’t like what they’re seeing right now.
Asked if he thought the president should pull immigration agents from Minnesota, Stitt said Trump has to answer that question, adding:
He’s getting bad advice right now.
The governor said the Republican president needed to tell the American people what the solution and “endgame” are, and that there needed to be solutions instead of politicizing the situation.
Right now, tempers are just going crazy and we need to calm this down.
North Carolina senator Thom Tillis and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, also conveyed unease.
In a social media post, Cassidy called the shooting “incredibly disturbing” and that the “credibility of ICE and DHS are at stake”. He called for a “full joint federal and state investigation”.
Tillis urged a “thorough and impartial investigation”, posting:
Any administration official who rushes to judgment and tries to shut down an investigation before it begins are doing an incredible disservice to the nation and to President Trump’s legacy.
Representative Thomas Massie, of Kentucky, also defended the carrying of a gun as a “constitutional right”, following the administration’s claim that Pretti was armed when he was shot dead by federal agents yesterday.
“Carrying a firearm is not a death sentence, it’s a Constitutionally protected God-given right,” Massie said in a post on X.
Updated
'The videos speak for themselves,' says Minneapolis police chief
Minneapolis police chief Brian O’Hara has been speaking to CBS News this morning, saying that he has received no cooperation or official information from the federal government related to yesterday’s fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, and that federal agents had blocked his officers and members of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension following the killing.
Even when our officers initially responded to the scene, our watch commander was not given even the most basic information that is typical in a law enforcement-involved shooting just to ensure that there is potentially no other victims.
Since then, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension responded to the scene at my request. They were blocked from the scene yesterday, but they have since returned to the scene and are now canvassing for additional witnesses and evidence that may be there.
He also said that video footage of the incident raised “serious questions” about the account provided by Greg Bovino. “The videos speak for themselves,” he said, adding that Pretti lawfully owned his handgun and “did not violate” the state’s gun laws.
O’Hara said Pretti appeared to be “exercising his first amendment rights to record law enforcement activity, and also exercising his second amendment rights to lawfully be armed in a public space in the city”.
I think it’s deeply concerning the things that are being said. This is an individual that was a city resident. It appears that he was present exercising his first amendment rights to record law enforcement activity and also exercising his second amendment rights to lawfully be armed in a public space in the city.
So I think very obviously there are serious questions that are being raised, and I think the greater issue is, even if there is an investigation that ultimately proves that at the time of the shooting it was legally justified, I don’t think that even matters at this point because there’s just, there is so much outrage and concern around what is happening in the city.
Updated
FBI analyzing gun Alex Pretti was allegedly carrying, says Patel
FBI director Kash Patel has given an interview to Fox News in which he suggested that Alex Pretti had broken the law by carrying the gun that he had a legal permit to carry, and provided no evidence to support the Trump administration’s claims that Pretti posed a threat to federal officers.
“You cannot bring a firearm loaded with multiple magazines to any sort of protest that you want. It’s that simple,” Patel said. “You don’t have that right to break the law and incite violence.”
Readers will not need reminding that Republicans generally celebrate the right to possess firearms as enshrined in the constitution.
Indeed, assertions like that from the administration has received fierce pushback from gun rights groups such as Gun Owners of America, which said in a statement after the shooting saying that “the second amendment protects Americans’ right to bear arms while protesting — a right the federal government must not infringe upon.”
And, again, video footage of the incident directly contradicts the Trump administration’s suggestions that Pretti was inciting violence, and show that he was holding a phone, not a gun, when he was killed.
Asked several times about what evidence there is to demonstrate that Pretti was allegedly using the gun or threatening the agents, or whether the border patrol agents saw the gun before Pretti was killed, Patel said:
That’s something I’ll leave to the DHS and prosecutors ... I don’t want to stylise that evidence.
He said the FBI was looking at the “physical evidence” from the scene, mainly the gun that Pretti was allegedly carrying, which is being analyzed for fingerprints and DNA, how many times it may have been fired, and looking at shell casings from the scene, Patel said.
Updated
Bondi demands access to Minnesota voter rolls and welfare data in return for pulling ICE out of the state
Further to that, in a letter sent to Tim Walz hours after the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, which was obtained by multiple outlets, attorney general Pam Bondi outlined terms to “restore the rule of law” in Minnesota – telling the governor that she would pull ICE out of the state if he turns over of its voter database.
