Border Patrol agents fatally shot Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, during a Minneapolis operation on January 24, 2026. Video shows Pretti holding a cellphone and being restrained as an agent removes a gun from his waistband; shortly afterward, multiple shots were fired. Trump and his officials launched a smear campaign, with Stephen Miller calling Pretti a 'domestic terrorist“ and 'would-be assassin,” and Trump himself calling him an 'agitator and, perhaps, insurrectionist" despite video evidence showing Pretti was disarmed when shot.
Trump amplified posts calling Pretti a 'domestic terrorist" and suggested he deserved death in a 1:26 AM Truth Social rant on January 30, 2026.
Subsequent reporting revealed Miller's broader role. CNN independently confirmed Miller micromanages immigration operations via daily morning calls, pressuring 3,000-arrest-per-day quotas that caused agents to “cast a wide net.” Politico reported Miller's aggressive calls were so severe that ICE Director Todd Lyons was hospitalized twice. ABC News reported Miller acknowledged agents “may not have been following protocol” before the shooting. Fox 9 reported DHS shared a clip of Miller telling ICE agents they have “federal immunity” when dealing with protesters.
In March 2026, the Daily Mail reported — citing two unnamed DHS sources, not independently confirmed by any major outlet — that Miller had specifically ordered agents to “force confrontations” with Minneapolis protesters and said demonstrators “need to be vanquished by any force necessary.” Whether or not those exact words were used, the independently confirmed pattern of aggressive pressure, immunity claims, and acknowledgment of protocol violations paints a clear picture of command responsibility.
Update (October 27, 2026): Nine months after the shooting, Pretti's parents, Michael and Susan Pretti, accuse the Justice Department of violating their rights under a federal victims' rights law, CNN reported. In a July letter to Attorney General Todd Blanche, obtained by CNN, their lawyer wrote that they had received no substantive updates on the investigation and that “The government's pattern of conduct is not only unconscionable, but unlawful.” According to the letter, U.S. Attorney Dan Rosen, meeting the family on July 13, refused to share information, saying only, “I can't tell you for all kinds of reasons.” The letter asks the department to identify the agents who killed Pretti and to say whether the FBI is still investigating.
Minnesota's own investigation is stalled. After an evidence-sharing agreement in June, the Justice Department stopped sharing, and court records filed October 13 show that Hennepin County prosecutors still lack the weapons used to shoot Pretti and the gun he was carrying, CNN reported. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in a filing that Rosen told her on September 10 that cooperation was paused “indefinitely” because of “challenges with D.C.,” the Star Tribune reported. Minnesota has sued the department; Attorney General Keith Ellison said, “it looks like we're going to need a court order.”
No charging decision has been announced. The parents' first news conference since the killing was set for 11 a.m. Central on October 27; what they said was not known when this was written.
Update (October 28, 2026): At their first news conference, on October 27, with attorney Steven Schleicher, Michael and Susan Pretti accused federal officials of stonewalling them. “At every turn they have ignored us, misled us and shielded Alex's killers,” Michael Pretti said, and he urged U.S. Attorney Dan Rosen and Attorney General Todd Blanche to “Share the evidence now so prosecutors can follow the facts and hold these men accountable.” He said, “We have not heard anything from the federal government.” Susan Pretti said, “The federal government went on TV and lied about Alex. They tried to slander his memory to cover up their crime.” These are the family's words; no charging decision has been announced.
Schleicher, a former federal prosecutor, asked, “Why are they fighting the state in court?” After the news conference the Hennepin County Attorney's Office said, “The federal government continues to obstruct our investigation into Alex Pretti's killing.” In a statement to Reuters, quoted by the Guardian, the Justice Department said communications with family members “come at a later stage of a case, such as indictment, initial appearance, plea, trial, or sentencing” and “do not typically occur during an investigation.” Sources familiar with the investigation told WCCO that almost all evidence has been shared and that they believe sharing will resume soon, CBS Minnesota reported.