WASHINGTON — The U.S. Justice Department said Friday it has opened a federal civil rights investigation into the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. The FBI will lead the inquiry after newly surfaced videos raised questions about early official descriptions of what unfolded in the moments before shots were fired, Jan. 30, 2026.
Alex Pretti, 37, was killed Jan. 24 during an immigration enforcement encounter involving U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said investigators will review the events of the day and “the days and weeks leading up” to the encounter, with the department’s Civil Rights Division positioned to assist.
A civil rights investigation can, in rare cases, lead to federal criminal charges if prosecutors conclude an officer willfully violated someone’s constitutional rights.
Videos and the death of Alex Pretti
Recordings circulating online appear to show Alex Pretti holding a cellphone as officers tackled him to the pavement. In one clip, an officer can be seen pulling a handgun from the back of Alex Pretti’s pants shortly before another officer begins firing, according to reporting by The Associated Press.
Federal officials have said Alex Pretti had a state permit to carry the firearm. The footage has sharpened questions about whether officers reasonably perceived an imminent threat — and whether their actions followed agency policy — a key focus of the Justice Department’s review, according to Reuters.
The investigation’s lead agency has shifted repeatedly in the past week. The Department of Homeland Security said the FBI will now take the lead role, with Homeland Security Investigations supporting the case and Customs and Border Protection conducting a parallel internal review, CBS News reported.
What the Alex Pretti probe could change
Blanche said the civil rights review will not automatically extend to every shooting tied to the administration’s immigration operations. He has said the department has not opened a similar probe into the Jan. 7 killing of Renee Good, another Minneapolis resident shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.
Additional video from Jan. 13 shows an earlier confrontation in which Alex Pretti appears to argue with federal officers and kick a government vehicle’s taillight before a brief scuffle, footage detailed in a minute-by-minute ABC News timeline. Alex Pretti’s family attorney has said the earlier incident does not justify the later use of lethal force.
The renewed federal scrutiny lands in a city already shaped by years of civil rights investigations into policing. The Justice Department launched a broad investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department after the murder of George Floyd, as Reuters reported in April 2021, and later said it found a pattern of constitutional violations in a Justice Department release in June 2023. In May 2025, PBS NewsHour reported the department moved to cancel proposed reform settlements involving Minneapolis and Louisville, underscoring the political volatility around federal oversight.
For now, officials say the FBI’s task is to collect and test evidence: body-camera footage, witness interviews and agency records tied to the operation. Alex Pretti’s family has called for transparency and an independent accounting of why he was shot — and whether the federal government will hold anyone criminally responsible.