“You and your office must restore the rule of law, support ICE officers, and bring an end to the chaos in Minnesota,” Bondi wrote in the letter, putting the onus on Walz rather than the federal agents she oversees. “Fortunately, there are common sense solutions to these problems that I hope we can accomplish together.”
Bondi went on on to press the Democratic governor to hand over information about the state’s welfare programs (including Medicaid and SNAP) to the federal government, repeal immigration sanctuary policies and give the Department of Justice access to the state’s voter rolls “to confirm that Minnesota’s voter registration practices comply with federal law”.
“I am confident that these simple steps will help bring back law and order to Minnesota and improve the lives of Americans,” Bondi said in the letter.
Updated
Walz urges Trump to pull agents out of Minneapolis 'before they kill another American in the street'
Minnesota governor Tim Walz has repeated his calls for immigration enforcement officers to leave the city of Minneapolis “before they kill another American in the street”.
The governor wrote on X:
Minnesota believes in law and order. We believe in peace. And we believe that Trump needs to pull his 3,000 untrained agents out of Minnesota before they kill another American in the street.
Updated
Bovino continues to defend fatal shooting of Alex Pretti without evidence
Senior US border patrol official Greg Bovino, who has spearheaded Trump’s aggressive immigration operations across the country, was asked on CNN about whether Alex Pretti was at any point “brandishing” a weapon – as the Trump administration has repeatedly claimed – or was unarmed when he was killed by federal agents yesterday.
Video footage of the incident directly contradicts the administration’s claims, and show that Pretti was holding a phone, not a weapon, when he was tackled to the ground by federal agents. Pretti was armed at the time of the incident and had a legal permit to carry. At no point is he seen wielding a weapon.
At first Bovino said only that Pretti “had brought a weapon … to a riot” and that the investigation was under way. He then proceeded to cast blame on the victim, saying, without any evidence, that what Pretti did was to “perpetrate violence, obstruct, delay or obfuscate border patrol in the performance of their duties in an active crime scene”.
He injected himself into that crime scene. I can’t say that enough, he made the decision to go there. We didn’t make the decision to talk to him.
Asked about video footage that appears to show officers disarming Pretti when he was shot, Bovino said:
We’re not going to adjudicate that here on TV in one freeze-frame there. We heard the law enforcement officer say, ‘Gun, gun, gun.’ So at some point they knew there was a gun.
He brought a semiautomatic weapon to a riot, assaulted federal officers … So I do believe the [homeland secuity] secretary [Kristi Noem] is 100% spot on in what she said.
Bovino declined to say whether the gun was fired or how many federal agents fired their weapons. He added that the second amendment right to bear arms “don’t count when you riot... and disrupt law enforcement”.
He maintained that “the victims are the border patrol agents there” and that they “are going to more than likely be on administrative duty” as investigations continue.
Updated
'Your eyes don't lie': Amy Klobuchar says she will vote against DHS funding as government heads towards a potential partial shutdown
We mentioned in an earlier post the Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, said his party would block a funding package next week if it includes money for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, increasing the possibility that the government could partially shut down on 30 January when funding runs out.
The Democratic Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar, who filed paperwork last week to create a campaign committee to run for governor in the state, said she would not vote for DHS funding after Alex Pretti was killed by federal agents in Minneapolis on Saturday.
In an interview on NBC News’ Meet the Press programme, she said: “When they’re killing two constituents in my state, and they’re taking 2-year-olds out of the arms of their mom, and they are taking an elder Hmong man out of his house and putting him out there in his underwear, and then figuring out they have the wrong man, no, I am not voting for this funding.” In a separate part of the interview, Klobuchar said:
When you see the video … what you see is someone brandishing a cellphone who is simply there with a cellphone helping someone up, a woman up, as his parents point out, when she had slipped.
And so when I hear the officials from the Trump administration describe this video in ways that simply aren’t true I just keep thinking ‘your eyes don’t lie.’
Klobuchar urged Republicans in the Senate to join Democrats and “stand up” to vote against the DHS funding as she said ICE and Border Control agents are violating the first, second and fourth amendments.
