Police Abuse

Liz Wolfe | 1.26.2026 9:30 AM

A second shooting in Minneapolis: A U.S. citizen—a 37-year-old ICU nurse named Alex Pretti—was shot and killed by immigration agents in Minneapolis over the weekend.

Pretti's death has become a lightning rod for criticism of the excesses of the Trump administration. Pretti, whom federal government officials have tarred as a "would-be assassin" committing "domestic terrorism", was carrying a firearm (with a permit) at the time he was shot. He had no criminal record.

As "law enforcement officers were conducting a targeted operation in Minneapolis against an illegal alien wanted for violent assault, an individual approached US Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun," the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claimed in an official statement. "The officers attempted to disarm the suspect but the armed suspect violently resisted….Fearing for his life and the lives and safety of fellow officers, an agent fired defensive shots….The suspect also had 2 magazines and no ID—this looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement."

But Pretti never drew his weapon (even though the Department of Homeland Security's Kristi Noem says he was "brandishing" it). He appears to have been disarmed before he was shot. Simply carrying a firearm, plus two magazines, should not be regarded as an invitation to be killed in a country that deigns to protect Second Amendment rights.........

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