Minneapolis murders by ICE – backed by Trump – push US to the brink as protests intensify

By Maryam Qarehgozlou

Tensions are escalating in Minnesota and across the United States after the second fatal shooting of a US citizen by trigger-happy federal agents in less than a month, deepening public outrage and mistrust of federal law‑enforcement agencies.

On Saturday morning, federal immigration agents shot and killed 37‑year‑old Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a Minneapolis resident, during a peaceful protest against the brutal immigration crackdown.

Pretti, an intensive care unit nurse and American citizen with no known criminal record, was, according to local officials and family members, attempting to intervene after armed federal agents pushed other protesters to the ground, including a young man.

Federal authorities characterized the shooting as an act of “self‑defense,” claiming a Border Patrol agent fired after Pretti allegedly approached officers with a handgun and resisted disarmament efforts.

Government officials also released an image of a firearm they said belonged to him. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem claimed that Pretti intended to “perpetuate violence.”

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) commander Gregory Bovino went a step further, alleging that Pretti sought to inflict “maximum damage and massacre law enforcement,” while Donald Trump’s deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, labeled the victim “a would-be assassin.”

However, bystander footage verified by news organizations shows Pretti holding a mobile phone – not a weapon – as he stepped toward federal agents who had just shoved and beaten several women protesters.

In an effort to shield them, Pretti stepped between the agents and the women and raised his left arm as he was pepper-sprayed. Multiple agents then grabbed and manhandled Pretti, who struggled as they forced him onto his hands and knees.

As officers restrained him, a voice was heard shouting what appeared to be a warning about a gun. Footage then showed an agent removing a firearm from Pretti’s person and walking away with it.

 Footage then shows an agent removing a firearm from Pretti’s person and walking away with it.

Moments later, an officer points a handgun at Pretti’s back and fires multiple shots in rapid succession, followed by additional gunfire that appears to come from another agent.

Two witnesses who promptly submitted sworn statements to the U.S. District Court of Minnesota said Pretti never brandished a gun.

One of the witnesses, a doctor, said Pretti suffered at least three gunshot wounds to his back.

Observers note that even if the firearm shown in the footage belonged to Pretti, he was shot only after he had been subdued and disarmed on the ground.

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara later confirmed that Pretti was a lawful gun owner and had no criminal history beyond a few traffic violations.

The cold-blooded, broad-daylight murder occurred as Minneapolis continues to grieve the recent killing of another US citizen, Renee Good, a mother of three who was shot earlier this month when a federal immigration agent fired into her vehicle.

Homeland Security alleged that Good had “weaponized her vehicle” and attempted to run over an officer in an attempt to kill or cause bodily harm to agents, an act of domestic terrorism.”

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey rejected that account outright: “Having seen the video myself, I want to tell everybody directly: that is bullshit,” Frey said. “This was an agent recklessly using power that resulted in somebody dying.”

Good’s death has sparked nationwide protests, with demonstrators carrying signs reading “Justice for Renee” and demanding accountability for federal enforcement actions.

‘Sickening lies’

Pretti was employed as an ICU nurse at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Minneapolis.

His family described him as a deeply compassionate healthcare worker who had been outraged by the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and had joined protests opposing the brutal raids.

“We are heartbroken, but also very angry. Alex was a kind soul who cared deeply for his family and friends, and also the American veterans whom he cared for as an ICU nurse,” his parents, Michael and Susan Pretti, said in a statement on Sunday.

They forcefully rejected the federal government’s unfounded narrative surrounding their son’s death.

“The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting,” the statement noted, dismissing what the ICE agents and the Trump administration said. 

The federal employees’ union AFGE said it was “deeply stricken by this tragedy,” with its president Everett Kelley honoring Pretti for having “dedicated his life to serving American veterans.”

The American Nurses Association also said it was “deeply disturbed and saddened” by the killing and demanded a “full, unencumbered investigation.”

Pretti’s colleague, Dr. Dmitri Drekonja, told ABC News it was “galling and enraging” to hear federal officials vilify the victim.

‘Loyal agents of Nazis’

The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention issued one of the most scathing responses, condemning ICE officers as “loyal agents of Nazis and white supremacists within the Republican Party.”

“They are behaving as enemies both of the Constitution and of the American people, and they must be treated as such,” the institute wrote on X.

“The United States is at a crossroads: Either the American people are able to wrest power from the current fascist leaders or those leaders will continue to radicalize, using violence and terror to dismantle democracy and commit even greater mass atrocities.”

The group called on “powerful institutions,” including the National Guard and the military, to intervene “immediately.”

Democratic strategist Arshad Hasan described Pretti’s killing and the federal response as “deeply unsettling,” slamming federal agents for transforming a low-crime city into an “occupation.”

Hasan said residents were both “grieving” and feeling “under siege,” even as they mobilized to “protect their neighbors.”

“I don’t know why a government agency should get particular exemptions from due process when somebody is murdered… Homicide is a crime for which the state and local law enforcement have jurisdiction,” he said, calling for accountability and a “different way forward.”

‘A heinous murder’

National Nurses United, the largest organization of registered nurses in the US with more than 225,000 members, labeled Pretti’s killing as “a heinous murder.”

“Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse, was doing what nurses do best – taking action to protect his community – when he was killed by federal agents,” the union said on X.