Updated
The American Nurses Association, which represents over five million registered nurses, said in a statement that it was “deeply disturbed and saddened” by the killing of Alex Pretti, a US citizen and nurse, by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis. The statement, posted to social media, read:
The American Nurses Association (ANA) is deeply disturbed and saddened to learn of the death of Alex Pretti, a registered nurse, in Minneapolis earlier today. We extend our condolences to Alex’s loved ones, colleagues, and the community at large.
ANA condemns violence in our communities. The seriousness of this incident and others demand transparency and accountability. ANA calls for a full, unencumbered investigation, and urges that findings be shared promptly and clearly so Alex’s loved ones and the public have answers.
One in four nurses already experience workplace violence. As incidents with federal law enforcement continue to rise across the country, we are deeply concerned for the safety of nurses, both on the job and in the communities they serve.
Nurses are advocates for the safety and well-being of their communities. They enter this profession to heal, to protect human life, and to show up for people in their most vulnerable moments. ANA remains committed to preventing violence in the workplace and in our communities, and to advancing meaningful protections that safeguard healthcare workers and the public.
The Associated Press reported last week that the Pentagon had ordered about 1,500 active duty soldiers to be ready in case of a possible deployment to Minnesota.
It came after Donald Trump said in a social media post that he would invoke the Insurrection Act “if the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job.”
The president, who has repeatedly threatened to use the 1807 law, appeared to walk back the threat the following day, telling reporters there wasn’t a reason to use it “right now”. “If I needed it, I’d use it,” Trump said. “It’s very powerful.”
The Insurrection Act is a US federal law that gives the president the power to deploy the military or federalize national guard troops inside the US to quell domestic uprisings.
Generally, federal military forces are not allowed to carry out civilian law enforcement duties against US citizens except in times of emergency.
The law enables troops to take part in domestic law enforcement activities such as making arrests and performing searches, functions they are generally otherwise prohibited from engaging in.
Updated
GoFundMe page for Pretti nears $400,000
A GoFundMe page entitled Alex Pretti is an American Hero has raised almost $400,000 since it was set up just 17 hours ago.
Its organiser, Keith Edwards, said that Pretti was '“executed on the streets of Minneapolis by ICE agents”.
On the page, he says:
This fundraiser is intended to support the loved ones he leaves behind … If, for any reason, the funds cannot be transferred to Alex’s family, we will direct the total amount to the Immigrant Defense Project, a nonprofit that provides litigation, advocacy, and community-defense resources to help immigrants defend their rights and fight deportation.
A number of prominent US sports stars have condemned Alex Pretti’s killing by federal agents.
On Saturday, two-time NBA All-star Tyrese Haliburton posted: “Alex Pretti was murdered.” Another basketball star, Angel Reese, posted “Praying for our country” on X.
NFL stars also reacted to the shooting. Former Steelers player and broadcaster Ryan Clark paid tribute to Pretti on X. “Rest Easy Alex Pretti. Bro was a hero. Prayers to his family & loved ones. Senseless death… AGAIN!!” Clark wrote.
Dwight McGlothern Jr, a cornerback for Minneapolis’s NFL team, the Minnesota Vikings, has regularly posted on the recent unrest and did so again on Saturday. “It’s not right what’s happening in Minnesota,” he wrote.
Saturday’s NBA game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Golden State Warriors was postponed after Pretti’s killing. The Timberwolves play less than two miles from the scene of the shooting and the NBA said it made the decision to “prioritize the safety and security of the Minneapolis community”.
You can read our full report here
Here is a video showing the moment ICE agents shoot Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. A warning – it is quite distressing to watch:
David Smith, a former foreign correspondent, has written about the areas targeted in the US immigration crackdown causing terror in communities across the country:
In the first year of his second presidency, Trump’s ICE deployments have been carefully aimed at cities that are Democratic-led and often Black-led, as if imposing collective punishment for their defiance. In this, he is borrowing from an authoritarian playbook reminiscent of Saddam Hussein of Iraq targeting the Kurds or Soviet leader Joseph Stalin causing the Holodomor, or “death by hunger”, in Ukraine.
It is the same vengeful petulance that in the past week alone has seen Trump lash out at Canada and other Nato allies over perceived slights in Davos during his quest to conquer Greenland.
