Is Alex Pretti's shooting death in Minneapolis a turning point in Trump's ICE crackdown? A comprehensive guide to what happened — and what's next.

During an enforcement operation in Minneapolis on Jan. 24, federal immigration agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive-care nurse at the local Veterans Affairs hospital. The Trump administration immediately accused Pretti of being an armed “domestic terrorist” who “wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.” But multiple bystander videos contradicted this account, instead showing that agents pepper-sprayed, tackled and shot Pretti at least 10 times after he filmed them with his phone and tried to help a woman they’d pushed to the ground.

The videos also show that Pretti never unholstered the gun he was legally licensed to carry. According to witnesses, Pretti’s last words, to the woman, were “Are you OK?”

The gap between the administration’s version of events and the events documented on video has only fueled more public backlash against its ongoing federal immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, leading some to ask whether Pretti’s death might serve as a turning point toward deescalation.

On Monday, President Trump said he was sending White House border czar Tom Homan to Minneapolis and that he’d had a “very good” call about the shooting with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, claiming they are now on a “similar wavelength.” "Governor Tim Walz called me with the request to work together with respect to Minnesota,” Trump wrote on social media. “I told Governor Walz that I would have Tom Homan call him, and that what we are looking for are any and all Criminals that they have in their possession.”

“Both Governor Walz and I want to make it better!" Trump added.

Previously, Walz had urged Trump to “end this operation” and “pull the thousands of violent, untrained officers out of Minnesota. Now."

Citing three sources “familiar with the discussion,” CNN reported on Monday afternoon that “top Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino and some of his agents are expected to leave Minneapolis tomorrow and return to their respective sectors” after “Trump spent several hours on Sunday and Monday watching the coverage [of Pretti’s killing] and was personally unhappy by how his administration was coming across.”

Here’s a comprehensive guide to what happened over the weekend — and what could happen next.

What we know about Pretti

Pretti was a U.S. citizen who was born in Illinois, grew up in Wisconsin and graduated in 2011 from the University of Minnesota. He started working in the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs system three years later as a research assistant; he’d been a registered nurse since 2021.

“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,” Pretti’s parents said in a statement. “Alex wanted to make a difference in this world.”

Speaking to the New York Times, a neighbor described Pretti as “the sweetest, kindest, most unoffensive, most nonviolent person you’d ever want to meet.”

A VA colleague told the Times that Pretti was accustomed to people in crisis and trained to deescalate. “Whatever conversation was being had, I cannot imagine he’s someone who would have made it worse,” she said. “He’s uniquely qualified to handle [these situations] with integrity and grace.”

Another colleague told the Times that Pretti “followed the news closely and cared deeply about social justice and fighting for fairness,” as the paper put it. According to his family, Pretti participated earlier this month in protests against the shooting death of Renee Nicole Good, the 37-year-old mother of three who was killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis on Jan. 7.

“We had this discussion with him two weeks ago or so — you know, ‘Go ahead and protest, but do not engage, do not do anything stupid, basically,’” Pretti’s father told the Associated Press. “And he said he knows that. He knew that.”

Court records show that Pretti had no criminal record; beyond a handful of traffic tickets, he’d never had any previous interactions with law enforcement.

Pretti’s ex-wife told the AP that he got a permit to carry a concealed firearm about three years ago and that he owned at least one semiautomatic handgun. Under Minnesota law, citizens can openly carry a handgun in public if they have a permit. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara confirmed on Saturday that Pretti had a valid firearms permit.

What we know about Pretti’s killing

On the morning of Jan. 24, Pretti was present at the intersection of 26th Street and Nicollet Avenue in the Whittier neighborhood of Minneapolis. A witness stated that ICE agents were attempting to enter a restaurant but were refused. Several state leaders have described Pretti as a legal observer — that is, a volunteer who monitors and documents federal law enforcement actions in the city.

Shortly after 9 a.m. local time, Pretti was positioned in the middle street, where he was filming an interaction between federal agents and two other civilians with his phone, videos taken by witnesses show. One of the agents then started to push the two civilians across the street. Shoved a second time, one of the civilians slipped on a small, icy snow bank by the curb, falling to the ground.

Still holding his phone in his right hand, Pretti moved to position himself between the agent and the other civilians. The agent immediately shot pepper spray toward Pretti’s face. Pretti tried to shield himself from the spray with his empty left hand before turning to help the fallen woman stand up. As Pretti turned away, the agent continued to pepper-spray the group.

A total of seven agents then surrounded Pretti and wrestled him to his knees. One agent struck Pretti several times with a pepper-spray canister. Another — previously empty-handed — reached toward Pretti’s right hip and removed what appeared to be Pretti’s gun before backing away from the skirmish. (The weapon “matches the profile of a gun that D.H.S. says belonged to Mr. Pretti,” according to the New York Times.) Someone could be heard saying, “gun, gun” as Pretti was disarmed.

Over the next five seconds, two agents fired at least 10 shots at Pretti, who collapsed on the pavement. Multiple frame-by-frame analyses of eyewitness video footage — by the New York Times and the BBC, among other outlets — have concluded that Pretti did not brandish his gun before or during the encounter.

In sworn affidavits filed Saturday as part of a lawsuit against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and other officials, one witness testified that Pretti “did not approach the agents with a gun. He approached them with a camera. He was just trying to help a woman get up and they took him to the ground.” Another, a physician, testified that “at first the ICE agents wouldn’t let me through” to assess Pretti’s condition. “I was confused as to why the victim was on his side, because that is not standard practice when a victim has been shot,” the physician said. “Checking for a pulse and administering CPR is standard practice. Instead of doing either of those things, the ICE agents appeared to be counting his bullet wounds.”

