The fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse and anti-ICE protester, has intensified public outrage in Minnesota as new eyewitness testimony challenges the official account. Pretti was killed during a volatile encounter with officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Minneapolis on January 24, amid heightened tensions over expanded federal enforcement in the city.

Federal officials initially claimed Pretti posed a lethal threat, with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and former President Donald Trump asserting he brandished a firearm. However, video footage that later surfaced appears to contradict those statements, showing Pretti holding only a cellphone, with witnesses and legal filings suggesting his legally carried firearm was removed by agents before shots were fired.

An eyewitness who filmed the incident from close range submitted a sworn affidavit as part of a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union. She stated that Pretti was not resisting, was trying to help a woman up, and was forced to the ground by multiple agents before being pepper-sprayed and shot. She said she was only about five feet away and never saw him with a gun in his hands.

Pretti’s family has condemned what they call false and damaging claims about their son, urging the public to scrutinize the evidence and reject misinformation. As federal reviews and legal challenges continue, his death has become a flashpoint in the national debate over immigration enforcement, use of force, and accountability during federal operations.