Trump seems to reserve a special loathing for Minnesota because he lost the presidential elections there in 2016, 2020 and 2024, despite most neighbouring states voting in his favour. He recently made the false claim that he won Minnesota all three times. In reality, no Republican – not even Ronald Reagan – has prevailed there since Richard Nixon in 1972.
Minnesota is home to the biggest Somali community in the country, making it a target of Trump’s animus: this week, he described Somalis as “low-IQ people”, not even trying to conceal his racism. It is also home to Somali-born Ilhan Omar, a progressive congresswoman who gets under Trump’s skin. The state’s governor, Tim Walz, is a trenchant critic of the president who was Kamala Harris’s running mate in the 2024 election that she lost to Trump.
In addition, toward the end of his first presidency, Minneapolis was the scene of the police murder of Floyd, a Black man. Floyd’s killing sparked Black Lives Matter protests that surged all the way to the doorstep of the White House. America felt febrile and fragile in those days. This is another of those moments.
You can read the rest of David Smith’s analysis piece here:
Updated
Minnesota workers pressure employers to take action against ICE operations
Here is an extract from a story by my colleague Michael Sainato who has looked into how some of the US’s biggest companies are facing intensifying pressure to speak out about ICE’s operations in Minnesota:
On Friday, labor unions, community leaders, and faith leaders organized a Day of Truth & Freedom, calling for an economic blackout of no work, no shopping and no school.
Organizers of the Day of Truth & Freedom have been targeting large corporations in demanding they take stands against ICE, including ceasing economic activity with the agency, and banning the agency from entering work sites.
Target, Home Depot, Enterprise, Delta Airlines and Hilton were targeted with actions leading up to the 23 January economic blackout. Hundreds of Target workers signed onto a letter addressed to the company’s CEO and other leaders criticizing the company’s silence on the ICE operations in Minnesota. None of the companies responded to multiple requests for comment.
“It’s so sad to see Target so silent,” said Sheletta Brundidge, an activist and organizer in Minneapolis who started a Target boycott with activist Nekima Levy Armstrong against the company rescinding their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Levy Armstrong was recently detained by the FBI for an anti-ICE protest at a Minnesota church. Brundidge previously worked with Target.
“That Target CEO should be out at the street talking to people. He should be part of the protesting. He should make sure that the neighbors to his company’s headquarters are taken care of. Has he gone out to the site where Renee Good was killed and dropped off water or hand warmers? Have they done anything for her children? Has he stepped out of that ivory tower to look around and see what is going on?” added Brundidge.
Updated
Colleagues pay tribute to Alex Pretti, described as 'the gentlest soul you ever met'
Alex Pretti, a Veterans Affairs Hospital ICU nurse, was said to be deeply upset about the Trump administration’s sometimes brutal immigration crackdown. The 37-year-old has been described as kindhearted by his friends and family (see opening post to read what his parents said about him in a statement issued after he was killed).
Dimitri Drekonja, chief of the Infectious Diseases Section at the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs hospital and a colleague of Pretti, called him “a good kind person who lived to help.” Pretti was a nurse working “to support critically ill veterans,” he added.
Joshua Green, another colleague, said Pretti was passionate about human rights and was not easily provoked. “He was a very calm, collected person and always had a good demeanor,” Green said. “He always had a smile. This is quite the shock.”
Aasma Shaukat said she hired Pretti at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System about a decade ago, according to the Washington Post. “Alex was the sweetest, kindest, gentlest soul you ever met,” Shaukat said.
“He was very bright-eyed, bushy-tailed. He wanted to get into the health care field, work with patients and be a nurse,” she recalled. “He did wonderful. Did his work really well, was a team player.”
Updated
Senate Democrats will not vote for spending package that includes money for the DHS, Schumer says
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer has said Senate Democrats will not vote for a spending package that includes money for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, increasing the possibility that the government could partially shut down on 30 January when funding runs out. Posting on X late last night, Schumer said:
What’s happening in Minnesota is appalling-and unacceptable in any American city. Democrats sought common sense reforms in the Department of Homeland Security spending bill, but because of Republicans’ refusal to stand up to President Trump, the DHS bill is woefully inadequate to rein in the abuses of ICE. I will vote no.
