The Truth About Alex Pretti
A comparison of the facts versus what the federal government stated
One of the most concerning developments in the aftermath of the Renee Good and Alex Pretti killings has been the immediate response from federal government officials with stories that don’t line up with what we’ve viewed from the bystander videos taken of the killings. As hard as it is to watch people shot and killed on video, I’m grateful for the fact that the videos exist, otherwise we would have been fed a narrative that smears and disgraces Good and Pretti by our government.
It’s common for verbal eyewitness accounts of a shooting to contain varying and conflicting information, because we all process events a little differently in real-time. But in both of theses cases, we have clear video evidence of what happened for everyone to stop, rewind, fast forward, and analyze every frame and second of the event. And in the age of armchair expert social media, that’s exact what happened just hours after each killing. But, this makes it hard for anyone—including our government—to spin a narrative of what happened when millions of people can see for themselves. That didn’t stop federal officials on Saturday.
I went through what the Right was saying and what the Left was saying in my newsletter about Renee Good’s death, and I described how it was a great example of a political Rorschach test. Little did we know that we’d be experiencing that same test just two weeks later. I also gave my view about her death, but today, I’ll be laying out the facts of what happened to Alex Pretti, because the narrative that came from DHS and the White House was even more egregious than the one they gave about Renee Good.
(side note: I encourage you to watch all of the angles of the shooting. It’s your choice not to watch if graphic/violent videos affect you emotionally, but it helps to understand the situation and why people are so angry about it. Here’s a good analysis of all the angles from CNN)
Shortly after 9am CST on Saturday, January 24th, Alex Pretti was shot and killed by Customs Border Patrol agents. At 11:31am CST, DHS posted this on X:
“At 9:05 AM CT, as DHS 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, seen here,” DHS said, providing a picture of the handgun on what appears to be the seat of a car. “The officers attempted to disarm the suspect but the armed suspect violently resisted. More details on the armed struggle are forthcoming. 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.”
Claim: US Border Patrol was conducting a targeted operation against an undocumented immigrant wanted for violent assault
Minnesota authorities reported that the individual ICE claimed to be targeting did not have the serious criminal history initially stated and only had minor, old offenses, casting doubt on the characterization of the operation.
Claim: an individual [Alex Pretti] approached US Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun, seen here [a picture was posted of the handgun plus one full magazine]
All video angles of the incident clearly shows that Pretti didn’t approach the officers with a gun and/or brandish it. He was holding a cellphone, and he had a gun concealed in a holster on his hip. Minnesota officials confirmed he was lawfully permitted to be carrying the gun.
Claim: The officers attempted to disarm the suspect but the armed suspect violently resisted.
The videos also clearly debunk this claim. Pretti steps in front of the officers (a decision that cost him his life) with one hand up, after one of the officers forcefully pushes a woman to the ground who was annoying them with a loud whistle. After stepping in front of them, he’s pepper sprayed, becomes disoriented, is pulled to the ground by multiple officers, and mildly moving around on his hands and knees before being shot. An officer disarmed him moments before another officer shot him multiple times.
Claim: “Fearing for his life and the lives and safety of fellow officers, an agent fired defensive shots.”
This is more of a subjective claim, but based on the video evidence, there are five officers surrounding Pretti. Pretti is on the ground on his hands and knees, he has been pepper sprayed, and was disarmed. You can come to your own conclusion on whether the officer feared his life and shot defensively in that situation.
Claim: “The suspect also had 2 magazines and no ID”
In the picture posted on X by DHS, one magazine clip was shown, not two. At the time of writing this, no one has verified that Pretti was carrying two magazine clips. It’s also not been verified yet if he was carrying his ID.
source: DHSgov X account
Claim: “this looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.”
Again, this is a subjective claim. To make a judgment call on whether you think this is a true or false statement, you must watch the videos. Based on what I see in the videos, this statement is false. Pretti intervened while a CBP officer assaulted a woman in the middle of the street.
Claims by Kristi Noem in a Saturday press conference:
“This individual impeded the law enforcement officers and attacked them,”
No video evidence shows Pretti attacking officers
“had a weapon on him, and multiple – dozens – of rounds of ammunition; wishing to inflict harm on these officers, coming, brandishing like that.”
No video evidence shows him brandishing his gun. Dozens of rounds of ammunition would imply more than 24 or more rounds, which hasn’t been verified and the video posted of the gun and the magazine would hold less than 24 rounds.
In a Saturday post on social media platform X, Miller referred to Pretti as “an assassin” who “tried to murder federal agents.” Vice President Vance reposted the tweet on his account.
Watching the videos will lead any reasonable individual to conclude that he was not an assassin trying to murder federal agents.
Kash Patel claimed on Sunday on Fox News:
“You cannot bring a firearm loaded with multiple magazines to any sort of protest that you want. It’s that simple.” At another point in the interview, Patel said, “No one who wants to be peaceful shows up at a protest with a firearm that is loaded with two full magazines.”
Minnesota is a "shall-issue" state for concealed or unconcealed carry, requiring a permit for carrying handguns in public. Alex Pretti was within his right to bring a weapon to a protest on public property in the state of Minnesota. These statements, which were echoed by President Trump, angered the NRA and other second amendment/gun rights advocates.
Additional Claims about Alex Pretti:
New videos show altercation between Alex Pretti and federal agents the week before his death
The video, taken 11 days before he was killed, shows Pretti visibly angry in the middle of a street. It appears he spits towards and licks the vehicle with ICE agents inside of it. The agents get out of the car and lay hands on him. This video doesn’t show much context in terms of what happened prior to this incident, but it does indicate he was making an intentional effort to be where ICE officers were conducting detainments throughout the city. There’s some chatter about the authenticity of the video but I’ve not seen it definitely discredited as a fake video yet.
Fox News Digital indicated that Alex Pretti was allegedly active in Signal app chats used by local activists to track Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) movements in Minneapolis.
Fox News Digital claims to have messages from Signal that show a coordinated effort to mobilize protestors around Minneapolis by tracking the movements and activity of ICE in the city.
Latest Developments that shows the voices of the American people are powerful:
President Trump said on social media Monday that he is sending border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota. Gov. Tim Walz’s office has since confirmed that Walz and Homan have met, and that they “agreed on the need for an ongoing dialogue.” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey also met with Homan to discuss next steps.
Kristi Noem faced internal scrutiny and had a lengthy private conversation with President Trump on Monday night. However, she’s not expected to lose her job.
Noem threw Stephen Miller under the bus emphasizing she took direction from Miller and the president, a source told Axios.
Greg Bovino was demoted to a post outside Minnesota.
A group of activists is calling on people across the U.S. to participate in a “National Shutdown” on Friday to protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Two U.S. officials said some of the Border Patrol agents involved in the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis had body cameras, but the body camera evidence hasn’t been released yet.
At least two federal agents involved in the Alex Pretti shooting have been placed on administrative leave, but their names have still not been released.
The Bottom Line
Independent video and witness evidence show Pretti with a phone, not a gun, until federal agents pulled the firearm from his waistband and then shot him.
Federal officials’ early statements, including by Noem, Bovino, Miller, and others, asserted that Pretti threatened officers and intended violence — claims that contradict currently available footage and local official statements.
We are living in a post-truth world. As shocking and horrifying it is to watching someone shot and killed on video, what if we didn’t have those videos? Would the truth have come out? In this era of Generative AI and federal officials who blatantly lie, it’s important that we do our diligence to seek the truth. The truth is what will break down our divisions and polarization.