Video contradicts Trump’s claim man killed in Minneapolis was a ‘gunman’; The Guardian, January 24, 2026

Robert Mackey, The Guardian ; Video contradicts Trump’s claim man killed in Minneapolis was a ‘gunman’

"Video recorded by witnesses to the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis on Saturday shows that the 37-year-old registered nurse was holding a phone, not a gun, when he was tackled and shot, directly contradicting the claims of senior Trump administration officials that he threatened to “massacre” officers.

In the aftermath of the killing, which was recorded by multiple witnesses, the Department of Homeland Security released an image of a handgun, which Donald Trump referred to as “the gunman’s gun” in a social media post. Kristi Noem, the DHS secretary, said at a briefing that Pretti had “approached US border patrol officers with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun”, though she later declined to say whether or not Pretti pulled the gun out.

Greg Bovino, a senior border patrol commander who was reprimanded by a federal judge last year for lying, also told reporters that Pretti had approached border patrol agents with the same gun.

“The agents attempted to disarm the individual, but he violently resisted. Fearing for his life and the lives and safety of fellow officers, a border patrol agent fired defensive shots,” Bovino said. “This looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.”

That account is directly contradicted by video evidence of the incident reviewed by the Guardian.

While Pretti was legally licensed to have a gun, it is unclear whether he had one on his person at the time of the incident, and the videos do not show him ever having one in his hand.

Video provided to the Guardian by a Minneapolis resident who drove past the scene at 8.58am local time, as a group of observers recorded video on their phones of federal officers on Nicollet Avenue in south Minneapolis, showed Pretti standing on the street holding up his phone as one officer reached out and shoved him back. Pretti retreated, but appeared to continue recording the officer as he did so."

VA Doctor Remembers Alex Pretti, 37-Year-Old Man Killed by ICE, as ‘Kind and Helpful’ ICU Nurse (Exclusive); People, January 24, 2026

Toria Sheffield and 

Wendy Grossman Kantor

, People; VA Doctor Remembers Alex Pretti, 37-Year-Old Man Killed by ICE, as ‘Kind and Helpful’ ICU Nurse (Exclusive)

 "Alex Pretti, the 37-year-old ICU nurse shot and killed by federal officers in Minneapolis, is being remembered by one of his colleagues as a 'kind guy' and a “very, very skilled nurse.”

“He was energetic, he was kind. He was always quick to have a joke or a laugh,” Dr. Dimitri Drekonja, an infectious disease physician at the VA Medical Center where Pretti was employed, told PEOPLE in an exclusive interview.

“He was very capable. When he gave a summary of the shift … [he] had all the information at his fingertips. He would tell me how the family was doing. He was a very, very skilled nurse,” he continued. 

Drekonja, 51, went on to say that the “biggest thing” he wants others to know about Pretti is “that this was a kind and helpful guy — and nothing over the years that I knew him contradicted that. He was always willing to help. Whether it was a small task, whether it was patient care, whether it was, ‘Hey, I can give you a ride over, we're gonna meet for drinks after work.’ He was just a really kind guy.”

“It’s just been gutting,” he continued of Pretti's death, adding that he and other colleagues at the hospital “want people to know that [Pretti] was a good person. He was such a nice guy.”

Drekonja additionally said that he and Pretti shared an interest in mountain biking, and that they would often discuss their favorite local routes.

Pretti had been a registered nurse since January 2021, according to his nursing license, obtained by PEOPLE. He previously worked at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Pretti was shot and killed on Saturday, Jan. 24, at about 9:00 a.m. local time."

Video Contradicts Trump Administration Account of Minneapolis Killing; Mother Jones, January 24, 2026

Alex Nguyen and Noah Lanard, Mother Jones; Video Contradicts Trump Administration Account of Minneapolis Killing

"A new video published on social media contradicts the Department of Homeland Security’s account of why federal agents killed 37-year-old Minneapolis man Alex Pretti in broad daylight on Saturday.

