Minnesota governor wants federal immigration agents out after Pretti killed

Minnesota’s Democratic governor, Tim Walz, has demanded that US President Donald Trump propulsion “untrained” national migration agents retired of the authorities aft Border Patrol agents changeable and killed a demonstrator successful Minneapolis, the 2nd specified decease successful the metropolis amid the ongoing crackdown.

As calls for an autarkic probe into the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, grow, Walz posed a question straight to Trump during a quality briefing connected Sunday.

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“What’s the plan, Donald Trump?” helium asked, adding, “What bash we request to bash to get these national agents retired of our state?”

The questions came aft elder Trump medication officials defended Pretti’s killing, contempt graphic video grounds appearing to contradict their accounts.

Federal agents changeable and killed Pretti connected Saturday portion scuffling with him connected an icy roadway successful Minneapolis, little than 3 weeks aft an migration serviceman fired connected Renee Good, besides 37, sidesplitting her successful her car.

Trump’s medication claimed that Pretti had intended to harm the agents, arsenic it did aft Good’s death, pointing to a pistol it said was discovered connected him.

However, videos shared wide connected societal media and verified by US media showed Pretti ne'er drafting a weapon, with agents firing astir 10 shots astatine him seconds aft helium was sprayed successful the look with a chemic irritant and thrown to the ground.

The videos further inflamed the ongoing protests successful Minneapolis against the beingness of national migration agents, with astir 1,000 radical participating successful a objection connected Sunday.

“The victims are borderline patrol agents,” Gregory Bovino, Border Patrol commander-at-large, told CNN’s State of the Union programme.

This authoritative line, echoed by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and different members of the Trump medication connected Sunday, ⁠led to outrage among section instrumentality enforcement, galore Minneapolis residents and Democrats connected Capitol Hill.

Democratic strategist Arshad Hasan said Pretti’s sidesplitting and its aftermath were “deeply unsettling” and accused national agents of turning a low‑crime metropolis into an “occupation”.

“I don’t cognize wherefore a authorities bureau should get peculiar exemptions from owed process erstwhile idiosyncratic is murdered… Homicide is simply a transgression for which the authorities and section instrumentality enforcement person jurisdiction,” helium told Al Jazeera, adding that the assemblage was “grieving” and feeling “under siege”.

Holding a phone, not a gun

Videos from the country amusement ​Pretti holding a telephone successful his hand, not a gun, arsenic helium tries to assistance different protesters who had been pushed to the crushed by agents.

As 1 video begins, Pretti ‍can beryllium seen filming portion a national cause pushes distant 1 pistillate and shoves different pistillate to the ground. Pretti moves betwixt the cause and the women, past raises his near limb to shield himself arsenic the cause pepper-sprays him.

Several agents past instrumentality clasp of Pretti – who struggles with them – and unit him onto his hands and knees. As the agents pin Pretti down, idiosyncratic shouts what sounds similar a informing astir the beingness of a gun.

Video footage past appears to amusement 1 of the agents removing a weapon from Pretti and stepping ‍away from the radical with it.

Moments ⁠later, an serviceman with a handgun points astatine Pretti’s backmost and fires 4 shots successful speedy succession. Several much shots tin past beryllium heard arsenic different cause appears to occurrence astatine Pretti.

People enactment successful an anti-ICE rally connected January 25, 2026, successful Minneapolis [Jack Brook/AP]

Darius Reeves, the erstwhile caput of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) tract bureau successful Baltimore, told the Reuters quality bureau that national agents’ evident deficiency of connection was troubling. “It’s wide nary 1 is communicating… based connected my reflection of however that squad responded,” Reeves said.

He drew attraction to signs that an serviceman appeared to person taken possession of Pretti’s limb earlier helium was killed. “The impervious to maine is however everyone scatters,” helium said. “They are looking around, trying to fig retired wherever the shots came from.”

After apical national officials described Pretti arsenic an “assassin” who had assaulted the agents, Pretti’s parents issued a connection connected Saturday, condemning the Trump administration’s “sickening lies” astir their son.

US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, speaking to NBC’s Meet the Press programme, said that an probe was indispensable to get a afloat knowing of the killing.

Asked if agents had already removed the pistol from Pretti erstwhile they fired connected him, Blanche said, “I bash not know. And cipher other knows, either. That’s wherefore we’re doing an investigation.”

Multiple senators from Trump’s Republican Party called for a thorough probe into the sidesplitting and for practice with section authorities. “There indispensable beryllium a afloat associated national and authorities investigation,” Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana said.

Thousands of national migration agents person been deployed to heavy Democratic Minneapolis for weeks, aft blimpish media reported connected alleged fraud by Somali immigrants.

Trump has repeatedly amplified the racially tinged accusations, including connected Sunday, erstwhile helium posted connected his Truth Social platform: “Minnesota is simply a Criminal COVER UP of the monolithic Financial Fraud that has gone on!”

The city, known for its bitterly acold winters, has 1 of the country’s highest concentrations of Somali immigrants.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison pushed backmost against Trump’s claim. “It’s not astir fraud, due to the fact that if helium sent radical who recognize forensic accounting, we’d beryllium having a antithetic conversation. But he’s sending equipped masked men,” helium said.