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Stephen Colbert says 'f--- ICE' following Alex Pretti shooting, condemns Trump administration response
By Marc Tamasco
Published January 27, 2026
Late-night host Stephen Colbert said "f--- ICE" following the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by a federal agent in Minneapolis Saturday.
During Monday's episode of "The Tonight Show," Colbert tore into ICE and the Trump administration, arguing that videos "appear to contradict federal accounts" of the shooting by Border Patrol, which Colbert appeared to conflate with ICE in his remarks.
"Today, more than 50% of Americans are digging out from a massive winter storm, freezing temperatures from Texas all the way up to Maine. It's frigid here in New York City. I want to thank everyone here who stood outside in the cold today before you came. I think we can all agree, f--- ICE," Colbert said to cheers.
Stephen Colbert on the set of "The Late Show" on Dec. 10, 2025. (Scott Kowalchyk ©2025 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
According to Colbert, similar to its account of this month's ICE-involved fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good, the Trump administration once again "immediately blamed the victim" and called Pretti a "domestic terrorist." The late-night host pushed back on that assertion and noted videos of the shooting and analysis by several media outlets countered the federal government's claims.
"And again, Trump administration officials immediately blamed the victim, calling him a domestic terrorist, but videos appear to contradict federal accounts of the shooting. That analysis was from The New York Times, and they weren't alone. They were joined by NBC News, PBS News, Reuters, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal, as well as 'Your Own Eyes and Ears Magazine,' and 'I Know That's Pee on My Leg Weekly,'" he told his audience.
Colbert wasn't the only late-night comedian who opened their show with a fiery monologue centered on this weekend's shooting.
On Monday's broadcast of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!," Kimmel said he spent this weekend "feeling shocked and sick about what is happening in Minneapolis" and at one point cried while discussing Pretti and the city.
"Children — small children — babies, being tear-gassed, taken into custody, separated from their parents. Just one atrocity after another, being committed by this gang of poorly trained, shamefully led, mask-wearing goons. And that is what they are, they're goons. Goons committing vile, heartless, even criminal acts. It’s sickening to watch, and it’s frustrating to watch," he said.
Mourners gather at a makeshift memorial in the area where Alex Pretti was shot dead a day earlier by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 25, 2026. (Octavio Jones/AFP/Getty Images)
Kimmel claimed that the federal government "just makes up the rules as they go" and said video recordings of both Good and Pretti's deaths disproved the Trump administration's official accounts of the shootings.
"They say the Honda SUV Renee Good was driving was ‘weaponized.’ They say the gun Alex Pretti had a license to carry, in an open-carry state — a right many of the same people screamed very loudly about when it was Kyle Rittenhouse carrying the gun — a gun that Alex Pretti did not ever draw, did not touch, a gun that was taken from him by one of the agents before he was shot dead by the other ones," Kimmel said.
"They fired 10 times on an ICU nurse. They're telling us, ‘Well, it was justified.’ Is that the law and order you voted for — If you voted for this?"
The "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" host continued, suggesting Pretti was "murdered in cold blood."
"We keep saying we need to find subjects we can agree on… Can we agree that when we see a person murdered in cold blood that there should at least be an investigation of that?" he asked.
Jimmy Kimmel during his show on June 16, 2025. (Lou Rocco/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House, ICE and Border Patrol for comment.
Pretti, a 37-year-old Minneapolis resident and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs ICU nurse, was shot during an immigration enforcement operation early Saturday targeting Jose Huerta-Chuma, an illegal immigrant with a criminal history including domestic assault for intentional conflict bodily harm, disorderly conduct and driving without a valid license.
DHS PROBES WHETHER AGENTS KILLED VA NURSE FOLLOWING ACCIDENTAL DISCHARGE DURING MINNEAPOLIS ICE RAID
Homeland Security officials said Pretti approached Border Patrol agents while armed with a 9 mm pistol and "violently resisted" when they attempted to disarm him. Publicly circulated video of the incident shows him approaching federal officers holding what appeared to be his phone, filming as agents knocked a female protester to the ground.
State officials said Pretti had a lawful permit to carry (PTC). The Department of Homeland Security is investigating whether U.S. Border Patrol agents thought they were being fired upon when one fatally shot Pretti.
Footage of the incident shows an agent disarm Pretti shortly before he was killed. He entered into the initial scuffle with agents as he tried to assist the woman who had been pushed by law enforcement.
Some Republicans are also calling for an investigation that counters the initial Trump administration's messaging that Pretti was killed in a justifiable act of self-defense.
Fox News Digital's Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.
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