Alex Pretti’s Family Demands DOJ Transparency After Federal Agent Shooting

On January 24, 2026, Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive-care nurse at a veterans hospital, was fatally shot by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis. Video released after the incident shows Pretti on his knees, holding a cellphone, with no weapon visible before agents opened fire. The agents removed his legally held handgun and then discharged at least ten rounds. In October, his parents, Michael and Susan Pretti, held a news conference in Minneapolis demanding that the Department of Justice (DOJ) identify the agents, share all evidence, and pursue accountability.

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The shooting occurred amid the Trump administration’s “Operation Metro Surge,” a nationwide immigration enforcement push that also produced the fatal shooting of Renee Good on January 7 and the non-fatal shooting of Julio Sosa-Celis on January 14. Those incidents sparked weeks of protests in Minneapolis and across the United States. Federal officials initially described Pretti as a “domestic terrorist,” a claim later contradicted by the video evidence.

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• January 24 – Alex Pretti is shot and killed by immigration agents.

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• January 26 – A makeshift memorial with a bullet-perforated window pane is erected in Minneapolis.

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• July 13 – The Pretti family meets with U.S. Attorney Dan Rosen; Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announces an evidence-sharing agreement with the DOJ.

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• October 13 – Court records show the DOJ abruptly halts evidence sharing, withholding weapons and the firearm Pretti carried.

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• October (later) – Michael and Susan Pretti hold a public press conference demanding full disclosure and accountability.

Alex Pretti's parents seek answers from federal government 9 months after son's killing

• Video captures at least ten gunshots fired at Pretti.

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• The DOJ initially provided “volumes of evidence” to Hennepin County prosecutors in June, then ceased sharing critical items such as the weapons used and Pretti’s seized handgun.

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• During the period of the shooting, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and other Trump-era officials publicly labeled Pretti an “assassin” who attempted to murder federal agents.

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• The Pretti family alleges the DOJ is “shielding Alex’s killers” and violating federal victims’-rights statutes.

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• Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty warned that the federal government “continues to obstruct our investigation” and that her office will keep pursuing the lawsuit to obtain the withheld evidence.

Alex Pretti's parents seek answers from federal government 9 months after son's killing

• “At every turn, they have ignored us, misled us and shielded Alex’s killers,” — Michael Pretti, father

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• “The federal government went on TV and lied about Alex,” — Susan Pretti, mother

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• “We are in litigation with the federal government right now to secure the rest of the remaining file, which they could give us this morning if they were inclined to do so, but it looks like we’re going to need a court order. I’m sorry that it comes to that,” — General Keith Ellison, Minnesota Attorney General

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• “The family will avail itself to any and all remedies in its pursuit of justice for Alex,” — Steve Schleicher, attorney for the Pretti family

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Minnesota’s lawsuit against the DOJ remains pending, and state officials have signaled they will continue to press for full disclosure.

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