Trump’s Alex Pretti ICE Problem Is Getting Worse
PDS Published 01/26/2026
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Alex Pretti was his name and he was executed in broad daylight by agents of the state.
But the Trump administration and the whole MAGA machine is so far from caring about the truth that they’re pushing a narrative completely contradicted by the evidence.
And in the process they’re apparently abandoning whatever convictions they claimed to have had about the second amendment – and the whole constitution for that matter.
But the lies and hypocrisy go beyond Pretti’s killing – and the consequences are more than one man’s life.
So we’re gonna talk about all of that in today’s show, including how this could all lead to another government shutdown.
But first, although it may be clear to many of us what happened based on what we’ve already seen, the facts matter.
So let’s talk about EXACTLY what we can see in all of these videos of the shooting going around online.
In one clip about two minutes before the shooting Pretti is seen filming with his phone while arguing with an agent who pushes him toward the sidewalk (BROLL: 0:16-0:20).
Another video shows him continuing to argue with the agent who appears to point his pepper spray at Pretti – while two other agents are holding another person down on the ground (BROLL: 0:46-0:48).
About a minute later Pretti is seen standing in the street, filming another argument involving at least two protesters and one agent – waving a car through as he does (0:12).
He lets the vehicle past him as he continues to film and the agent shoves one of protesters (0:27-0:30 & 0:07)
She then moves toward Pretti they’re holding onto each other as the agent keeps moving forward and pushes Pretti this time (0:33 & 0:59)
The the agent then pushes the protester as she walks over – knocking her down into the snow on the side of the road (0:35)
Pretti jumps between the protester and the agent, and the agent pepper sprays him.
And both of Pretti’s hands are clearly visible.
He’s holding his phone in one and he puts the other up to try and protect himself from the pepper spray (0:35-0:39)
He also turns his back to the agent who continues to deploy his pepper spray.
Pretti appears to try to help the person who was knocked down as she slips trying to get up.
But then several other agents arrive at the scene, they grab Pretti, hit him several times, and force him to the ground (0:44)
About eight seconds after he is pinned, agents yell out that he has a gun.
One agent wearing a grey jacket, whose hands had been empty, now removes himself out of the tangle with a gun in his hand – which has been widely reported to match the profile of the firearm DHS later said belonged to Pretti (1:01)
And now, as it appears Pretti has been disarmed, another agent pulls out his own firearm, aims at Pretti’s back, and appears to fire one shot at close range.
He then appears to continue firing at Pretti – who collapses.
A third agent unholsters a weapon.
And both agents appear to fire additional shots into Pretti as he lies motionless.
In total, at least 10 shots appear to have been fired within five seconds.
Now, with all that, we don’t know everything about what happened.
But even less may have been known when you had the Trump administration presenting its own decisive version of events – with Homeland Security Kristi Noem in a statement:
“ An individual approached US Border Patrol officers with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun.”
“The officers attempted to disarm this individual, but the armed suspect reacted violently.”
“Fearing for his life and for the lives of his fellow officers around him, an agent fired defensive shots.”
“Medics were on the scene immediately and attempted to deliver medical aid to the subject, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.”
“The suspect also had two magazines with ammunition in them that held dozens of rounds. He also had no ID.”
“This looks like a situation where an individual arrived at the scene to inflict maximum damage on individuals and to kill law enforcement.” (BYTE: 0:40-1:22)
And with that, Noem and other Trump officials have gone even further – actually claiming that Pretti not only planned to but did actually “attack” the agents.
With Noem even arguing that “he had committed an act of domestic terrorism”;
Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino claiming it looked like Pretti wanted to “massacre law enforcement”;
And Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller labeling Pretti an “assassin” who “tried to murder federal agents” – a post that was shared by Vice President JD Vance.
But, of course, the videos that are out there don’t show an attack.
And the administration has provided no evidence that Pretti had plans to kill or massacre anyone.
Pretti actually spent his time saving lives as a nurse in the intensive care unit of a Veterans’ Affairs hospital.
Also, notably, he had a permit to carry a firearm – although if it’s true that he wasn’t carrying his ID, that would be a petty misdemeanor that comes with a maximum 25 dollar fine for a first offense.[]
You know, not the death penalty.
And with that, when it comes to holding the agents shot him dead while he was on his knees accountable?
