Alex Jeffrey Pretti was a 37-year-old American citizen who was shot and killed by United States Customs and Border Protection agents on January 24, 2006 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Details of Alex Pretti’s Shooting by Customs and Border Protection Agents
Alex worked as an intensive care nurse for the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. On the day of the shooting Pretti encountered CBP agents in the street outside of a donut shop, where their intended target had retreated and was sheltered behind a locked door.
Alex began filming the agents with his cell phone and even helped direct traffic that was disrupted by the enforcement actions.
As they returned to their cars, CBP agents began to violently push the observers in their way. After shoving a woman to the ground near him, Pretti positioned himself between the assaulting officer and the woman, putting his arm around her and shielding her while he attempted to continue filming.
Agents deployed pepper spray on both Alex and the woman before they began wrestling Alex to the ground. Six agents forced Alex onto his stomach and pinned his arms by his head. While detained, an agent removed a legally owned and carried firearm from Alex’s waist. Video evidence shows that at no point did Alex ever reach for his gun, and he was fully incapacitated when he was disarmed.
Seconds later, a CBP agent yells “gun, gun!” and two officers fire a combined ten shots toward Alex at close range.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, bystanders with medical training — including an EMT and a physician— were initially denied their requests to render medical aid. The physician stated in a court filing that instead of rendering aid, the agents rolled Alex’s body around while “counting bullet holes”. The physician was eventually allowed access to Alex to render aid, and his care was soon taken over by responding paramedics. Alex was later pronounced dead at Hennepin County Medical Center.
Lies Told by the US Government in Relation to Pretti’s Killing
Greg Bovino, Border Patrol Commander
Greg Bovino claimed that the original target of the CBP operation on the day of Pretti’s killing “had a significant criminal history” that included domestic assault, disorderly conduct, and driving without a valid license. The Minnesota Department of Corrections disputed Bovino’s claims, clarifying that the individual had no criminal history in Minnesota and had only a minor traffic offense from more than a decade prior.
Bovino also claimed, during a press conference, that Pretti “approached agents with a 9mm semiautomatic handgun” and that he “wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.” An abundance of video evidence proves that these claims were false.
Kristi Noem, Former Homeland Security Secretary
Kristi Noem claimed that the agents who fired on Pretti “fear[ed] for [their lives] and for the lives of [their] fellow officers“. Videos show that not only was Alex disarmed at the time of his shooting, but he was also fully incapacitated with his arms pinned above his head, meaning he posed no threat to the officers around him.
Noem also made a statement hours after Pretti’s death claiming that he was committed to bringing “violence against a government because of ideological reasons and for reasons to resist and perpetuate violence. That is the definition of domestic terrorism.”
Stephen Miller, Senior White House Aide
Hours after the shooting, Stephen Miller stated that Pretti was a “domestic terrorist” who “tried to assassinate federal law enforcement.” Although this became an often-repeated claim by administration officials, it was immediately contradicted by video evidence from multiple witnesses at the scene.
Tricia McLaughlin, Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Public Affairs
Tricia McLaughlin released a statement after the shooting that Alex Pretti “violently resisted” federal agents after “approached [them] with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun.”
She later went on to state, “[it] looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.”
Sources:
Wikipedia, “Killing of Alex Pretti“
The Hill, “Border Patrol target had no criminal history: Minnesota Department of Corrections“
The Minnesota Star Tribute, “Fact check: Video, witnesses contradict critical claims of federal officials in Pretti shooting“
Courthouse News Service, “Noem refuses to backpedal on calling Alex Pretti a domestic terrorist“
CNN, “Trump aide claims man shot in Minneapolis was a “domestic terrorist” before investigation plays out“
CBS News, “DHS says officers attempted to disarm person, but they “violently resisted”“