Where things stand
• In court in nurse’s killing: A federal court hearing is set for today after a judge issued a temporary restraining order blocking federal agencies from destroying or altering evidence related to the fatal shooting of ICU nurse Alex Pretti in an encounter Saturday with federal agents.
• Few details back claims: Federal officials have declined to provide critical details substantiating their claim an agent shot Pretti in self-defense. Lawmakers, including some Republicans, want the shooting investigated. Read CNN’s fact check of the Trump administration’s claims, and watch analysis of videos taken from several angles.
• Hearing on ICE ops: A judge separately will hear arguments today on whether to temporarily halt the immigration crackdown in Minnesota that’s part of the Trump administration’s nationwide enforcement crackdown. While federal officials are concerned about scenes playing out in Minnesota, they have no plans to change posture, sources familiar say.
Trump sending border czar to Minnesota tonight, president posts
President Donald Trump on Monday morning said he is sending his Border Czar Tom Homan to Minnesota tonight, in the wake of the second fatal shooting of a US citizen in Minneapolis in an encounter with federal agents.
“I am sending Tom Homan to Minnesota tonight. He has not been involved in that area, but knows and likes many of the people there. Tom is tough but fair, and will report directly to me,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
Trump also again homed in on fraud investigations in the state, which the White House said Homan would also help manage.
“Tom Homan will be managing ICE operations on the ground in Minnesota and coordinating with others on the ongoing fraud investigations,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to CNN.
Trump continued, “Separately, a major investigation is going on with respect to the massive 20 Billion Dollar, Plus, Welfare Fraud that has taken place in Minnesota, and is at least partially responsible for the violent organized protests going on in the streets. Additionally, the DOJ and Congress are looking at ‘Congresswoman’ Illhan (sic) Omar, who left Somalia with NOTHING, and is now reportedly worth more than 44 Million Dollars. Time will tell all.”
State of Minnesota and Trump administration meet in court today on request to end surge of agents
A federal judge in Minnesota will hold a hearing at 10 a.m. ET (9 a.m. CT) on a lawsuit to end Operation Metro Surge. Judge Katherine Menendez has said she wants to hear from both sides before making a decision on the request.
The complaint brought by the state of Minnesota and cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul argues the aggressive influx of federal immigration officers into the state “is driven by nothing more than the Trump Administration’s desire to punish political opponents and score partisan points—at the direct expense of Plaintiffs’ residents.”
The Trump administration’s response says the lawsuit has “not a shred of legal support,” saying the president has “broad authority” to enforce federal immigration law.
The plaintiffs are asking the judge to “reduce the numbers of officers and agents deployed in Minnesota to the levels that existed … prior to the commencement of Operation Metro Surge.”
They also want the judge to place several limits on federal officers who remain in the state, including prohibiting them from concealing their identities with masks and approaching suspects based only on “race, ethnicity, accented speech, or proximity to predominantly Immigrant-serving businesses or cultural centers.”
In a separate case brought by a group of protesters, Judge Menendez — who was nominated by former President Joe Biden — signed a temporary restraining order blocking federal officers from retaliating against peaceful protesters.
What officials have said about the events surrounding the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti
Conflicting accounts are being given of the events surrounding Saturday’s fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, in Minneapolis. His death marks the second time a person has been shot dead in the city by federal agents this month.
The Department of Homeland Security has said Pretti was shot and killed in self-defense, while CNN video analysis, witness testimony and other officials suggest Pretti was not acting violently or holding any weapons in the run up to his death.
Here’s what officials have said about the circumstances surrounding the shooting:
- Kristi Noem, the DHS secretary, said Saturday that Pretti “approached US Border Patrol officers with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun.” Officers “attempted to disarm the suspect,” who “violently resisted” this, she said. “Fearing for his life and the lives and safety of fellow officers, an agent fired defensive shots,” Noem said. She alleged it looked like Pretti intended to “inflict maximum damage on individuals and to kill law enforcement,” but nobody has shown evidence that Pretti sought to kill anyone.
- Shortly after the shooting, Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Gregory Bovino accused Pretti of trying to “massacre law enforcement.” When pressed by CNN’s Dana Bash about the DHS claim that Pretti was “brandishing” a weapon, Bovino said only that Pretti had a gun and faulted him for approaching agents, declining to say whether the weapon was ever fired or how many agents discharged their weapons.
- Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz called the DHS’ recounting of the circumstances surrounding the shooting “nonsense” and “lies,” saying Saturday that federal officials had “written a narrative already” about how Pretti’s death occurred. “They already will slander this individual. They’ve already made this the case,” he said. Walz said he watched multiple videos of the incident, which he called “sickening.”
- Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey also described watching a video showing “more than six masked agents pummeling one of our constituents and shooting him to death.”
- US President Donald Trump has not publicly said much about what he believes to be the circumstances surrounding Pretti’s death. On Saturday afternoon, however, he posted a picture of what he alleged was Pretti’s gun, writing: “This is the gunman’s gun, loaded (with two additional full magazines!), and ready to go – What is that all about?”
CNN’s Danya Gainor, Zoe Sottile and Alaa Elassar contributed to this report.
The Trump administration is prioritizing deportations over American lives, Kentucky governor says
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear called the Department of Homeland Security and the Trump administration’s conclusions about the fatal shooting of ICU nurse Alex Pretti both “grossly irresponsible” and “incredibly concerning,” he told CNN’s Kate Bolduan on “CNN News Central.”
The Kentucky governor called for all federal officers involved in immigration enforcement to be pulled out of cities nationwide and for “a full-on retraining,” saying “they are operating with aggressive tactics that are not appropriate for law enforcement.”
State homicide charges against a federal officer would be an “uphill climb legally,” former prosecutor says
State-level charges against any federal officer involved in the encounter Saturday that left ICU nurse Alex Pretti dead would be an “uphill climb legally,” former federal and state prosecutor Elie Honig told CNN.
State prosecutors charging a federal official with a crime is theoretically possible, Honig told CNN’s Sara Sidner, but would face “major legal obstacles in court.”
“The first thing that officer would do would be to ask to go to federal court and then to try to seek to invoke some form of qualified immunity to get a case thrown out,” he explained.
For now, the investigation into the fatal shooting of Pretti is a “very suboptimal situation” in which federal and state authorities are not working together, Honig said.
“If you’re essentially divorcing state and feds, you’re going to end up with different evidence on each side of this,” he said.
Typically, a case like this would involve one internal investigation to review an officer’s actions and a second potential criminal investigation into the shooting, Honig explained.
“When (Deputy Attorney General) Todd Blanche says, ‘Of course, we’re investigating,’ does he mean just the administrative piece? Or does he mean the much more significant criminal investigation?” Honig asked.
Leadership is attempting to "justify something that’s not justifiable," former police chief says
The description of the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti provided by officials contradicts the footage captured by civilians at the scene, according to former Philadelphia and Washington, DC, police commissioner Charles Ramsey, a senior CNN law enforcement analyst.
For context: CNN has analyzed cellphone footage of the fatal shooting. Taken together, they appear at odds with the Department of Homeland Security’s claims about the killing.
Ramsey said federal officers are not at liberty to open fire on an individual just because the person is in possession of a gun.
“The mere fact that you have a gun does not give an officer the authority to just shoot an individual. You can’t do it,” he said, adding that what matters is what the individual is doing with the weapon. “There’s no indication he (Pretti) was doing anything,” Ramsey added.
“You have to account for every single shot,” Ramsey said. “The first shot — not in this case, but in any case — could be justified. But that doesn’t mean nine that follow are justified because the threat has been neutralized.”
“In this case, the threat was never really there,” Ramsey said before criticizing leadership’s handling of the fatal shooting. “And rather than call it as they see it, which a leader should do, they’re trying to justify something that’s not justifiable.”
How the immigration crackdown has unfolded in the Twin Cities
A surge of federal immigration officers in Minnesota has left the Midwestern state on edge for weeks, with Saturday’s fatal shooting of Alex Pretti marking the second time a US citizen has been shot and killed by federal agents this month.
The Trump administration launched Operation Metro Surge, an immigration crackdown in the Twin Cities, in December. Officials said they were targeting undocumented Somali residents.
