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Video appears to show Alex Pretti spit at federal agents, violently damage SUV days before fatal CBP shooting
By Greg Wehner, Matt Finn
Published January 28, 2026
New video appears to show Alex Pretti spitting at federal agents and damaging a government SUV days before he was fatally shot by U.S. Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis.
The News Movement released the video – reportedly recorded Jan. 13 – on Wednesday, showing a man resembling Pretti, with a beard, glasses and clothing similar to what he was wearing when he was killed.
The man is seen shouting and spitting at federal agents before kicking the taillight of a federal SUV, causing it to break.
As he shouts "f--- you" repeatedly and flashes double middle fingers, agents exit the vehicle, approach him and take him to the ground.
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A man, who appears to be Alex Pretti, was caught on camera in Minnesota spitting at federal agents and damaging a government SUV before he was fatally shot. (The News Movement)
Agents sprayed pepper balls and tear gas toward a nearby crowd of agitators as the altercation continued, though the man was ultimately released.
After stepping away from agents, what appears to be a gun is visible in his waistband.
Rather than leave the scene, he remained with other demonstrators who continued shouting obscenities at federal law enforcement officers.
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Video appears to show Alex Pretti in a violent encounter with federal agents in Minnesota just days before he was fatally shot by CBP agents. (The News Movement)
Alex Pretti’s family confirmed to The Minnesota Star Tribune that the person seen in the video is Alex Pretti.
"A week before Alex was gunned down in the street – despite posing no threat to anyone – he was violently assaulted by a group of ICE agents," Steve Schleicher, attorney for the Pretti family, told Fox News. "Nothing that happened a full week before could possibly have justified Alex’s killing at the hands of ICE on Jan. 24."
The 37-year-old Department of Veterans Affairs ICU nurse was shot and killed by Border Patrol agents while recording federal immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis.
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Video appears to show Alex Pretti kicking in the taillight of a federal vehicle before he's taken down by federal agents and released. (The News Movement)
Video from the shooting appears to show him attempting to assist a woman who had been knocked to the ground by agents before he was sprayed with a chemical irritant, forced to the pavement and struck.
The footage then shows an agent removing what authorities described as a suspected firearm – a 9 mm pistol – from his waistband as other agents fired nearly a dozen rounds.
Officials said one Border Patrol agent fired a CBP-issued Glock 19, while another fired a CBP-issued Glock 47.
A screengrab from a video shows a law enforcement officer spraying irritants at Alex Pretti before he was fatally shot by federal agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 24, 2026. (Reuters)
Before the shooting, agents were conducting enforcement operations as civilians shouted and blew whistles, with authorities saying the crowd was instructed to remain on the sidewalk to avoid interfering with law enforcement activity.
Authorities said he resisted when agents attempted to take him into custody, leading to a physical struggle.
During the struggle, an unidentified Border Patrol agent can be heard repeatedly shouting that the man was armed, according to the report.
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The shooting marked the second fatal incident in Minneapolis in recent weeks involving federal immigration agents amid heightened tensions over enforcement operations and clashes with anti-ICE demonstrators.
Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/video-appears-show-alex-pretti-spit-federal-agents-violently-damage-suv-days-before-fatal-cbp-shooting