Senate Democrats will not provide the votes to proceed to the appropriations bill if the DHS funding bill is included.
House Republicans overcame widespread Democratic opposition on Thursday to approve a bill funding the DHS, with a 220-207 vote cast after seven Democrats joined nearly all Republicans in voting for the measure. It is now being sent to the Senate for consideration.
Updated
Yesterday’s killing of Alex Pretti by federal immigration officers came weeks after Renee Good, also a 37-year-old American citizen, was killed on 7 January by a federal immigration officer in Minneapolis, sparking outrage nationwide.
My colleague Richard Luscombe reports in this story:
The death of Good, who relatives said was acting as a legal observer of a surge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity in Minneapolis, has raised tensions in the Minnesota city and sparked a fight between the Trump administration and local officials.
The White House and the Department of Homeland Security have repeatedly insisted that Good was a “domestic terrorist” who aimed her car at the ICE agent. The officer was forced to fire in self-defense, they claimed.
Multiple video clips of the encounter, however, show that Good was steering away from the agent as she tried to drive away, and at least two of the shots were fired from the side of the vehicle. State officials are angry that they have been cut out of an FBI inquiry, and that federal authorities are looking into Good’s widow and Democratic leaders in Minnesota, including the governor, Tim Walz, and the Minneapolis mayor, Jacob Frey, and not the officer who killed Good, Jonathan Ross.
Amy Fischer, the director for refugee and migrant rights with Amnesty International US, has condemned the killing of Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis on Saturday, saying in a statement issued yesterday that it was “not an isolated incident”.
Fischer said:
Today’s fatal shooting by U.S. Border Patrol agents on the streets of Minneapolis is the latest devastating reminder that ICE and Customs and Border Patrol are not making our communities safer. Instead, they are operating with impunity, using deadly force in broad daylight, terrorizing neighborhoods, and tearing young children from their families.
This killing is not an isolated incident. It is part of a broader pattern in which ICE, with its paramilitary-style operations, has been unleashed to carry out violent and abusive enforcement and detention practices with little oversight or accountability. From deadly street operations to the torture, neglect and other abuses documented in immigrant detention facilities, ICE has repeatedly violated human rights while facing virtually no consequences. In fact, the House voted Thursday to increase its funding by billions of dollars.
How many more people must die before U.S. leaders act? At a moment when lives are being taken and communities are demanding answers, Congress must stop looking away. The U.S. Senate faces an urgent choice in the coming days: continue pouring billions of taxpayer dollars into a lawless agency that endangers lives with impunity or take meaningful action to rein in ICE and stop funding its abuses.
Amnesty International calls on Congress to reject any additional funding for ICE and to immediately take steps to hold ICE accountable for the deaths and other human rights violations it has caused, and to end these deadly enforcement practices. Not one more life sould be lost. Not one more dime should be spent enabling this horror.”
California governor calls for homeland security secretary to resign
Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, has called for Kristi Noem to resign from her role as homeland security secretary and for senior US border patrol official Gregory Bovino, who has spearheaded aggressive immigration operations across the country, to be fired.
Noem has said Alex Pretti “approached US border patrol officers with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun”, a claim that is undermined by video evidence and witness testimony. Bovino also told reporters that Pretti had approached border patrol agents with the same gun.
In a post on X, Newsom, a frontrunner among Democratic candidates for president in 2028, said:
Kristi Noem must RESIGN. Greg Bovino must be FIRED. Suspend the LAWLESS mass deportation raids nationwide NOW – ICE is no longer just deporting dangerous criminals. Send the border patrol back to the border. End the militarization of ICE + the sick racial profiling.
End the perverse cash incentives that are bounties to perpetrate Trump’s cruel agenda. Require thorough, real background checks for everyone, and 2+ years of training before even setting foot in the field. INVESTIGATE and PROSECUTE every single federal agent who is breaking the law.
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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has called out Trump administration officials for justifying Alex Pretti’s death at the hands of federal agents because he was in legal possession of a firearm.
In criticising Department of Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem, Ocasio-Cortez alluded to the broad conservative support for Kyle Rittenhouse, who fatally shot two people in Kenosha, Wisconsin, some six years ago during racial justice protests.
