US: Outrage Mounts Over Killing of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis

The killing of Alex Pretti by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on January 24 came less than 24 hours after a historic general strike against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and federal forces in Minnesota. More than 100,000 people marched through the streets of Minneapolis, as thousands of businesses shut down. Such an expression of working-class power has not been seen in the US for over 80 years. 

The strike marked a major development in the struggle between federal immigration enforcement and organized resistance in Minnesota.

The city, already demonstrating its ability to mobilize at a scale that can disrupt the economy, woke up the following morning to yet another killing of a community member by a federal agent.

Over 100,000 people flooded downtown Minneapolis for the January 23 general strike. Photo: Maya Rait

Criminalising the victim

“We are heartbroken but also very angry,” said the family of Alex Pretti, in a public statement released on January 24.

A CBP agent shot 37-year-old Alex Pretti about 12 times in south Minneapolis, after several agents were seen wrestling him on the ground and pistol whipping him.

As with the killing of Renee Good earlier this month, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) moved quickly to establish its narrative. It issued a statement saying that Pretti had approached CBP agents with a gun. When they tried to disarm him he “violently resisted” and “an agent fired defensive shots”.

Pretti’s family denounced the “sickening lies told about our son by the administration” and directly challenged the administration’s attempt to criminalize Pretti posthumously.

“Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked by Trump’s murdering and cowardly ICE thugs.” They urged people to help them get the truth out about Pretti. 

Video footage debunks government narrative

Recordings from the scene of the incident seem to corroborate the family’s claims against the government’s narrative. In Pretti’s killing, video shows him at the scene recording with his phone camera. Within seconds of Pretti trying to assist a woman that had been assaulted by federal agents, Pretti was pepper-sprayed, tackled by multiple agents, and shot to death. Evidence suggests he posed no lethal threat. 

Pretti was a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry, and video evidence shows that his weapon never left its holster until a CBP agent removed it, moments before he was shot dead. The federal government has nevertheless used the presence of the gun as retroactive justification for his killing. The narrative itself exposes contradictions between “law and order” rhetoric and legal gun ownership, neither of which seem to provide protection from the use of lethal force by federal agents.

Video documentation also captured moments that underscored the culture of impunity surrounding the operation. One CBP agent can be seen clapping during the shooting. Another shouted “boo hoo” at community members demanding the agents leave the area (an act seemingly intended to intimidate rather than disperse the crowd).

That moment of deadly state violence did not happen in a vacuum. It came on the heels of a massive general strike in Minnesota that confronted the ICE occupation directly. Thousands of businesses shut down, hundreds of community organizations supported it, dozens of unions participated, and students forced the University of Minnesota to completely close. 

Over 100,000 workers, students, business owners, and community members flooded the streets of downtown Minneapolis in temperatures below -30°C demanding ICE out of the state.

However, Minnesota’s general strike was met not with dialogue, but escalation.

Repression and resistance

The response by the authorities after Pretti’s killing highlights how seriously they view the capacity for mobilization and resistance in the Twin Cities and the broader state.

Peoples Dispatch was at the site of the killing, as federal agents used tear gas, flash bangs, and pepper balls to clear the crowd of hundreds of community members gathering at Nicollet Ave and 26th street.

Later, protestors blocked the road with dumpsters, mattresses, and garbage cans. The cycle of confrontation continued throughout the day but by the evening, thousands of Twin Cities residents filled the area. 

Governor Tim Walz authorized the deployment of the national guard. Witnesses reported armored vehicles and military-style perimeters of the area. The extraordinary show of force was rained down on a city that has proven its capacity to mobilize hundreds of thousands in coordinated action. 

Despite reported phone calls with US President Trump and colorful language against ICE in press conferences, Governor Walz and Mayor Frey have yet to order the arrest of Jonathan Ross, the ICE agent identified as Renee Good’s killer weeks ago. Nor have they announced any action in the killing of Alex Pretti.

The strike reverberates

Minneapolis appears to be emerging as a testing ground for how far the federal government can advance Trump’s far-right agenda. Amid mass resistance, the government has expanded the authority of federal forces, normalized lethal force, and relied on delay and silence from local officials to absorb public outrage. 

The general strike demonstrated that Minneapolis residents are willing to organize at a scale rarely seen in the United States. The killing of Alex Pretti the following morning revealed the lengths to which federal authorities are willing to go to reassert control.

On the ground, protestors are already calling for an expansion of the general strike. As cities like NY, Boston, Los Angeles, Washington DC, and many others broke out in spontaneous protests after Pretti’s killing, one chant echoed across them all: “Strike! Strike! Strike!”

Whether the city becomes a model for resistance or a major victory for the Trump administration may depend on how long the ICE violence is allowed to continue without consequence.

Courtesy: Peoples Dispatch