Here’s how things have developed since:
- Before Operation Metro Surge was launched, Minnesota’s government was facing accusations of widespread fraud involving state social service programs. In November, President Donald Trump announced that he was terminating temporary protected status for Somalis living in Minnesota.
- A few days later, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said his department would investigate whether Minnesota tax dollars may have been diverted to the terrorist organization Al-Shabaab, a Somali militant group and US-designated foreign terrorist organization. His comment was in response to an article published by conservative magazine City Journal that claimed this was occurring.
- At the same time, Operation Metro Surge was announced.
- Some weeks later, a YouTuber claimed in a widely circulated video to have uncovered widespread fraud at Somali-run child care centers. He offered little evidence to prove this. The video was amplified by right-wing figures including Elon Musk, Vice President JD Vance and FBI Director Kash Patel.
- In early January, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz dropped his reelection bid for a third term amid the welfare-fraud scandal, saying he needed to place the needs of the state’s residents over waging political battles.
- Days later, 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good was killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis. The Department of Homeland Security claimed Good was attempting to run over officers with her car. State and local officials disputed that description of events, and law enforcement experts questioned the agent’s tactics. View CNN’s analysis of video from the shooting here.
- A week after the fatal shooting of Good, a Venezuelan man was shot in the leg by an ICE officer, also in Minneapolis. According to the DHS, federal agents were conducting a “targeted traffic stop” when a man resisted arrest and started to “violently assault” one of its officers. The federal government’s narrative could not immediately be verified by CNN.
- On Saturday morning, 37-year-old Alex Pretti was shot dead in Minneapolis. The DHS said Pretti was armed and that he “violently resisted” attempts by federal law enforcement to disarm him. Walz described the DHS’ recounting of the incident as “nonsense” and “lies,” and federal officials have failed to provide evidence and respond to key questions when presented with CNN analysis of videos from the shooting.
CNN’s Danya Gainor, Priscilla Alvarez, Alejandra Jaramillo, Samantha Waldenberg, Holmes Lybrand, Chris Boyette, Jeff Zeleny, Amanda Musa, Karina Tsui, Holly Yan, Jeff Winter, Rob Kuznia and Betsy Klein contributed to this reporting,
Fatal shooting of Alex Pretti was "cold-blooded murder," civil rights attorney says
The fatal shooting of ICU nurse Alex Pretti was “cold-blooded murder,” a civil rights attorney told CNN, adding the deceased has become the victim of a smear campaign laboring to conceal the unlawful action of at least one ICE agent.
“What we see from the various videos that have been circulated is a man who was exercising his First Amendment rights to protest,” lawyer Areva Martin told Polo Sandoval on “CNN Newsroom.”
“We have been told (Pretti) had a license to carry that gun,” she said, emphasizing he was allowed to carry it. “He was shot after the gun was removed while he was pinned to the ground.”
“There’s nothing in the videos, nothing from any of the witnesses’ statements that would justify what appears to be just a cold-blooded murder,” Martin said.
Martin criticized the Trump administration’s response to Pretti’s death, calling its language inflammatory. “We’re watching this smear campaign … saying that he had the intention to massacre ICE agents,” she said, adding the claims contradict what the readily available footage of the incident indicates.
“I’m not aware of any federal law that prevents a protester … from using a whistle. There’s no indication that that’s a violation of any kind of Minnesota law,” Martin said. “These aren’t laws … These are statements … contradictory statements, in most cases made by this administration, to justify the shooting of unarmed victims.”
Federal officials have declined to provide critical details substantiating their claim an agent shot Pretti in self-defense.
Gun rights groups and legal experts question Trump administration’s Second Amendment stance
Claims by Trump administration officials that Alex Pretti, who was fatally shot by a federal agent in Minneapolis, lacked the right to possess a firearm and that his killing was justified are being dismissed by legal experts and assailed by gun rights groups ordinarily aligned with the president.
The rhetoric from Trump law enforcement officials, including his FBI director and the top Border Patrol agent, goes against the decadeslong GOP effort to throttle gun control rules.
Read more here about Minnesota’s gun laws and what gun rights groups have to say.
Anti-ICE imagery projected onto Los Angeles detention center
Anti-ICE imagery was projected onto the facade of the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles on Saturday, as this video from street art collective VJayBombs shows.
