FBI won’t share Alex Pretti shooting evidence, Minnesota authorities say | Minnesota ICE shootings

Minnesota law enforcement officials say the FBI is refusing to share evidence about its investigation into the death of Alex Pretti, the man killed by federal immigration authorities in late January.

Pretti was shot and killed on January 24 by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials in Minneapolis during the Trump administration’s ramped-up immigration enforcement operations in the city. His killing came just two weeks after an immigration officer fatally shot Renee Good and 10 days after the shooting of Julio C Sosa-Celis.

On Monday, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), a state-level criminal investigative agency, said the FBI had officially informed it that it would not share any information or evidence related to the Pretti shooting.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has demanded an “impartial” investigation into the Minneapolis shooting.

“Trump’s left hand cannot investigate his right hand,” he said Monday in response to the FBI’s refusal to share evidence. “The families of the deceased deserve better.”

The BCA superintendent also expressed frustration.

“While this lack of cooperation is concerning and unprecedented, the BCA is committed to conducting thorough, independent and transparent investigations into these incidents, even if hampered by lack of access to key information and evidence,” added Drew Evans.

He added that the agency remained committed to a joint investigation and said it would “continue to pursue all legal avenues to access relevant information and evidence.”

The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The agency also previously refused to share any information related to the Good or Sosa-Celis shootings, a lack of cooperation that led the BCA to discontinue its investigation into Good’s killing.

“As we have said previously, full access to evidence, witnesses and information is necessary to meet the investigative standards required by Minnesota law and the public; without it, we cannot do it,” BCA said in January, after the FBI excluded it from the investigation.

The Trump administration in December deployed federal officials to the Minneapolis area for an aggressive roundup of immigrants dubbed “Operation Metro Surge” that saw a series of violent incidents as masked officials arrested people they suspected of not having proper residency documents.

Both Democrats and Republicans have called for an independent investigation into the Minneapolis shooting.

Pretti, a nurse with the Department of Veterans Affairs, was observing immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis when he was killed. Good was also a bystander in Minneapolis who was shot and killed in her car by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent. Homeland Security officials initially accused Good, 37, of “using” his vehicle as a weapon, but local authorities disputed those claims.

Both Pretti and Good were American citizens and video footage of their shootings circulated widely, leading to massive protests.

Sosa-Celis was shot in the leg by an ICE official last month. Trump administration officials initially claimed that Sosa-Celis and two other men “ambushed” the ICE officer who then “fired a defensive shot in defense of his life.” But last week, two ICE officials were placed on leave while they were investigated for allegedly lying under oath about the interaction.