Growing anger at the president ICE shoots another person in Minneapolis - and Trump follows suit
Self-defense? No, "Trump's murderous and cowardly ICE thugs" shot a harmless man in cold blood, his parents complain. Anger at the US government's actions is growing. So is the resistance.
25.01.2026, 08:41
25.01.2026, 11:53
dpa
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- Immigration authorities ICE have killed a man in Minneapolis - two and a half weeks after another agent of the deportation authority shot a woman in a car in the same city.
- Videos contradict the official account of self-defense, while Pretti's family accuses the government of spreading false information and covering up the deadly violence.
- Democrats and local authorities are calling for consequences, the withdrawal of federal agents and independent investigations, accusing Trump's administration of systematic brutality and a lack of transparency.
Fatal shootings during an operation by US federal agents in Minneapolis are causing anger to boil over against President Donald Trump and his administration's actions against their own countrymen. The parents of a US citizen shot dead in the street accused the officers of killing their son Alex Pretti for no legitimate reason. They accused Trump's government of spreading lies about the incident in the state of Minnesota. The Department of Homeland Security is portraying the case as self-defense by the officer, but videos from the scene are fueling criticism of ICE immigration raids on migrants and the martial crackdown on protesting civilians.
When 37-year-old US citizen Renee Good was shot dead in her car during an ICE raid in Minneapolis at the beginning of January, the government described the action as self-defense by an officer whose life was in acute danger. However, videos painted a different picture in this case too. Outrage spread across the country, with demonstrators and opposition Democrats speaking - as they are doing now - of excessive force and a lack of transparency in the investigation.
Surviving relatives contradict the government
Pretti's parents emphasized that their son - a 37-year-old nurse - had not posed a threat to the officers when he was attacked by the masked riot police on Saturday morning (local time), contrary to what had been claimed.
"The heinous lies the government is spreading about our son are reprehensible and disgusting," the family said in a statement distributed by several US media outlets. "Alex is clearly not holding a gun when he is attacked by Trump's murderous and cowardly ICE thugs." He was merely trying to protect a woman brought to the ground by an officer while holding a cell phone and was sprayed with pepper spray before the shots were fired. The truth must be brought to light.
Surrounded by eight officers - then shots are fired
Several eyewitness videos of the incident in the street from different perspectives are circulating on the internet. One of them, which has been verified by the German Press Agency, shows several hooded men in riot gear forcibly bringing a person to the ground and attempting to restrain them. This is obviously Alex Pretti. In the end, he is surrounded by eight police officers.
Then shots are fired, according to the sound there are about ten. It is possible that different people are shooting, but it is not clear from the footage. Even when the man is lying motionless on the ground, at least one of the hooded men continues to shoot at him.
On the question of whether Pretti was armed, who according to police was authorized to carry a firearm, no clear statement can be made on the basis of the videos reviewed by dpa. In one of the videos circulating on social networks, it appears as if a pistol was taken from him by the officers - albeit before the first shots were fired, which would cast further doubt on the theory of the alleged acute danger to the lives of the emergency services.
Minister evades critical questions
According to the Department of Homeland Security, Pretti was armed. The federal officers were involved in an operation against a foreign national wanted for assault who was allegedly in the USA illegally when a person with a semi-automatic pistol approached. The Ministry presented a photo of the suspected weapon - according to President Trump, it was loaded.
The officers tried to disarm the person carrying the gun, but he resisted, the Department of Homeland Security said. One of the security forces then fired the fatal shots. At a press conference, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem evaded questions about whether Pretti had even drawn the legal weapon and whether he had apparently been disarmed before the first shot was fired.
Instead, the Republican, whose party traditionally supports the free right to bear arms, raised the counter-question of why a protester would be carrying a gun at all. Trump's influential Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller even referred to Pretti - who had no criminal record - as a "domestic terrorist" after the bloody incident.
Trump defends ICE officials and attacks local authorities
President Trump reacted to the renewed fatal shooting with two posts on Truth Social in quick succession. In the first, he accuses local authorities of prohibiting police from protecting ICE agents.
A little later, he refers to the alleged theft of billions of dollars in welfare by Somali immigrants, which has been going on for weeks.
Democrats threaten to withdraw money
As the US government and its subordinate authorities under Trump regularly spread false allegations or at least present the truth selectively, many no longer believe their accounts. California Governor Gavin Newsom has called for Noem's resignation and the dismissal of Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino, who is responsible for implementing Trump's deportation policy. In addition, the Democrats in the US Senate are now threatening to block budget funds for the Homeland Security Department.
Following the fatal shooting of Pretti, there were renewed protests in Minneapolis against deportation raids and the suppression of peaceful resistance to them. In addition, dozens of people gathered with candles in a mixture of bewilderment, anger and grief for a vigil in front of the home of the deceased.
"Campaign of organized brutality against the population"
Minnesota's government and the city council of Minneapolis called on Trump to withdraw the forces tasked with implementing his radical deportation policy from the metropolis. Mayor Jacob Frey asked the state's National Guard for help because the police needed personnel support "due to the impairment of public safety by immigration officials".
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz - like Frey a Democrat - announced that the state would take the investigation into the fatal shooting into its own hands, as the Trump administration could not be trusted. "Minnesota's justice system will have the final say in this matter. They must have the final say," he said in a press conference. "This occupation of Minnesota by the federal government has long since ceased to have anything to do with enforcing immigration laws. It's a campaign of organized brutality against the people of our state."
Anger is growing on the streets against Trump's radical deportation policy.
Image: dpa
The martial approach of the heavily armed ICE officers is causing outrage.
Image: dpa
Alex Pretti is the second fatality in Minneapolis in a short space of time.
Image: dpa
Grieving people held a vigil in front of the house of the man who was shot.
Image: dpa
Homeland Security Secretary Noem claims that the ICE officers acted in self-defense.
Image: dpa
Anger is growing on the streets against Trump's radical deportation policy.
Image: dpa
The martial approach of the heavily armed ICE officers is causing outrage.
Image: dpa
Alex Pretti is the second fatality in Minneapolis in a short space of time.
Image: dpa
Grieving people held a vigil in front of the house of the man who was shot.
Image: dpa
Homeland Security Secretary Noem claims that the ICE officers acted in self-defense.
Image: dpa