The image depicts a blindfolded federal agent wearing an ICE badge on his shoulder shooting toward text at the bottom of the image, which changes with each bullet impact. The text cycles through phrases, including: our freedoms, our goodness, our safety, our empathy, our brothers, our sisters.
The video made the rounds on social media over the weekend, as tensions remained high around the country following the killing of Alex Pretti by a Border Patrol agent in Minneapolis on Saturday.
VJayBombs said it chose the building because it is Los Angeles’ main detention center, adding: “We’re at a turning point right now in this country. People need to wake up. This is not normal.”
CNN has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Prisons for comment.
Analysis: Another Minnesota shooting turns immigration crackdown into a national reckoning
Another fatal shooting in Minnesota by federal agents shows President Donald Trump’s crackdown has gone far beyond undocumented immigrants.
The surge of federal force to Minneapolis is testing long-held understandings of constitutional rights and the restraint, humanity and accountability owed to the governed by those who govern them in a democratic society.
By insisting that details of two killings that millions of Americans saw on cell phone videos did not take place, senior administration officials are fracturing reality and implying that their brazen power can be wielded with impunity.
And by prejudging and distorting the tragedy in its immediate aftermath, the officials have prejudiced an investigation they will conduct into one of the gravest events that can happen in a republic: government law enforcement killing a citizen.
Why it matters that officials have claimed without offering evidence that Alex Pretti “brandished” a weapon
Federal officials have claimed Alex Pretti, who was fatally shot by at least one Border Patrol agent in Minneapolis Saturday, “brandished” a firearm to officers.
“This individual went and impeded their law enforcement operations, attacked those officers, had a weapon on him and multiple dozens of rounds of ammunition, wishing to inflict harm on these officers, coming, brandishing like that,” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Saturday.
In addition to the common meaning of the phrase, brandishing a weapon is also a criminal charge with a legal definition. A person can meet the definition of brandishing without even showing the gun, but given how quickly officials made that claim, it’s “implausible” DHS had time to do an investigation that would be thorough enough to support that claim, a policing expert said.
It is possible to “brandish” a weapon without holding it, according to Seth Stoughton, policing expert and law professor at the University of South Carolina, who responded to CNN’s questions over email.
Stoughton said he has seen no evidence to support Noem’s description that Pretti was “brandishing” the firearm and notes Noem did not provide any.
Trump pushes blame to Democrats in aftermath of shootings
President Donald Trump is turning to a familiar playbook in the aftermath of the second deadly shooting of a US citizen by a federal officer in recent weeks: blame Democrats.
Trump issued a lengthy post to social media Sunday evening railing against the immigration policies of his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, and what he described as “Democrat failed leadership.”
But it underscored the deepening rift between his administration and Minnesota and Minneapolis’ governments as Trump suggested that Democratic policies were to blame for the shootings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti.
“Democrat run Sanctuary Cities and States are REFUSING to cooperate with ICE, and they are actually encouraging Leftwing Agitators to unlawfully obstruct their operations to arrest the Worst of the Worst People!” Trump said.
Trump went on to issue a series of demands, charging Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and their Democratic counterparts across the country to “to formally cooperate with the Trump Administration to enforce our Nation’s Laws, rather than resist and stoke the flames of Division, Chaos, and Violence.”
Among the demands: turn over currently-incarcerated illegal immigrants in state prisons and jails to federal authorities, turn over illegal immigrants arrested by local police, require local police to assist federal law enforcement in “apprehending and detaining Illegal Aliens who are wanted for Crimes,” and “partner with the Federal Government to protect American Citizens in the rapid removal of all Criminal Illegal Aliens in our Country.”
He also called for the end of sanctuary city policies.
For context: As we’ve reported, at a news conference yesterday, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz rejected the Trump administration’s request to repeal so-called sanctuary policies and share Medicaid, food assistance and voter data with the federal government.
Democrats in Minnesota reject Trump administration's request to turn over voter rolls
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz rejected the Trump administration’s request to repeal so-called sanctuary policies and share Medicaid, food assistance and voter data with the federal government to “bring an end to the chaos in Minnesota.”