Ocasio-Cortez said:
How rich is it that she is saying showing up to the scene of a protest with a legally owned weapon should be grounds for a person’s death, execution at the hands of the state, by the same party and the same administration that praises Kyle Rittenhouse.
Earlier on Saturday, Noem had said:
I don’t know any peaceful protester that shows up with a gun and ammunition, rather than a sign. This is a violent riot. We have someone showing up with weapons and are using them to assault law enforcement officers.
There is no evidence that Pretti had any intention of attacking law enforcement officers. Video of the incident also undermines that the shooting of Pretti was in self-defence.
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Senior Republican senator calls for 'a full joint federal and state investigation'
A senior Republic senator has said the credibility of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security are in the balance after what happened in Minneapolis and has called for a full inquiry.
Louisiana’s Bill Cassidy posted on X:
The events in Minneapolis are incredibly disturbing. The credibility of ICE and DHS are at stake. There must be a full joint federal and state investigation. We can trust the American people with the truth.
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Further to the last post, fellow actress Natalie Portman got emotional as she described her feelings over a “horrible day”.
“What is happening in our country is just obscene,” she said in Park City, where she was promoting the film The Gallerist.
What Trump and [homeland security secretary] Kristi Noem and ICE are doing to our citizens and to undocumented people is outrageous and needs to end.
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Hollywood stars have used red carpet appearances at the Sundance film festival to denounce the killing of American citizen Alex Pretti after his fatal shooting by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis.
Actor and director Olivia Wilde said on Saturday that the death of a second protester in just three weeks at the hands of federal agents was “unfathomable”, Agence France-Presse is reporting.
“I can’t believe that we’re watching people get murdered in the street,” she said.
These brave Americans who have stepped out to protest the injustice of these ICE quote/unquote ‘officers,’ and watching them be murdered – it’s unfathomable. We cannot normalise it.
Wilde – who wore an “ICE OUT” badge and was in Park City, Utah, for the premiere of the film The Invite – said the US government violence against people exercising their right to free expression was “un-American”.
We may have a government that is somehow trying to make excuses for it and legitimise it, but we [Americans] don’t.
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Opening summary: Alex Pretti's parents condemn 'sickening lies' of Trump administration
Welcome to our live coverage of the outcry across the US following the fatal shooting of 37-year-old American citizen Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis on Saturday, the second such killing there in less than three weeks.
Pretti’s family released a statement on Saturday evening in which they said they were “heartbroken but also very angry” after Donald Trump and his officials referred to Pretti as a “gunman” who had approached US border patrol officers.
“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,” the family statement said. “Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man.”
Two witnesses to the killing have said in sworn testimony that the intensive care nurse was not brandishing a weapon when he approached federal agents in Minneapolis on Saturday.
One witness, who filmed the shooting from right behind Pretti, said federal agents tackled him after he came to help someone whom they had pushed to the ground.
Footage from the scene supports the assertion that Pretti is holding a phone, not a gun, when he was tackled and shot.
In the aftermath of the killing, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released an image of a handgun, which Donald Trump referred to as “the gunman’s gun” in a social media post. Kristi Noem, the DHS secretary, said at a briefing that Pretti had “approached US border patrol officers with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun”. Greg Bovino, a senior border patrol commander, said: “This looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.”
Here are some of the latest developments:
Minnesota federal judge Eric Tostrud ordered federal agencies to preserve evidence related to Pretti’s death. Tostrud’s ruling marked a response to Minnesota officials’ lawsuit on Saturday alleging that federal officials were stymying investigative efforts.
Thousands of protesters gathered in cities including Minneapolis, New York City, San Francisco, Boston and Providence, Rhode Island. They braved extreme cold to shout slogans including: “Say it once, say it twice, we will not put up with ICE!”
The Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, said his party would block a funding package next week if it included money for the DHS, the department responsible for ICE. “What’s happening in Minnesota is appalling – and unacceptable in any American city,” the New York senator said. “Democrats sought common sense reforms in the Department of Homeland Security spending bill, but because of Republicans’ refusal to stand up to President Trump, the DHS bill is woefully inadequate to rein in the abuses of ICE. I will vote no.”
US vice-president JD Vance said on X, without providing evidence for his claims, that “this level of engineered chaos is unique to Minneapolis. It is the direct consequence of far left agitators, working with local authorities.”
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