The graphic video, which was uploaded by Drop Site News, shows Pretti appearing to direct traffic and film federal agents on his phone. Soon after, he appears to be pepper-sprayed and wrestled to the ground by multiple agents. About a half-dozen agents are on top of Pretti or in his immediate vicinity when he is initially shot. The gunshots continue after Pretti is on the ground. 

The video, along with others recorded from different angles, refute the more than 150-word account of the shooting that DHS published on social media on Saturday afternoon. In that statement, DHS claimed that “an individual approached US Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun.” 

DHS has tried to back that up by saying Pretti had a handgun on him at the time, sharing a photo of it in the same social media post. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said on Saturday that Pretti appeared to be a licensed gun owner. But the video published by Drop Site makes clear that he was not holding a weapon in the lead-up to the shooting, or when federal agents forcefully took him to the ground. Instead, he only appears to be holding his phone to record the situation."

The Instant Smear Campaign Against Border Patrol Shooting Victim Alex Pretti; Wired, January 24, 2026

David Gilbert , Wired; The Instant Smear Campaign Against Border Patrol Shooting Victim Alex Pretti

"Within minutes of Alex Pretti being shot and killed by a federal immigration officer in Minneapolis on Saturday, the Trump administration, backed by right-wing influencers, launched a smear campaign against the victim, labeling him a “terrorist” and a “lunatic.”"

Episcopal clergy travel to Minneapolis to march in ‘ICE Out of Minnesota’ day of action; Episcopal News Service, January 23, 2026

David Paulsen, Episcopal News Service; Episcopal clergy travel to Minneapolis to march in ‘ICE Out of Minnesota’ day of action

"Episcopal clergy and lay leaders are among the hundreds of people of faith from across the United States who have traveled to Minneapolis, Minnesota, for a day of public witness and political action on Jan. 23 in opposition to what they are calling an “occupation” of the city by federal immigration authorities.

The “ICE Out of Minnesota” day of action, organized by local advocacy groups and community partners, called for a daylong “unified statewide pause in daily economic activity,” as they urged businesses to close for the day, families to keep students home from school and employees to refuse to work (except emergency services).

Organizers scheduled an afternoon protest march in downtown Minneapolis as the day’s focal point, to demand that Immigration and Customs Enforcement leave the city and to call for justice for Renee Good, the 37-year-old resident who was shot and killed by ICE two weeks ago.

Minnesota’s Episcopal diocese invited members who were able to brave the day’s subzero temperatures to join Bishop Craig Loya and other clergy at the protest march. Other Episcopal leaders from outside the diocese have traveled to Minneapolis to show their support, including Washington Bishop Mariann Budde and Iowa Bishop Betsey Monnot.

“The response from clergy around the country, interfaith clergy, has been overwhelming,” Loya told Episcopal News Service in a phone interview on the eve of the day of action. He said event organizers were expecting 300 visitors and ended up confirming more than twice that number, with hundreds more expressing interest...

Episcopal congregations are joining a variety of efforts to assist residents who can’t leave their homes because they are afraid that ICE will arrest and detain them or their children. Neighborhood networks have mobilized, for example, to deliver groceries and other supplies to people at home and to accompany people to medical appointments and to schools.

Despite the cruelty carried out by federal authorities, Loya said he has been heartened by what he has witnessed of neighbors helping neighbors. That is “something much more powerful,” he said, “when people come together to love one another.”"

Alex Jeffrey Pretti Knew He Wanted to Help Others; The New York Times, January 24, 2026

Corina Knoll, Julie Bosman and Maia Coleman, The New York Times ; Alex Jeffrey Pretti Knew He Wanted to Help Others

"The man fatally shot by Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis was Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a U.S. citizen with no criminal record, officials said.

Mr. Pretti, who was 37, was a registered nurse who worked in the intensive-care unit at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Minneapolis, according to interviews and public records, and lived in an apartment in Minneapolis a short drive away from where he was killed.

