Newly released footage, first shared by The News Movement and reported by Sky News, shows Alex Pretti at East 36th Street and Park Avenue on 13 January, where federal agents had blocked a street. His family confirmed to NBC News that he is the man in the video. The incident took place four days after an ICE agent shot and killed 37‑year‑old Renee Good in her vehicle on Portland Avenue South and 11 days before Pretti was shot dead by immigration enforcement agents the following Saturday.
According to Sky News, the video shows Pretti approaching a federal vehicle as agents begin to pull away from a crowd. He appears to spit at the vehicle before kicking its taillight twice, knocking it loose. An agent then exits the vehicle, grabs him and forces him to the ground. During the struggle, agents fire tear gas and pepper balls into the crowd. Pretti eventually breaks free, and a holstered handgun is visible behind his back as he shouts at the officers. Sky News notes it has not verified what led up to the confrontation.
Violently assaulted
Steve Schleicher, the attorney for the Pretti family, told NBC News that the footage shows Pretti being “violently assaulted by a group of ICE agents” and argued that nothing from the earlier incident could justify his killing on 24 January. The Department of Homeland Security said its investigations team is reviewing the video.
Pretti, who had been protesting ICE activity in Minneapolis after the death of Renee Good, was shot 10 times by two federal officers. Local officials have said he was legally carrying a handgun. Senior White House officials including Stephen Miller and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem have described him as a “would‑be assassin.”
Sky News reports that President Donald Trump appeared to distance himself from that description when speaking to reporters in Iowa. He called the situation “very unfortunate” while adding that “you cannot walk in with guns.” The agents involved in the shooting have been placed on leave after Trump said he wanted to reduce tensions.
The release of the footage has intensified scrutiny of federal operations in Minneapolis, where two fatal encounters with ICE agents occurred within 11 days. Sky News continues to follow developments as investigations progress.