Recent video footage has reignited discussions surrounding the death of Pretti, a dedicated intensive care nurse from the Minneapolis VA Medical Center.
WASHINGTON — In a series of videos unveiled on Wednesday, Alex Pretti is seen being forcefully subdued by federal immigration officers after he kicked out a vehicle tail light during a protest in Minneapolis. This altercation occurred just 11 days prior to his fatal shooting by Border Patrol agents.
The confrontation, dated January 13, is documented in two videos showing Pretti vocally confronting the federal officers. During the struggle, his winter coat is dislodged as he is taken down. He eventually breaks free or is released and quickly moves away.
A visible object resembling a handgun can be seen tucked into Pretti’s waistband as he turns away from the camera. However, the footage does not show him reaching for the weapon, leaving it uncertain if the officers noticed it.
An individual familiar with the situation confirmed to The Associated Press that Pretti is indeed the person depicted in the videos, sharing that he had recounted the incident to his family. This information was provided under the condition of anonymity due to the family’s privacy concerns.
The emergence of these videos has sparked renewed debate on a national level regarding the fate of Pretti, aged 37, who worked as an intensive care nurse. Donald Trump Jr., the former president’s eldest son, shared one of the videos on X, sarcastically remarking, “Just a peaceful legal observer.”
Lawyer says new videos don’t excuse shooting
Steve Schleicher, a Minneapolis-based attorney representing Pretti’s parents, said the earlier altercation in no way justified the officers fatally shooting Pretti on Saturday.
“A week before Alex was gunned down in the street — despite posing no threat to anyone — he was violently assaulted by a group of (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents,” Schleicher said in a written statement. “Nothing that happened a full week before could possibly have justified Alex’s killing at the hands of ICE on Jan 24.”
Homeland Security Investigations is reviewing the new videos and incident, a spokesperson with the department said. It’s not known whether any of the officers involved were also there when Pretti was killed.
Last weekend’s fatal shooting occurred on a sidewalk next to the street where Pretti had been videoing immigration officers. In video taken by bystanders, one officer pushes him, then Pretti is taken to the ground and a half-dozen officers try to subdue him. One spots Pretti’s weapon, which he was licensed to carry, and shouts, “He’s got a gun.” Two officers then open fire, and Pretti is killed.
The new videos from the week prior to the shooting came from two sources. One, published by the Minnesota Star Tribune and later obtained by the AP, was taken by Max Shapiro, a witness who filmed the interaction. The second was by a crew for The News Movement, an online media outlet.
Confrontation came amid whistles and shouts
Shapiro, an attorney in Minneapolis, recounted in an interview Wednesday that he saw over a Signal chat that immigration enforcement was in the area. Driving over, Shapiro parked half a block from officers and got out.
“The observers were pretty distraught and screaming,” he said, adding that the officers began trying to get the crowd back, but their directives were largely drowned out in whistles and shouts.
The video from The News Movement shows Pretti wearing glasses, a dark baseball cap and a winter coat yelling at federal vehicles, at one point appearing to spit and yell “trash” toward the driver’s side of a dark Ford Expedition with flashing red and blue lights.
As the vehicle pulls slowly away, Pretti kicks at the taillight and then delivers a second kick that shatters the red plastic and leaves the taillight dangling.
Shapiro began filming on his phone just after Pretti kicked out the taillight.
Both videos capture the rear door of the SUV swinging open and an immigration officer wearing a gas mask and helmet getting out. He starts walking toward Pretti.
The officer grabs Pretti’s shirt at his chest, pulling him back toward the vehicle as Pretti’s arms flail. The officer pulls Pretti back onto the street and down onto his knees, falling over Pretti in the scuffle.
Other masked and helmeted officers surround them and try to subdue Pretti. Others stand guard between them and a screaming crowd, before the officers set off tear gas canisters and withdraw.
After Pretti stumbles away, Shapiro walks over and hugs Pretti, asking whether he is OK.
Pretti affirms that he is, before turning to others involved in the melee and asking: “Are we all OK? Are we all safe?”
Shapiro said he understands some will use the videos to try to vilify Pretti but that he seemed like someone who cared deeply about what was happening to the people caught up in the Trump administration’s deportation push.
“I’m no immigration policy expert,” Shapiro said. “But there has to be a better way to go about this.”
Bedayn reported from Denver.
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