By Peter Gulliver
On Saturday, January 24th, 37-year-old Alex Jeffrey Pretti was shot and killed by immigration officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota, after he intervened in a confrontation involving protesters obstructing federal authorities who were attempting to apprehend dangerous illegal criminal aliens in the Twin Cities.
Chaotic video footage shows Pretti filming the incident and arguing with immigration officials before being pushed aside. After agents shove one of the woman protesters, Pretti rushes to her defense. In the ensuing melee, he’s pepper-sprayed and wrestled to the ground before being shot and killed.
Just prior to the shooting, someone warned that Pretti was armed, as an agent emerged from the scuffle with what appeared to be a firearm—while multiple shots ring out. Media reports later confirmed that Pretti had a lawful permit to carry the weapon, later identified as a Sig Sauer P320 handgun, and had no criminal record.
“He has the right to carry at a protest, as gun organizations have been pointing out all day. Gun Owners of America is not exactly left-wing,” tweeted Tyler Austin Harper, a staff writer for The Atlantic, as the debate over the shooting’s justification continued to unfold.
Stephen L. Miller, host of a podcast on Versus Media, responded, “What he does not have the right to do is impede a federal operation, stand in traffic, interfere with an apprehension, or put his hands on an officer, or resist arrest. All of those things you continue to ignore,” while conceding that it was too early to determine if the shooting was warranted.
UPDATE (January 26, 2026) — The NY Post reported that a far-left network using encrypted chats and street alerts to run interference and obstruct ICE and Border Patrol agents “Helped put Alex Pretti in harms way.” Vice President J.D. Vance commented, “This level of engineered chaos is unique to Minneapolis. It is the direct consequence of far left agitators, working with local authorities.”
“Over the following hours, a national network of socialist, communist and Marxist-Leninist cells in the United States leveraged the tragic fatality into a nationwide protest operation.” ~ NY Post
BREAKING (January 27, 2026) — “Alex Pretti was ‘known’ to feds, and had rib broken in anti-ICE protest a week before he was killed by Border Patrol” — Full Story at NY Post
Michael McCarthy, who discussed the incident on his X account, suggests that protesters such as Pretti, have been brainwashed and manipulated into believing they are doing something noble, when, in fact, they are doing a disservice to the country. “Shame on the people who are manipulating the public to go out and impede law enforcement from doing their job.”
Pretti’s family, friends, and coworkers, including those at the United States Department of Veterans Affairs where he worked as an intensive care nurse, are devastated by the loss of someone described by all as a “caring and loving” individual.
This incident marks the second such tragedy in Minneapolis this month. On January 7th, Renée Good was shot by agents in her car during a confrontation, leaving many to question why ordinary citizens are so passionate about obstructing authorities from apprehending and deporting dangerous criminals from their neighborhoods.
Last week, President Trump revealed the records of some of the 12,000 criminals arrested in Minnesota—many of whom are violent offenders, including drug traffickers, rapists, and murderers—making it even more perplexing why anyone would risk their life to defend them.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, currently embroiled in a multi-billion dollar fraud scandal that occurred under his watch, is calling for Trump to “end his operation” and leave the state.
In response, the White House stated, “President Donald J. Trump calls on Governor Walz, Mayor Frey, and every Democratic governor and mayor in the United States to cooperate with the Trump administration to enforce our nation’s laws, rather than resist and stoke the flames of division, chaos, and violence.”
Trump won in a “historic landslide” in the 2024 presidential election on a platform that promised to secure the border and remove illegal immigrants from the country.
*This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Last updated 01/27/2026
Lead image: Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. 25th Jan, 2026. Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agents walk the scene where Alex Pretti was killed yesterday by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis. (Credit Image: © Tom Hudson/ZUMA Press Wire). Image of President Trump by The White House X account (@WhiteHouse).
