SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, along with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, announce a lawsuit against the Trump administration at Minneapolis City Hall on January 12, 2026.
(Photo by Richard Tsong-Taatarii/The Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Images)
Minnesota AG Keith Ellison Calls Trump Officials' Response to Alex Pretti Killing ‘Flat-Out Insane’
"Alex Pretti was killed by DHS agents in broad daylight in front of all of our eyes," said Ellison. "Both the rule of law and the sense of justice we all carry within us demand a full, fair, and transparent investigation into his death."
Jan 26, 2026
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison on Sunday condemned the Trump administration's response to federal agents' killing of intensive care nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis over the weekend as "flat-out insane," noting that video footage of the shooting discredits the narrative rushed out by top officials.
"This is their employee who they trained—apparently, allegedly,” Ellison, a Democrat, told the Washington Post in an interview. "So for them to jump out there and say, ‘He’s done nothing wrong, the victim is a bad person,’ is flat-out insane and is a complete break with what we consider to be reasonable law enforcement behavior. It fails every test of professionalism.”
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claimed following the shooting that Pretti "approached US Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun," aiming to "maximum damage and massacre law enforcement." DHS Secretary Kristi Noem declared that "this is a violent riot when you have someone showing up with weapons and are using them to assault law enforcement officers.”
Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff, described Pretti as a "would-be assassin."
Video footage of the killing quickly exposed the Trump administration's narrative as a demonstrative lie.
"I think that reasonable people watching the video could conclude that [Pretti] had a gun and a holster, that it was taken off of him in plain view on the video, and that after that, he was shot," Ellison told the Post. "I think that a person who saw those things would not be hallucinating."
Ellison is set to appear before a federal judge on Monday as part of Minnesota's lawsuit against the Trump administration over Immigration and Customs Enforcement activities and deadly abuses in the state.
"I share the intense grief and anger of so many that another Minnesotan—Alex Pretti, 37 years old, an ICU nurse who served veterans—was fatally shot during the Trump administration’s Operation Metro Surge," Ellison said in a statement. "On Monday, my office and I will be in court arguing to end this illegal and unconstitutional occupation of our cities and the terror and violence it’s inflicting. This must stop. Now.”
"The federal government appears to have taken measures that directly led to the destruction of evidence."
In a filing submitted hours after Pretti's killing, Ellison and other Minnesota officials asked a federal court to prevent DHS and the Trump Justice Department from concealing or destroying evidence related to the shooting.
"According to reports, federal personnel may have seized cell phones, taken other evidence from the scene, and detained witnesses," the filing states. "It is unclear whether federal personnel otherwise processed the scene—let alone how carefully. Then just a few hours after the shooting, federal personnel left, allowing the perimeter to collapse and potentially spoiling evidence."
"From a law enforcement perspective, this is astonishing," the filing continues. "The federal government’s actions are a sharp departure from normal best practices and procedure, in which every effort is taken to preserve the scene and the evidence it contains... [T]he federal government appears to have taken measures that directly led to the destruction of evidence."
The US District Court for the District of Minnesota granted the request for a temporary restraining order, ruling that the Trump administration is "enjoined from destroying or altering evidence related to the fatal shooting involving federal officers that took place in or around 26th Street and Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis on January 24, 2026, including but not limited to evidence that Defendants and those working on their behalf removed from the scene and/or evidence that Defendants have taken into their exclusive custody."
Ellison applauded the court's decision, saying in a statement that the ruling protects the integrity of Minnesota's investigation into Pretti's killing.
“Alex Pretti was killed by DHS agents in broad daylight in front of all of our eyes," said Ellison. "Both the rule of law and the sense of justice we all carry within us demand a full, fair, and transparent investigation into his death. We will not settle for less."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison on Sunday condemned the Trump administration's response to federal agents' killing of intensive care nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis over the weekend as "flat-out insane," noting that video footage of the shooting discredits the narrative rushed out by top officials.
"This is their employee who they trained—apparently, allegedly,” Ellison, a Democrat, told the Washington Post in an interview. "So for them to jump out there and say, ‘He’s done nothing wrong, the victim is a bad person,’ is flat-out insane and is a complete break with what we consider to be reasonable law enforcement behavior. It fails every test of professionalism.”
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claimed following the shooting that Pretti "approached US Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun," aiming to "maximum damage and massacre law enforcement." DHS Secretary Kristi Noem declared that "this is a violent riot when you have someone showing up with weapons and are using them to assault law enforcement officers.”
Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff, described Pretti as a "would-be assassin."
Video footage of the killing quickly exposed the Trump administration's narrative as a demonstrative lie.
"I think that reasonable people watching the video could conclude that [Pretti] had a gun and a holster, that it was taken off of him in plain view on the video, and that after that, he was shot," Ellison told the Post. "I think that a person who saw those things would not be hallucinating."
Ellison is set to appear before a federal judge on Monday as part of Minnesota's lawsuit against the Trump administration over Immigration and Customs Enforcement activities and deadly abuses in the state.