Shortly after, medics tried and failed to revive Pretti. He died on the scene.

On Monday, NBC News reported that “investigators are reviewing body-worn camera video from immigration agents” involved in Pretti’s shooting. DHS confirmed that the videos were “recorded by multiple agents on multiple cameras.” According to NBC, the new footage “could help clarify some of the basic facts of the shooting and potentially serve as evidence in legal proceedings.”

What Trump administration officials have said about Pretti’s killing

Gregory Bovino, Border Patrol commander-at-large: “During this operation, an individual approached U.S. Border Patrol agents with a nine-millimeter semi-automatic handgun. The agents attempted to disarm the individual, but he violently resisted. Fearing for his life and the lives and safety of fellow officers, a Border Patrol agent fired defensive shots. … The suspect also had two loaded magazines and no assessable I.D. This looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.”

Noem: “This looks like a situation where an individual arrived at the scene to inflict maximum damage on individuals and to kill law enforcement. [Pretti] showed up to impede a law enforcement operation and assaulted our officers. They responded according to their training and took action to defend the officer’s life and those of the public around them. [Pretti] committed an act of domestic terrorism.”

White House Homeland Security adviser Stephen Miller: “A domestic terrorist tried to assassinate federal law enforcement … The state’s entire Democrat leadership team [has] been flaming the flames of insurrection for the singular purpose of stopping the deportation of illegals who invaded the country.” (Miller has also described Pretti as a “would-be assassin” who “tried to murder federal law enforcement.”)

Trump: “This is the gunman’s gun, loaded (with two additional full magazines!), and ready to go – What is that all about?”

FBI Director Kash Patel: "You cannot bring a firearm, loaded, with multiple magazines to any sort of protest that you want. It's that simple. You don’t have that right to break the law and incite violence.”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent: “I've been to a protest. Guess what? I didn't bring a gun. I brought a billboard.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli: "If you approach law enforcement with a gun, there is a high likelihood they will be legally justified in shooting you. Don’t do it!"

What others have said about Pretti’s killing, including Republicans and gun-rights advocates

Gun Owners for America: "Federal agents are not 'highly likely' to be 'legally justified' in 'shooting' concealed carry licensees who approach while lawfully carrying a firearm. The Second Amendment protects Americans' right to bear arms while protesting—a right the federal government must not infringe upon."

The National Rifle Association: “This sentiment from the First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California is dangerous and wrong. Responsible public voices should be awaiting a full investigation, not making generalizations and demonizing law-abiding citizens.”

Rep. Thomas Massie, Republican of Kentucky: "Carrying a firearm is not a death sentence, it’s a Constitutionally protected God-given right, and if you don’t understand this you have no business in law enforcement or government."

Sen. Thom Tillis, Republican of North Carolina: “Any administration official who rushes to judgment and tries to shut down an investigation before it begins are doing an incredible disservice to the nation and to President Trump’s legacy.”

Sen. Bill Cassidy, Republican of Louisiana: “The events in Minneapolis are incredibly disturbing. The credibility of ICE and DHS are at stake. There must be a full joint federal and state investigation. We can trust the American people with the truth.”

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska: The tragedy and chaos the country is witnessing in Minneapolis is shocking. The killing yesterday of Alex Pretti, a U.S. citizen, by ICE agents should raise serious questions within the administration about the adequacy of immigration-enforcement training and the instructions officers are given on carrying out their mission. …  A comprehensive, independent investigation of the shooting must be conducted in order to rebuild trust and Congressional committees need to hold hearings and do their oversight work. ICE agents do not have carte blanche in carrying out their duties.

Former President Barack Obama: “Rather than trying to impose some semblance of discipline and accountability over the agents they’ve deployed, the President and current administration officials seem eager to escalate the situation, while offering public explanations for the shootings of Mr. Pretti and Renee Good that aren’t informed by any serious investigation — and that appear to be directly contradicted by video evidence. This has to stop.”

Gov. Kevin Stitt, Republican of Oklahoma: “Nobody likes the feds coming to their states. And so what is the goal right now? Is it to deport every single non-U.S. citizen? I don’t think that’s what Americans want.”

What’s next

In interviews with the New York Times published on Monday, more than 20 current and former immigration officials “expressed anxieties that the administration was sending federal agents into situations in Minneapolis and other major cities that were increasingly dangerous both for them and civilians they encountered,” adding that the political fallout could damage perceptions of ICE and the Border Patrol as well as the administration’s own immigration agenda.

In private, Trump himself has reportedly voiced similar concerns — which likely inform the decision to put Homan in charge of immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota, displacing Bovino and Noem.

“He has not been involved in that area, but knows and likes many of the people there,” Trump wrote on social media. “Tom is tough but fair, and will report directly to me.”

Homan led ICE’s deportation wing during the Obama administration; he later served as acting director during Trump’s first term.

In a radio interview on Monday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, said the White House is “working on a game plan to make sure that they are going to ... recalibrate and maybe work from a different direction to ensure that they get back to get what they wanted to do to begin with — and that is to remove people from the country."

Meanwhile, Walz’s office described his Monday call with Trump as “productive,” saying the president had agreed to look into reducing the number of federal agents in Minnesota and talk to federal officials about ensuring independent investigations into Pretti’s killing.

So far, local and state authorities in Minnesota say their federal counterparts have impeded their efforts, denying access to the scene multiple times even after they secured a signed search warrant. On Saturday, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office sought and received an emergency court order from a federal judge who barred federal officials from destroying or altering evidence from the case, including evidence removed from the scene or taken into exclusive federal custody.

On Sunday, ICE officials received a memo from leadership notifying them of the court order. DHS has denied that any evidence was destroyed.