It’s hard to be optimistic, as the DHS has again taken over the investigation, blocking local investigators from reviewing evidence – just like it did after the killing of Renee Good.
But, notably, you’ve had a federal judge in Minnesota issuing a temporary restraining order barring federal officials “from destroying or altering evidence” in the case.
Although, since they’re not letting anyone else access the evidence, you gotta wonder how likely they are to comply.
And in the meantime the White House has already shaped the way this story is told online – with many accounts repeating the administration’s representation of events and some spreading their own false and misleading claims.
Pro-Trump influencer Nick Sortor, for example, wrongly identified Pretti, who was an American citizen, as an unauthorized immigrant.
And Jack Posobiec falsely described Pretti as having “run up on police” and drawn a gun.
And with that, various accounts have also shared images from the shooting and claimed they CLEARLY show Pretti reaching for his gun – including some posting a screenshot where Pretti’s hand is behind his back.
But notably, that’s a frame from after he got shot – it’s his body reacting to multiple bullets.
Some have also shared the close-up of the agent carrying what appeared to be Pretti’s gun away from the scene to “prove” that Pretti was “brandishing” the weapon.
And others have posted AI-altered images to make it look like Pretti had drawn his gun.
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But it isn’t just you and me seeing the wild difference between Team Trump’s claims and what the video of Alex Pretti’s death shows.
Witnesses, Alex’s family, countless people online, as well as both current and former political leaders - from the state and local level in Minnesota all the way up to former presidents - are also calling bullshit.
Right, starting with the witnesses - sworn statements were submitted in court over the weekend as a part of a lawsuit challenging federal agents’ interactions with protestors. []
One of those witnesses was a doctor who said they saw the interaction between Alex and the agents from their nearby apartment.
They described seeing a man being shoved to the ground and then shot several times - adding that they went outside to help but were initially turned away. []
Eventually, after a pat-down, the doctor said the agents allowed them to examine Pretti and they started CPR just before first responders showed up - saying,
“Normally, I would not have been so persistent but as a physician, I felt a professional and moral obligation to help this man, especially since none of the agents were helping him.” []
Another witness in that suit echoed that the official Team Trump narrative doesn’t match what they actually saw.
“The man did not approach the agents with a gun. He approached them with a camera. He was just trying to help a woman get up and they took him to the ground.” []
“I didn’t see him touch any of them — he wasn’t even turned toward them. It didn’t look like he was trying to resist, just trying to help the woman up. I didn’t see him with a gun. They threw him to the ground. Four or five agents had him on the ground and they just started shooting him. They shot him so many times.” []
And between those accounts and our own eyes, it’s become pretty obvious to most people that Trump and his bootlickers are maliciously distorting reality here.
Which is pretty close to what Alex Pretti’s family said in their statement - saying the Trump administration is telling, quote, “sickening lies” about Alex that are, “reprehensible and disgusting.” []
Adding,
"Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man.” []
And we’ve seen Minnesota officials echo that sentiment as well - with Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison calling Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s defense of the agents, quote, “flat-out insane” and “a complete break with what we consider to be reasonable.” []
Adding,
“I think that reasonable people watching the video could conclude that [Pretti] had a gun and a holster, that it was taken off of him in plain view on the video, and that after that, he was shot. I think that a person who saw those things would not be hallucinating.” []
In fact, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz even mentioned being grateful that the video of the shooting exists and is being so widely viewed - saying,
Even former presidents are chiming in here - with Bill Clinton saying the deaths of both Pretti as well as Renee Good a couple weeks ago are, quote, “unacceptable and should have been avoided.”
Adding,
“To make matters worse, at every turn, the people in charge have lied to us, told us not to believe what we’ve seen with our own eyes, and pushed increasingly aggressive and antagonistic tactics.” []
And then Barack Obama’s statement took a similar stance - saying Trump and his cronies, quote,
“seem eager to escalate the situation while offering public explanations … that aren’t informed by any serious investigation - and that appear to be directly contradicted by video evidence.” []
Adding,
“This has to stop. I would hope that after this most recent tragedy, Administration officials will reconsider their approach.” []
But for other Democrats, this situation is more than a mishandled tragedy - with Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez telling CNN she thinks this is the MAGA playbook.
And alongside these big names on the left, we’re also seeing some Republicans jumping in with criticism here.
