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By Miriam Raftery
Screenshot from bystander’s video: Border Patrol agent takes aim at Alex Pretti, who was shot nine times at point-blank range, after agents took the holstered gun he was lawfully carrying.
January 28, 2026 (San Diego) – The fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis by ICE and Border Patrol agents have sparked outrage nationwide, after numerous bystander videos sharply contradict Trump officials’ claims about the shootings.
Alex Pretti, 37, a nurse who worked at a Veterans Administration hospital, stepped in to try and shield a woman being sprayed with a chemical by a Border Patrol agent, raising a cell phone to videotape the incident. A half dozen agents then wrestled him to the ground, took away a holstered gun that he was licensed to carry under Minnesota law. After he was disarmed and incapacitated on the ground, multiple agents fired at least nine bullets, then refused to allow medical aid for Pretti, who died in the street. Multiple videos and eyewitness statements by bystanders confirm that Pretti never brandished his gun or threatened officers.
Here are several videos of the Pretti killing: Warning, content is disturbing:
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https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1HJxNyjiZh/?mibextid=wwXIfr
https://www.facebook.com/reel/814224101624261
Analysis of multiple videos by numerous media outlets including the New York Times and CNN confirm that federal officials have sought to gaslight the public with false representations of what occurred.
Yet Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem sought to demonize the victim, claiming Pretti engaged in “domestic terrorism.” White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller called Pretti a “would be assassin” despite zero evidence. FBI Director Kash Patel claimed the agents acted in self defense then falsely stated, “You cannot bring a firearm ,loaded, with multiple magazines to any sort of protest that you want.” Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, who is backed by Trump, said there was a “high likelihood” that law enforcement officers would be “legally justified” in shooting someone approaching them with a gun, even though Pretti’s weapon was holstered, not drawn.
The NRA takes a stand
The normally conservative National Rifle Association slammed those remarks as “dangerous and wrong.” The NRA called for a full investigation instead of “demonizing law-abiding citizens.”
Pretti’s death comes days after the killing of a young mother, Renee Good, who was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent who fired multiple shots into her vehicle. ICE contended she was blocking the street and posed a risk to an officer, but witnesses have disputed that account, claiming she was merely trying to get out of the area after taking video of ICE action and that the officer put himself in harm’s way.
A Republican gubernatorial candidate in Minnesota slams ICE actions and his party
Chris Madel, a Republican running for Governor in Minnesota despite polling in the top three, announced on Monday after the Pretti killing that he has withdrawn from the race, stating, “I cannot support the national Republicans’ stated retribution on the citizens of our state, nor can I count myself a member of a party that would do so.” He also denounced ICE for racially profiling Latinos and Asians, and now posing risks to citizens. “United States citizens, particularly those of color, are living in fear,” he said in a video on his Facebook page. “U.S. citizens are carrying papers to prove their citizenship; that’s wrong. ICE has authorized its agents to raid homes using a civil warrant that only has to be signed by a Border Patrol agent. That’s unconstitutional and wrong...At the end of the day, I have to be able to look my daughters in the eye and tell them I am doing what I believe is right.”
San Diego’s Congressional Democrats call for impeachment of Noem, passage of bill to reign in violence by ICE
All four San Diego Democrats have condemned the ICE actions in Minneapolis and other violent actions, which include four other fatal shootings by ICE in January nationwide and the blinding of a 21-year-old man at a Los Angeles protest. All four have signed onto a House measure to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Noem, though the measure can’t advance without support from Republicans, who have the majority in the House and Senate.
Congressman Juan Vargas says he saw videos from many different angles. He calls the Pretti killing, ”cold-blooded murder.”
On Facebook, Congressman Scott Peters posted, “Kristi Noem has got to go. And we must have independent investigations and end the militarization of our communities. I introduced the Stop Excessive Force in Immigration Act to force DHS to abide by the same use-of-force and de-escalation standards as our local police officers. I’ll keep pushing for real changes because we will not allow our tax dollars to go toward people being murdered without consequence.”
Congressman Mike Levin notes that America’s founders provided impeachment as a tool to remove cabinet officers. “For my Republican colleagues that claim to care about law and order or claim to care about the rule of law, where are they now?” he said on KPBS.
Congresswoman Sara Jacobs went further, calling for dismantling agencies that have “lost the trust of the American people” specifically, by in her words, “executing American citizens, detaining and deporting little kids, and ignoring human rights and the rule of law.” Jacobs also voiced alarm over Gregory Bovino, who headed up Border Patrol in Minneapolis during the killings, who is reportedly being reassigned to El Centro in Imperial County. “We don’t want Greg Bovino anywhere near California,” said Jacobs.
San Diego’s Democratic Congressional members all voted against more funding for Homeland Security unless reforms are first implemented. The prospect of a new government shutdown looms, unless Republicans will agree to separate ICE funding from the main budget bill.
Locally, protests over the ICE killings were held in San Diego, El Cajon, Escondido and other communities.
Photo, right via M. Sullivan: San Diegans protest ICE and Border Patrol killings
Meanwhile in Minnesota, Governor Tim Walz has called in the state’s National Guard to restore order and protect protesters exercising First Amendment rights from ICE and Border Patrol agents. Guard members have been passing out coffee and doughnuts to protesters amid frigid weather conditions, illustrating how tensions can be defused instead of escalated.
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