The Government of Donald Trump, which calls any criticism it receives a lie, has in recent hours become entangled in a web of falsehoods and misinformation to try to justify the death on Saturday in Minneapolis of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse, at the hands of ICE agents, the immigration police encouraged by Trump.
As happened a couple of weeks ago, when other agents of the same police force murdered Reene Good, a 37-year-old American, while she was peacefully protesting from her car against the brutality of the tactics of these agents, the White House is trying to manipulate the information and blame the victim of the shooting.
On this occasion, several people witnessed the actions of ICE and Pretti’s death. They recorded videos of the moment, which they later posted on social networks and whose veracity has been verified by several media outlets, including EL PAÍS. ICE agents prevented local police investigators from accessing the scene to gather evidence and hindered the investigations under a jurisdictional argument, according to Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara.
What follows is a comparison between the statements made by the Trump Administration authorities and the reality seen in the recordings, verified by various media:
“He was a gunfighter”
What Trump said: “This is the gunman’s gun, loaded”. The president of the United States, Donald Trump, published on his social network, Truth, a photograph of the alleged pistol that Pretti was carrying when he was shot: “This is the gunman’s weapon, loaded (with two full additional magazines!) and ready to use,” the president wrote. And he cried: “What does it all mean? Where are the local police? Why weren’t they allowed to protect the ICE agents? Did the mayor and the governor order them to stand down? It is claimed that many of these police officers were not allowed to do their jobs, that ICE had to protect itself, which is not easy at all!”
What the images show. Alex Pretti, an intensive care nurse in the VA unit at a Minneapolis hospital, was recording the anti-ICE protests with his cell phone. The protesters whistled at the officers. He was holding his cell phone with his right hand. The left was free at all times. In the videos released so far he is not seen holding a weapon at any time.
No authority in the State of Minnesota has even confirmed that he carried a gun. The local police chief, Brian O’Hara, only stated that Pretti had a license to carry weapons and insisted that Minnesota law allows it. In fact, Trump’s Republican Party is a strong supporter of the right to keep and bear firearms.
“He reacted violently”
What Kristi Noem said: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem appeared before the media on Saturday to accuse Alex Pretti of trying to assault the officers. “Officers attempted to disarm this individual, but the armed suspect reacted violently,” he said.
What the images show. In none of the videos does it appear that Pretti attacked the agents. The man does not confront the ICE police when they approach him, he only records them. In the images it is seen that he is trying to help a protester who was being pushed by the police and at that moment the officers hit him and sprayed him with tear gas, finally knocking him to the ground and immobilizing him. Pretti can be seen raising a hand and apparently trying to calm the officers down. In no video is the victim’s violent attitude seen before falling to the ground.
There is a moment in the recordings in which it is seen that, while the agents are subduing Pretti, a police officer approaches the group. Apparently, this agent is empty-handed. You can see him leaning over the nurse and, when he leaves, he has a gun in his hand. Just afterward, the shots are heard that kill Pretti. Several media maintain that this image suggests that a police officer snatched the victim’s gun and only later, with Pretti already disarmed, did the other officers shoot him.
“He was a terrorist”
What Kristi Noem said: “This individual, who arrived with weapons and ammunition to stop a police operation by federal agents, committed an act of domestic terrorism.”
What the images show. The videos do not show at any time that Pretti was holding a gun. You can see how an agent appears to extract a gun hidden under Pretti’s clothes. But no magazines or other weapons are seen. None of the images show a violent attitude by Pretti, who did not have a serious criminal record, according to police records.
“I was undocumented”
What Kristi Noem said. “I didn’t have identification.”
What the images show. None of the videos show federal agents asking Pretti for identification. Federal authorities have not explained how or when they determined Pretti did not have identification.
“I was going to kill the agents”
What Kristi Noem said: “He had two magazines with ammunition containing dozens of bullets and no identification. It appears to be a situation where an individual arrived on the scene to inflict maximum damage on people and kill law enforcement officers.”
What the images show. The victim does not show violent attitudes at any time. He was part of a protest group against the excesses of ICE. Their job was to notify migrants when the agents arrived and observe the operations to detect abuses. His companions only protested with whistles. He does not hold any weapon nor does he show any intention of using it, if he was carrying one (something that is also not visible in the images). In his hands he only held the phone with which he recorded.
“He approached the officers with a gun”
What Gregory Bovino said: Gregory Bovino, commanding general of the Border Patrol (the name with which the Department of Homeland Security baptized the ICE brigades) and face of the repression ordered by Trump, stated, in reference to Pretti. “During this operation, an individual approached U.S. Border Patrol agents with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun.”
What the images show. It isn’t true. Pretti did not approach carrying a gun. In his hands he only had a cell phone with which he recorded the actions of the agents.
“I was looking for a massacre”
What Bovino said. “(Pretti) I was looking for a massacre.”
What the images show. Pretti did not show a violent attitude. I was part of the groups that document ICE abuses and that’s what I was doing. With his cell phone, he recorded a control operation that ICE had launched that morning against José Huerta-Chuma, an illegal immigrant with a criminal record. Pretti’s job was to mark the location of the agents to warn his neighbors.
“He was attended to from the first moment”
What Noem and Bovino said: “The doctors treated him from the first moment.” “Medical help was provided immediately.”
The version of two witnesses. The images show how the agents withdraw after the shooting and Pretti’s body remains motionless on the snowy ground. Authorities have not released body camera footage, dispatch records or a detailed timeline showing when medical help began, according to local media. Minnesota Star Tribune. A doctor who lives very close to the scene of the incident, and who quickly came down to help after seeing the shooting from his balcony, testified before the judge on Saturday night that the agents prevented him from intervening in the first minutes. They asked him for proof of medical license, according to this testimony collected by The New York Times. Another witness also refuted the version of the Department of Homeland Security before the judge, and asserted that Pretti had not been violent at any time.
The accusation of the victim’s parents
The parents of Alex Jeffrey Pretti published a statement on Saturday night criticizing the actions of the ICE police officers. In the statement, the family accuses Donald Trump’s Administration of spreading false information about their son. “The disgusting lies the Administration has told about our son are reprehensible and disgusting,” the family said.
https://elpais.com/us/migracion/2026-01-25/el-gobierno-de-trump-difunde-mentiras-para-justificar-la-muerte-de-alex-pretti-en-minneapolis.html