“It’s not a serious attempt,” Walz said earlier yesterday during a news conference.
Attorney General Pam Bondi sent a letter to Walz on Saturday urging him to repeal sanctuary policies and to allow the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division to access the state’s voter rolls.
President Donald Trump yesterday reiterated the demands, calling for Minnesota Democrats “to formally cooperate with the Trump Administration to enforce our Nation’s Laws, rather than resist and stoke the flames of Division, Chaos, and Violence.”
Other state officials criticized the letter, with Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon calling it “deeply disturbing.”
Rep. Ilhan Omar, who represents Minneapolis, wrote in a post, “This was never about immigration or fraud. It was always about rigging elections.”
The Democratic National Committee also accused Noem of “attempting to extort” voter rolls from Minnesota.
Here's what we know about the probe into the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti
Federal officials have released few details about the investigation into the fatal shooting of ICU nurse and US citizen Alex Pretti, even as they continue to publicly defend the agents involved.
Here’s what we know:
Bovino provides little information to substantiate agency claims
Yesterday, Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Greg Bovino declined to provide details on the probe, saying, “The investigation is going to uncover all those facts, things like how many shots were fired, where were the weapons located.”
Pressed on the Department of Homeland Security’s claim Pretti was “brandishing” a weapon, Bovino said Pretti had a gun and faulted him for approaching agents.
Bovino also sparred with critics on social media, saying “attacking law enforcement is not a right like you want it to be,” and accusing them of “spreading lies and fueling violence,” among other comments.
Trump administration officials have sought to cast Pretti as a violent agitator. But video analyzed by CNN does not capture Pretti acting violently or holding the handgun that a federal officer removed from his waistband seconds before he was killed.
CNN’s Dana Bash pressed Bovino about the videos that appear to contradict the DHS account of the shooting:
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara has said Pretti was believed to be a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry.
Local probe and legal action
Following the shooting, state officials said Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) was denied access to the scene by DHS agents multiple times, even after securing a signed search warrant.
When FBI officials left after evaluating Saturday’s crime scene, state and local police were unable to hold that scene and it was overrun by protesters, preventing the BCA from conducting its own examination, officials said.
BCA agents were on site Sunday, collecting evidence and canvassing neighborhoods.
A temporary restraining order is in place to ensure federal agencies preserve evidence that could later be turned over to state investigators. The BCA and the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office requested the order after suing the Trump administration to prevent the tampering and destruction of evidence.
Court hearings on the temporary restraining order and the lawsuit against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown will take place on Monday.
Alex Pretti was fatally shot by federal agents in Minneapolis. Here's the latest
ICU nurse Alex Pretti was killed during an encounter with federal agents in Minneapolis, a city already reeling from two other shootings by federal law enforcement this month.
Federal officials claim the agent shot Pretti in self-defense but CNN analysis of video taken at the scene appears to show a federal immigration officer removing a gun from Pretti just prior to him being fatally shot.
If you’re just joining us, here’s what we know about the incident:
- What led to the shooting: The incident took place on Saturday at around 9 a.m. local time on a part of Nicollet Avenue known as Eat Street, a block lined with restaurants. DHS said that agents were conducting a targeted operation against an undocumented immigrant “wanted for violent assault” when an “individual approached US Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun.” A person allegedly being chased by federal officers ran into a nearby doughnut shop, according to a witness. People inside locked the door after him.
- The shooting: Observers gathered outside the shop. According to video and witness accounts, Pretti is seen holding what appears to be his phone, presumably recording the federal agents. An agent pushes another bystander to the ground and Pretti then moves toward the agent. The agent grabs Pretti and sprays him with a chemical irritant. Pretti appears to try to help one of the other bystanders to her feet. Agents then try to separate Pretti from the bystander and wrestle him to the ground. At least one officer can be heard shouting, “He’s got a gun,” as an officer reaches into Pretti’s waistband. An officer appears to walk away holding Pretti’s weapon, and then a shot rings out, followed by at least nine more.
- Who was Alex Pretti: The 37-year-old worked as an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center, his parents said in a statement. Pretti put himself through medical school by working at the local VA, then joined the staff after graduating, according a co-worker. They said Pretti researched ways to prevent veterans from dying from colon cancer.
