FBI Blocks Minnesota Access To Evidence In Pretti Shooting
The FBI told Minnesota BCA on Feb. 13 it will not share evidence collected in the Jan. 24 killing of Alex Pretti, the BCA said.
Overview
On Feb. 13 the FBI notified the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension that it will not provide any information or evidence collected in the Jan. 24 killing of Alex Pretti, the BCA said.
Pretti, a Department of Veterans Affairs nurse observing immigration enforcement, was shot on Jan. 24 by Customs and Border Protection officials during a December deployment called 'Operation Metro Surge'.
BCA Superintendent Drew Evans called the FBI's refusal 'concerning and unprecedented' and said the agency will pursue all legal avenues to gain access to relevant information and evidence.
The BCA said the FBI has also withheld information and evidence in the Jan. 7 killing of Renee Good and the Jan. 14 shooting of Julio C Sosa-Celis.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said she plans to send a written demand for evidence to the U.S. departments of Justice and Homeland Security.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources frame this as a procedural accountability issue by foregrounding state investigators' alarm and repeated federal noncooperation. They emphasize terms like 'refused' and 'withheld,' highlight BCA and county officials' demands, and cite a Democratic report alleging cover-up, while providing little or no FBI response—shaping suspicion through source selection and organization.
Sources (6)
FAQ
Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old VA nurse, was shot multiple times by Border Patrol agents on January 24, 2026, in Minneapolis while observing an immigration enforcement operation. Video shows him holding his phone, intervening to protect a woman, being pepper-sprayed and beaten, with agents discovering his holstered firearm but no evidence of him brandishing it before being shot.
On February 13, 2026, the FBI notified the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) it would not provide any information or evidence from the Alex Pretti killing, a move BCA Superintendent Drew Evans called 'concerning and unprecedented.' The FBI has similarly withheld evidence in two other recent Minneapolis shootings.
The FBI has also withheld information and evidence in the January 7, 2026, killing of Renee Good and the January 14 shooting of Julio C Sosa-Celis, both involving federal immigration agents in Minneapolis.
BCA Superintendent Drew Evans stated they will pursue all legal avenues for access. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty plans to send a written demand for evidence to the U.S. Departments of Justice and Homeland Security.
The shootings occurred during 'Operation Metro Surge,' a December 2025 immigration enforcement deployment in Minneapolis, resulting in three incidents in three weeks amid tensions over sanctuary city policies.
History
3 sources