The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said the repeated use of lethal force by federal agents has severely damaged public trust, urging a locally led investigation.

“When lethal force is used again and again in our neighborhoods, the investigation cannot be left solely to the same federal system that carried out the operation,” CAIR-Minnesota Executive Director Jaylani Hussein said.

“Minnesota families deserve a process that is local, independent, civilian-led, and fully transparent.”

CAIR also demanded an end to ICE’s “deadly and disastrous siege of Minnesota.”

Trump has repeatedly attacked the state’s largely Muslim Somali community, referring to it as “garbage.” 

A political rift

The killing of Alex Pretti has further widened political fractures at both the state and national levels, exposing deep divisions over federal authority, accountability, and the expanding role of immigration enforcement without any checks and balances. 

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz condemned Pretti’s murder as part of a “campaign of organized brutality,” urging Trump to withdraw federal immigration agents from the state.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey echoed the demand, calling on the Trump administration to halt its aggressive immigration crackdown in the city.

The Trump administration has responded with open confrontation, refusing to extend the olive branch or engage in consultations with stakeholders to find a way out of the logjam. 

US Attorney General Pamela Bondi sent a lengthy letter to Walz, accusing him of refusing to “enforce the law” and claiming that Minnesota politicians were endangering immigration agents by criticizing federal operations.

Republican Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana described the shooting as “incredibly disturbing,” warning that the credibility of both the Department of Homeland Security and ICE is now in question.

“There must be a full joint federal and state investigation. We can trust the American people with the truth,” Cassidy said.

Cassidy’s stance sets him apart from other Republicans who have largely adopted the administration’s narrative that Pretti was armed and posed an imminent threat to federal agents.

On the Democratic side, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer threatened to withhold support for legislation aimed at preventing a partial government shutdown next week if it includes funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE.

“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,” Schumer wrote on social media.

“Senate Democrats will not provide the votes to proceed to the appropriations bill if the DHS funding bill is included,” he added.

The warning comes against the backdrop of the longest government shutdown in US history last year, which lasted 43 days due to congressional disputes over healthcare subsidies.

US Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland issued one of the strongest rebukes yet, slamming the White House for being directly responsible for the killing.

In a post, Van Hollen said Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller have “blood on their hands.”

“These killings are happening at their direction. They must be held accountable,” he said, calling for an immediate cutoff of funding to ICE.

Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar described Pretti’s death as a “murder,” saying she was “absolutely horrified” by the incident.

She joined Walz in demanding ICE’s removal from Minnesota and called for the impeachment of Noem, whose department oversees the agency.

Prosecution for the murderers

Governor Walz has pledged that Minnesota’s “justice system will have the last word” on Pretti’s killing, reinforcing demands by civil-rights advocates for a state-led investigation rather than relying solely on a federal probe.

Under the US system, authority is divided between federal and state governments. While immigration enforcement falls under federal jurisdiction, policing and public safety are primarily state and local responsibilities.

The Minnesota shooting sits in a legal grey zone: federal agents were ostensibly enforcing immigration law while carrying out what appeared to be a broad policing operation targeting protesters.

Rights advocates say that allowing federal agencies to investigate their own officers undermines accountability and independence, insisting that a locally led inquiry is essential.

Trump administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance, have countered that federal agents possess “absolute immunity” for actions taken in the course of their duties.

US Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino confirmed that all agents involved in the shooting remain employed, though they have been reassigned outside Minneapolis, a move he said was made “for their safety.”

Immigration crackdowns

Trump launched his immigration crackdown last year, focusing heavily on Democratic-led states and cities such as Chicago, Los Angeles, and Portland.

The administration has justified the militarized operations as necessary to remove "criminals" from the country, using it as a pretext to force migrants to leave the country.

The Minneapolis crackdown, which began in November, has been described by officials as the largest federal immigration enforcement operation ever conducted.

Approximately 3,000 agents were deployed, stopping, questioning, and detaining residents throughout the city in brazen violation of American law.

The crackdown has intensified clashes between local authorities and federal agencies, sparked daily confrontations between activists and immigration officers, and now resulted in the killing of multiple American citizens.

Videos documenting confrontations between federal agents and Minneapolis residents have circulated widely on social media. Massive protests have been held in different cities in the past few weeks, with demonstrators calling for the ouster of ICE agents.

Despite freezing temperatures, protesters have continued to flood the streets, denouncing the killings, branding ICE agents “cowards,” and demanding they leave the city.

Demonstrations have also erupted in cities nationwide, including New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. The ongoing crackdown has disrupted daily life.

According to media reports, children are skipping school or shifting to remote learning, families are avoiding religious services, and many businesses, particularly in immigrant neighborhoods, have temporarily shut down as a result of the enforcement surge.

Pretti is at least the sixth person reported to have been killed during an ICE crackdown nationwide since last year, sparking a wave of anger and outrage.

His killing was one of several shootings involving federal agents in January alone.

At least six people have also died in ICE detention centers since the start of 2026, following about 30 deaths in custody last year – the highest annual total in two decades.

These developments have added to mounting pressure on the Trump administration amid growing public opposition to its immigration policies. The president’s approval ratings have fallen into the low 40s, according to recent opinion polls.  

Homeland Security Secretary Noem told Fox News that Trump has considered invoking the Insurrection Act, a move that would permit the domestic deployment of the U.S. military.

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