Pressure mounted on Donald Trump’s administration on Sunday to fully investigate the killing of 37-year-old nurse Alex Pretti by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis the previous day. Calls for an investigation came from across the political spectrum after video analysis revealed officers had taken a handgun from Pretti—which he was reportedly permitted to carry and was not handling—before fatally shooting him.
Republican U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy stated that the “credibility” of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was “at stake.” “There must be a full joint federal and state investigation,” Cassidy wrote in a post on X, referring to both the shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE officer on January 7 and Pretti’s killing by border patrol officers on Saturday. “We can trust the American people with the truth.”
Democratic lawmakers, including U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, both of New York, also called for federal immigration authorities to leave Minnesota. They urged Senate Democrats to vote against funding DHS, which oversees ICE and border patrol, during upcoming budget negotiations. “We have a responsibility to protect Americans from tyranny,” Ocasio-Cortez posted on X.
On Sunday morning, Democratic Senators Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Adam Schiff of California said they would vote against the impending DHS funding. “When they’re killing two constituents in my state, and they’re taking two-year-olds out of the arms of their mom, and they are taking an elder Hmong man out of his house and putting him out there in his underwear, and then figuring out they have the wrong man … no, I am not voting for this funding,” Klobuchar told NBC’s Meet the Press, alluding to incidents involving federal immigration agents that have drawn heavy media scrutiny.
Schiff said he was “not giving ICE or border patrol another dime, given how this agency, these agencies are operating.” Schumer first announced on Saturday that he and fellow Democrats would not provide the necessary votes if DHS funding remains in the measure. A spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader John Thune said DHS and other government funds would be voted on as a single package. Without a compromise, the government faces a partial shutdown at the end of January.
Schiff warned that a government shutdown would occur if Republicans “insist” on combining immigration enforcement funding with other government appropriations. “It will be a Republican decision,” he said. “They understand we’re not going to go along with this.”
Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy, also a Democrat, told CNN’s State of the Union that Democrats “can’t vote to fund this lawless Department of Homeland Security … that is murdering American citizens, that is traumatizing little boys and girls all across the country, in violation of the law.”
Meanwhile, Pretti’s parents, Michael and Susan, called for “the truth” to be told about their son. “We are heartbroken but also very angry,” they said. “The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting.”
The family’s statement came after U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem claimed that Pretti brandished a gun before agents fired “defensive shots” at him. None of the widely circulated video evidence shows Pretti brandishing a gun.
Klobuchar also stated that the Trump administration had described the shooting, which is shown in several eyewitness videos circulating on social media, “in ways that simply aren’t true.””Keep thinking, your eyes don’t lie,” Klobuchar said. “Law enforcement is based on trust, and we have had a total breakdown of trust.”
She called for a transparent investigation into the shooting and for the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement agents to leave Minnesota.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told Meet the Press that “there’s obviously an investigation that’s ongoing.”
“Secretary Noem talked about that yesterday, which is what we would expect anytime a tragedy like this occurs,” Blanche said.
But he disagreed with the idea that videos of the encounter told the whole story. “We don’t know what happened in the minutes leading up to what we just watched. We don’t know what ICE saw, what ICE heard,” Blanche said regarding Pretti’s killing by federal agents. “That’s part of the investigation that’s going to be happening.
“You see a violent interaction with the man who was shot. And so we don’t know. No matter how many times you look at it, no matter how many different angles we see, there’s a lot that we don’t see.”
Blanche reiterated the government’s position that the protesters against immigration enforcement were not peaceful. “They are trying to impede and obstruct ICE, and it makes the job that our men and women have to do virtually impossible without interactions like that,” he said.
But, alluding to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, both Democrats, Blanche added: “Make no mistake about it. This was entirely avoidable if we had a governor, if we had a mayor, if we had leadership in Washington and in Minnesota that actually cared about their citizens.”
Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino was asked why federal agents shot and killed Pretti.
“You don’t know he was unarmed,” Bovino told CNN’s Dana Bash. “I don’t know he was unarmed. That’s freeze-frame adjudication of a crime scene via a photo. That’s why we have investigators.
“The facts are going to come to light as to what exactly happened with an investigation.”
When Bash asked if he was blaming the victim, he said, “The victims are the Border Patrol agents.”
(A separate report notes that witnesses in sworn testimony say Alex Pretti did not brandish a gun.)
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham argued that “an armed man trying to impede a lawful arrest is a recipe for disaster.” The South Carolina Republican said he expects law enforcement officers to use good judgment “but not to foolishly risk their lives or the lives of others.”
“If you go to such events with a loaded gun, bad things can happen,” Graham added, though it is legal in Minnesota to possess guns in public with a permit.
Late Saturday, a federal judge issued an order blocking the Trump administration from “destroying or altering evidence” related to Pretti’s killing, after Minnesota officials sued the Department of Homeland Security.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said the lawsuit demands that “a full, impartial, and transparent investigation into [Pretti’s] fatal shooting at the hands of DHS agents is non-negotiable.”
Meanwhile, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said information about what led to the shooting was limited. As protests erupted in Minneapolis on Saturday, federal officers prevented state investigators from accessing the scene of Pretti’s killing.
Trump responded to Pretti’s shooting with his typical combativeness. The Republican president accused Walz and Frey of “inciting insurrection, with their pompous, dangerous and arrogant rhetoric.”
Vice President JD Vance claimed events in Minneapolis were “engineered chaos” resulting from “far-left agitators, working with local authorities.”
ICE and Border Patrol officials were scheduled to hold a news briefing early Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis.
Frequently Asked Questions
Of course Here is a list of FAQs about the calls for an investigation into the killing of Alex Pretti framed in a natural tone
BeginnerLevel Questions
1 Who was Alex Pretti
Alex Pretti was a Maltese investigative journalist who was killed by a car bomb in October 2017 He was known for reporting on corruption often focusing on Maltese politicians and their connections
2 What are people asking the Trump administration to investigate
People are calling for the US to investigate potential international financial crimes money laundering or other crossborder criminal activities that Pretti was looking into which may have involved individuals or entities with ties to the United States
3 Why involve the US Isnt this a Maltese or European issue
While Malta and the EU are primarily responsible advocates argue that because Prettis investigations touched on global financial networks and potentially implicated people who moved money through or had connections to the US American authorities have a unique ability to pursue those international angles using tools like sanctions and antimoney laundering laws
4 What would a thorough investigation actually do
It would mean US agencies using their resources to trace money examine bank records interview witnesses and potentially sanction individuals found to be involved in his murder or the corruption he exposed
5 Has there been any justice for his killing so far
Yes but its considered incomplete In 2021 a Maltese court convicted three men for carrying out the murder However the mastermind who ordered the killing have not been conclusively identified or brought to justice in a way that satisfies his family colleagues and press freedom advocates
Advanced Practical Questions
6 What specific US laws or tools could be used in such an investigation
US authorities could use the Global Magnitsky Act to sanction foreign individuals involved in gross human rights violations or significant corruption They could also use antimoney laundering statutes and work with international partners through mutual legal assistance treaties
7 Whats the connection to the Pilatus Bank that Pretti reported on
Pretti was a key source in the investigation of Pilatus Bank in Malta which was accused of laundering money for politically exposed persons The banks Iranian owner was later