"I share the intense grief and anger of so many that another Minnesotan—Alex Pretti, 37 years old, an ICU nurse who served veterans—was fatally shot during the Trump administration’s Operation Metro Surge," Ellison said in a statement. "On Monday, my office and I will be in court arguing to end this illegal and unconstitutional occupation of our cities and the terror and violence it’s inflicting. This must stop. Now.”
"The federal government appears to have taken measures that directly led to the destruction of evidence."
In a filing submitted hours after Pretti's killing, Ellison and other Minnesota officials asked a federal court to prevent DHS and the Trump Justice Department from concealing or destroying evidence related to the shooting.
"According to reports, federal personnel may have seized cell phones, taken other evidence from the scene, and detained witnesses," the filing states. "It is unclear whether federal personnel otherwise processed the scene—let alone how carefully. Then just a few hours after the shooting, federal personnel left, allowing the perimeter to collapse and potentially spoiling evidence."
"From a law enforcement perspective, this is astonishing," the filing continues. "The federal government’s actions are a sharp departure from normal best practices and procedure, in which every effort is taken to preserve the scene and the evidence it contains... [T]he federal government appears to have taken measures that directly led to the destruction of evidence."
The US District Court for the District of Minnesota granted the request for a temporary restraining order, ruling that the Trump administration is "enjoined from destroying or altering evidence related to the fatal shooting involving federal officers that took place in or around 26th Street and Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis on January 24, 2026, including but not limited to evidence that Defendants and those working on their behalf removed from the scene and/or evidence that Defendants have taken into their exclusive custody."
Ellison applauded the court's decision, saying in a statement that the ruling protects the integrity of Minnesota's investigation into Pretti's killing.
“Alex Pretti was killed by DHS agents in broad daylight in front of all of our eyes," said Ellison. "Both the rule of law and the sense of justice we all carry within us demand a full, fair, and transparent investigation into his death. We will not settle for less."
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison on Sunday condemned the Trump administration's response to federal agents' killing of intensive care nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis over the weekend as "flat-out insane," noting that video footage of the shooting discredits the narrative rushed out by top officials.
"This is their employee who they trained—apparently, allegedly,” Ellison, a Democrat, told the Washington Post in an interview. "So for them to jump out there and say, ‘He’s done nothing wrong, the victim is a bad person,’ is flat-out insane and is a complete break with what we consider to be reasonable law enforcement behavior. It fails every test of professionalism.”
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claimed following the shooting that Pretti "approached US Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun," aiming to "maximum damage and massacre law enforcement." DHS Secretary Kristi Noem declared that "this is a violent riot when you have someone showing up with weapons and are using them to assault law enforcement officers.”
Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff, described Pretti as a "would-be assassin."
Video footage of the killing quickly exposed the Trump administration's narrative as a demonstrative lie.
"I think that reasonable people watching the video could conclude that [Pretti] had a gun and a holster, that it was taken off of him in plain view on the video, and that after that, he was shot," Ellison told the Post. "I think that a person who saw those things would not be hallucinating."
Ellison is set to appear before a federal judge on Monday as part of Minnesota's lawsuit against the Trump administration over Immigration and Customs Enforcement activities and deadly abuses in the state.
"I share the intense grief and anger of so many that another Minnesotan—Alex Pretti, 37 years old, an ICU nurse who served veterans—was fatally shot during the Trump administration’s Operation Metro Surge," Ellison said in a statement. "On Monday, my office and I will be in court arguing to end this illegal and unconstitutional occupation of our cities and the terror and violence it’s inflicting. This must stop. Now.”
"The federal government appears to have taken measures that directly led to the destruction of evidence."
In a filing submitted hours after Pretti's killing, Ellison and other Minnesota officials asked a federal court to prevent DHS and the Trump Justice Department from concealing or destroying evidence related to the shooting.
"According to reports, federal personnel may have seized cell phones, taken other evidence from the scene, and detained witnesses," the filing states. "It is unclear whether federal personnel otherwise processed the scene—let alone how carefully. Then just a few hours after the shooting, federal personnel left, allowing the perimeter to collapse and potentially spoiling evidence."
"From a law enforcement perspective, this is astonishing," the filing continues. "The federal government’s actions are a sharp departure from normal best practices and procedure, in which every effort is taken to preserve the scene and the evidence it contains... [T]he federal government appears to have taken measures that directly led to the destruction of evidence."
The US District Court for the District of Minnesota granted the request for a temporary restraining order, ruling that the Trump administration is "enjoined from destroying or altering evidence related to the fatal shooting involving federal officers that took place in or around 26th Street and Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis on January 24, 2026, including but not limited to evidence that Defendants and those working on their behalf removed from the scene and/or evidence that Defendants have taken into their exclusive custody."
Ellison applauded the court's decision, saying in a statement that the ruling protects the integrity of Minnesota's investigation into Pretti's killing.
“Alex Pretti was killed by DHS agents in broad daylight in front of all of our eyes," said Ellison. "Both the rule of law and the sense of justice we all carry within us demand a full, fair, and transparent investigation into his death. We will not settle for less."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.