He had a firearms permit, required by state law in Minnesota to carry a handgun, officials said.

Colleagues and acquaintances of Mr. Pretti were stunned by his death, recalling a friendly neighbor and hardworking professional who was devoted to his patients.

Dr. Dimitri Drekonja said that the two had worked together for years. Mr. Pretti was capable, competent and friendly, he said, the kind of person who cared deeply about his work and his patients.

“He was a really great colleague and a really great friend,” he said. “The default look on his face was a smile.”

The two chatted regularly about mountain biking, one of Mr. Pretti’s passions.

Family members of Mr. Pretti declined to comment on Saturday. Michael Pretti, Mr. Pretti’s father, told The Associated Press that he had warned his son to be careful in Minneapolis.

“We had this discussion with him two weeks ago or so, you know, that go ahead and protest, but do not engage, do not do anything stupid, basically,” Michael Pretti said. “And he said he knows that. He knew that.”

Mr. Pretti received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota in 2011, a spokeswoman said. He graduated from a high school in Green Bay, Wis., in 2006, and was listed on the honor roll in a local newspaper. His parents now live in Colorado, and his former spouse lives in California."

Videos Show Moments in Which Agents Killed a Man in Minneapolis; The New York Times, January 24, 2026

Devon Lum and Haley Willis, The New York Times; Videos Show Moments in Which Agents Killed a Man in Minneapolis

"Videos on social media that were verified by The New York Times appear to contradict the Department of Homeland Security’s account of the fatal shooting of Alex Jeffrey Pretti, 37, by federal agents in Minneapolis on Saturday morning.

The Department of Homeland Security said the episode began after a man “approached US Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun” and they tried to disarm him. The statement did not specify whether the gun was in the man’s hands or merely on his body.

Footage shows Mr. Pretti was clearly holding a phone, not a gun, before the agents took him to the ground and shot him."

White House posts digitally altered image of woman arrested after ICE protest; The Guardian, January 22, 2026

Sam Levine, The Guardian; White House posts digitally altered image of woman arrested after ICE protest

"The White House posted a digitally altered image of a woman who was arrested on Thursday in a case touted by the US attorney general, Pam Bondi, to make it seem as if she was dramatically crying, a Guardian analysis of the image has found.

The woman, Nekima Levy Armstrong, also appears to have darker skin in the altered image. Armstrong was one of three people arrested on Thursday in connection to a demonstration that disrupted church services in St Paul, Minnesota, on Sunday. Demonstrators alleged that one of the pastors, David Easterwood, was the acting field director of the St Paul Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office. Bondi announced the arrests on social media on Thursday morning.

The homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, posted an image of Armstrong’s arrest at 10.21am on Thursday, less than an hour after Bondi’s announcement. The image shows a law enforcement agent, face blurred out, escorting Armstrong, who appears to be handcuffed. Armstrong, dressed in all black, appears to be composed in the picture.

A little more than 30 minutes later, the White House posted another image of Armstrong’s arrest in which she is crying. The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, reposted the image. The image posted by the White House is altered, a Guardian analysis found."

Why a Trump loss in November could still be destructive; Washington Post, 8/5/16

Dana Milbank, Washington Post; Why a Trump loss in November could still be destructive:

"Mix that paranoia with the propensity for violence seen at Trump events, and you can see where this could go after Nov. 8.

At a Trump rally in Pennsylvania this week, a video posted by PennLive shows Trump supporters shoving, throwing to the ground and bloodying the nose of a demonstrator.

A video montage published this week by the New York Times captures the rage at Trump rallies: Trump supporters proclaiming “F--- those dirty beaners,” “F--- Islam,” “F--- that n------,” “Hang the bitch”; Trump responding to a protest by telling supporters “come on — get him”; and various scenes of pushing and shoving of demonstrators."