Alex Pretti was one of two U.S. citizens killed by ICE agents in Minneapolis this January. His father, Michael Pretti, graduated from Michigan Tech with a degree in Geological Engineering in 1985. His parents gave the following statement to CNN.
“We are heartbroken but also very angry. Alex was a kindhearted soul who cared deeply for his family and friends and also the American veterans whom he cared for as an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA hospital. Alex wanted to make a difference in this world. Unfortunately he will not be with us to see his impact. I do not throw around the hero term lightly. However his last thought and act was to protect a woman.” Alex Pretti was shot ten times while helping a woman stand up. He was killed by the same ICE agents who pushed her to the ground.
“The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting.” His parents reference statements President Donald Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, and the Department of Homeland Security published online after Alex Pretti’s death; statements which were later contradicted by citizen recordings that are available online.
His parents’ statement continues, “Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked by Trump’s murdering and cowardly ICE thugs. He has his phone in his right hand and his empty left hand is raised above his head while trying to protect the woman ICE just pushed down all while being pepper sprayed. Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man. Thank you.”
Federal officials blocked all state and county investigators from the scene immediately following Alex Pretti’s death, though they arrived with the proper warrants. The state and county investigative agencies brought the matter to federal court the day of Alex Pretti’s death.
Three federal investigations have been opened on Alex Pretti’s death, from the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights division (DOJ), Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), and a joint investigation between the FBI and Department of Homeland Security (DHS). ICE and CBP are agencies housed under the DHS. The federal agencies DOJ, DHS, ICE, CBP, and USBP possess evidence collected at the scene of Alex’s death that they refuse to share with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (“BCA”) or the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.
Trump appointed U.S. District Judge Eric Tostrud dissolved the two-week order that was initially requiring federal officials to preserve the hidden evidence. Tostrud then blamed any compromises of the evidence on the “volatile” crowd that “forced agents from the scene”. Last week, The Lode published a firsthand account from a woman who was in that crowd. The article is titled “MTU alum at the scene minutes after Alex Pretti shooting;” it is available on The Lode’s website.
