The Justice Department has opened a federal civil rights probe into the
killing of Alex Pretti
[January 31, 2026]
By MICHAEL BIESECKER, REBECCA SANTANA and ALANNA DURKIN
RICHER
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has opened a federal civil
rights investigation into the shooting of Alex Pretti, the Minneapolis
resident killed Saturday by Border Patrol officers, Deputy Attorney
General Todd Blanche said Friday.
“We’re looking at everything that would shed light on what happened that
day and in the days and weeks leading up to what happened,” Blanche said
during a news conference.
Blanche did not explain why DOJ decided to open an investigation into
Pretti’s killing, but has said a similar probe is not warranted in the
Jan. 7 death of Renee Good, who was shot by an Immigration and Customs
Enforcement officer in Minneapolis. He said only on Friday that the
Civil Rights Division does not investigate every law enforcement
shooting and that there have to be circumstances and facts that “warrant
an investigation.”
“President Trump has said repeatedly, ‘Of course, this is something
we’re going to investigate,’” Blanche said of the Pretti shooting.
Steve Schleicher, a Minneapolis-based attorney representing Pretti’s
parents, said Friday that “the family’s focus is on a fair and impartial
investigation that examines the facts around his murder.”
FBI to take over federal investigation
The Department of Homeland Security also said Friday that the FBI will
lead the federal probe into Pretti's death.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem first disclosed the shift in
which agency was leading the investigation during a Fox News interview
Thursday evening. Her department previously said Homeland Security
Investigations, a departmental unit, would head the investigation.
“We will continue to follow the investigation that the FBI is leading
and giving them all the information that they need to bring that to
conclusion, and make sure that the American people know the truth of the
situation and how we can go forward and continue to protect the American
people,” Noem said, speaking to Fox host Sean Hannity.
Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said Homeland Security
Investigations will support the FBI in the investigation. Separately,
Customs and Border Protection, which is part of DHS, is doing its own
internal investigation into the shooting, during which two officers
opened fire on Pretti.
DHS did not immediately respond to questions about when the change was
made or why. The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for
comment.
It was not immediately clear whether the FBI would share information and
evidence with Minnesota state investigators, who have thus far been
frozen out of the federal investigation.
In the same interview, Noem appeared to distance herself from statements
she made shortly after the shooting, claiming Pretti had brandished a
handgun and aggressively approached officers.
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A photo of Alex Pretti is displayed during a vigil for Alex Pretti
by nurses and their supporters outside VA NY Harbor Healthcare
System, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Multiple videos that emerged of the shooting contradicted that
claim, showing the intensive care nurse had only his mobile phone in
his hand as officers tackled him to the ground, with one removing a
handgun from the back of Pretti's pants as another officer began
firing shots into his back.
Pretti had a state permit to legally carry a concealed firearm. At
no point did he appear to reach for it, the videos showed.
Videos emerge of previous altercation
The change in agency comes after two other videos emerged of an
earlier altercation between Pretti and federal immigration officers
11 days before his death.
The Jan. 13 videos show Pretti yelling at federal vehicles and at
one point appearing to spit before kicking out the taillight of one
vehicle. A struggle ensues between Pretti and several officers,
during which he is forced to the ground. Pretti's winter coat comes
off, and he either breaks free or the officers let him go and he
scurries away.
When he turns his back to the camera, what appears to be a handgun
is visible in his waistband. At no point do the videos show Pretti
reaching for the gun, and it is not clear whether federal agents saw
it.
Schleicher, the Pretti family attorney, said Wednesday the earlier
altercation in no way justified the shooting more than a week later.
In a post on his Truth Social platform early Friday morning,
President Donald Trump suggested that the videos of the earlier
incident undercut the narrative that Pretti was a peaceful protester
when he was shot.
“Agitator and, perhaps, insurrectionist, Alex Pretti’s stock has
gone way down with the just released video of him screaming and
spitting in the face of a very calm and under control ICE Officer,
and then crazily kicking in a new and very expensive government
vehicle, so hard and violent, in fact, that the taillight broke off
in pieces,” Trump's post said. “It was quite a display of abuse and
anger, for all to see, crazed and out of control. The ICE Officer
was calm and cool, not an easy thing to be under those
circumstances!”
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Associated Press reporters Eric Tucker contributed from Washington.
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