MINNEAPOLIS (Diya TV) — Nine months after federal immigration officers shot and killed Alex Pretti, his parents say they still have no substantive update from the Justice Department. At a Minneapolis news conference Tuesday, Michael and Susan Pretti asked federal officials to identify the officers who fired, release evidence and resume sharing records with Minnesota investigators.
Pretti, 37, worked as an intensive care nurse at a Veterans Affairs hospital. Bystander videos show him recording federal officers on Jan. 24 and stepping toward a confrontation after an officer pushed a woman to the ground. Officers wrestled him down. Video reviewed by news organizations shows an officer removing Pretti’s handgun from his waistband; within about a second, another officer appears to fire. At least 10 shots can be heard. No public video has shown Pretti brandishing his gun or attacking officers before they shot him.
The footage conflicts with the Trump administration’s first account. Then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem described Pretti as a domestic terrorist who attacked officers and brandished a weapon. The administration has not publicly reconciled that account with the videos. Pretti had a permit to carry a firearm and no criminal record, according to reporting on the case.
The family says federal officials have not explained the status of the investigation or told them who shot their son. In a July letter to Attorney General Todd Blanche, the family’s lawyer cited the Crime Victims’ Rights Act and asked the Justice Department to identify the federal employees involved, confirm whether the FBI was still investigating, share information with state and local authorities, and return any of Pretti’s belongings no longer needed as evidence.
The evidence dispute extends beyond the family. Minnesota investigators say federal agencies have not turned over the firearms and cellphones of the two officers who shot Pretti, the gun taken from him, bullets and casings, or one officer’s recorded statement after the shooting. Drew Evans, superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, called the material critical to determining what happened.
Federal officials first shared a substantial amount of material in July, including body-camera footage and hard drives containing agent statements. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said then that her office had received the evidence it needed. State filings now say the U.S. Attorney’s Office stopped sharing additional material after that announcement. Moriarty said U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen told her in September that the pause would continue indefinitely because of unspecified “challenges with D.C.”
Minnesota filed suit in March to gain access to evidence from three shootings during Operation Metro Surge: Pretti’s death, the Jan. 7 killing of Renee Good by an ICE officer, and the Jan. 14 wounding of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis by a federal immigration officer. The state says federal officials initially blocked local investigators from the scenes and later withheld key evidence. No charges have been filed in Pretti’s death.
The Justice Department has asked a federal judge in Washington to dismiss or transfer the lawsuit. It argues that federal rules governing disclosure of agency records gave officials discretion to withhold material while investigations remained open. Minnesota says those records are necessary for independent state investigations. The judge has not resolved the dispute.
The department defended its silence toward the family, saying it generally communicates with relatives later in a case, such as after an indictment or when court proceedings begin. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota declined to comment on the family’s news conference.
Michael and Susan Pretti said they do not want to become public advocates; they want investigators to establish what happened and hold anyone responsible accountable. “Share the evidence now so prosecutors can follow the facts,” Michael Pretti said.
Their request now depends on two processes moving at different speeds: the federal investigation into the shooting and Minnesota’s lawsuit seeking the evidence federal authorities control. Until officials disclose those records or explain why they will not, state investigators and the family say they cannot get a full account of Pretti’s final moments.
