Justice Department Opens Civil Rights Investigation Into Deadly Shooting of Alex Pretti

The 37-year-old protester was shot and killed by a Border Patrol agent and a customs officer on Jan. 24.

Alex J. Pretti in an undated photo. Michael Pretti via AP

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has opened a civil rights investigation into the deadly shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Jan. 24.

The fatal shooting is being examined by the FBI and may be assisted by the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Jan. 30.

The Epoch Times contacted the DOJ for additional information.

Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse who had a gun on his body as he confronted federal agents, was shot and killed by a Border Patrol agent and a customs officer nearly one week ago while they were trying to arrest an illegal immigrant with a criminal record.

“The officers attempted to disarm the suspect, but the armed suspect violently resisted,” the Department of Homeland Security wrote in a statement on Jan. 24.

Both federal agents were put on administrative leave, which is standard protocol, a Customs and Border Protection spokesperson told the Epoch Times.

Jan. 24 was not the first time that Pretti was involved in a violent clash with federal agents.

The video footage, recorded on Jan. 13 and shared on President Donald Trump’s Truth Social account on Jan. 28, shows Pretti kicking the taillights off of a federal agent’s SUV.

Pretti’s attack on the federal car prompted a federal agent wearing a helmet, goggles, and a face mask to jump out of the back seat and tackle him to the ground as people nearby yelled, blew their whistles, and honked their car horns.

Pretti is the second U.S. citizen to be killed by federal agents during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation in the Twin Cities.

Renee Good was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer on Jan. 7 after she allegedly hit a federal agent with her car during an immigration operation.

Federal authorities said the ICE agent acted in self-defense.

The deaths and increased ICE presence in the area have been met with weeks of coordinated community efforts to try to impede federal immigration operations. Locals have created their own codes, secret chat groups, and tools to warn others in the Twin Cities about ICE operations.

These activities, along with ongoing demonstrations in the area, have resulted in violent clashes and arrests for at least two months.

White House border czar Tom Homan, who previously served as a high-ranking executive for ICE during the Obama administration, said on Jan. 29 that the federal government has made progress with city leaders in Minneapolis, who have repeatedly called on ICE to leave the city.

Part of the newly-made progress will have jails notify ICE before they release a suspected criminal illegal immigrant, according to Homan.

“We are not surrendering our mission at all, we’re just doing [it] smarter,” Homan said on Jan. 29.

​The collaboration between the state and federal government is expected to lead to a drop in federal agents on the ground in Minnesota.