Including Marjorie Taylor Greene - who defended Pretti and said that both sides need to, quote, “take off their political blinders.”
Adding,
“You are all being incited into civil war, yet none of it solves any of the real problems that we all face, and tragically people are dying.” []
And there are a growing number of Republicans calling for a deeper investigation into this incident and maybe even a reconsideration about ICE’s presence in Minnesota. []
Of course, there are still Trump’s tried and true loyalists pushing their chosen narrative - including FBI Director Kash Patel.
Who went on Fox News to say,
But that was met with nearly immediate pushback - most notably from the Minnesota Gun Owners caucus.
Who responded to Patel’s Fox News clip by saying he was completely off-base and that there is, quote, “no prohibition on a permit holder” to carry a firearm at a rally or protest, loaded or otherwise. []
And they later added in a press release,
“Every peaceable Minnesotan has the right to keep and bear arms—including while attending protests, acting as observers, or exercising their First Amendment rights. These rights do not disappear when someone is lawfully armed, and they must be respected and protected at all times.” []
And that’s just a taste of a much wider debate regarding Alex Pretti’s possession of a gun at the time of his death.
Which, again, he had a license for and was carrying legally.
Right, Team Trump has really harped on the idea that because Pretti had a gun, the agents were justified in shooting him.
Setting aside the fact that he was disarmed before he was shot.
And there are some big names making this argument - including Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, Kristi Noem obviously, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. [] [][]
But many prominent gun rights groups - including the NRA - have taken serious issue with that.
With a statement from the NRA reading,
“This sentiment … is dangerous and wrong. Responsible public voices should be awaiting a full investigation, not making generalizations and demonizing law-abiding citizens.” []
And that call for an investigation was echoed by the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus as well as the Gun Owners of America organization.
It’s also worth noting that the right has previously applauded people showing up to protests with firearms.
Like Kyle Rittenhouse - who was acquitted after shooting and killing 2 people at a protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin back in 2020. []
And many, many people have pointed out this change in tune.
Saying things like,
“I’m just blown away that the same people who say everyone needs a gun are now saying if you are legally armed the government is allowed to execute you.”[]
But I would love to know your thoughts - about this whole situation, the gun argument, any other part.
Let me know in those comments down below.
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But then, jumping back into the fallout from Alex Pretti’s shooting, it looks very likely that we’re gonna have another government shutdown because of this.
Which is just nuts, because the last one was only a few months ago, and it was the longest ever in U.S. history, lasting 43 days.
But if Democrats and Republicans don’t reach a deal by the time the clock strikes midnight this Friday, it’s gonna be deja vu all over again. [B roll]
Though it would only be a partial shutdown, since Trump has already signed six of the 12 spending bills funding the departments of Justice, Commerce and the Interior, as well as the EPA, NASA, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. [B roll and Quote, find “NASA”]
Plus an even earlier measure funded the Department of Agriculture, so a shutdown shouldn’t impact food stamps this time, though anything’s possible with this administration. [Quote same link, find “agriculture”]
So now, the remaining six bills, which provide funding through September, would cover the departments of Defense, State, Labor, Health, Education, Transportation, the Treasury, Housing and Urban Development, and the big one: Homeland Security. [B roll, 00:10]
Right, that particular bill gives 64.4 billion dollars to the entire department, including 10 billion for ICE in particular. [B roll, 03:25]
With the GOP-led House passing those last week before the Pretti shooting, packaging them all together into a single measure, then sending it to the Senate. [B roll, 00:18]
But obviously, circumstances have changed since then, and unlike the simple majority needed in the House, the Senate needs 60 votes to bypass a filibuster. [B roll, 00:33]]
Meaning Republicans need seven votes from the other side to get anything passed, and even before the shooting, Democrats were iffy about supporting the DHS funding bill, though its passage seemed possible if not likely.
But now, all that’s out the window, with Chuck Schumer announcing: [B roll]
“Senate Democrats will not provide the votes to proceed to the appropriations bill if the DHS funding bill is included.” [Same B roll and quote]
“Democrats sought common sense reforms in the Department of Homeland Security spending bill, but because of Republicans’ refusal to stand up to President Trump, the DHS bill is woefully inadequate to rein in the abuses of ICE. I will vote no.” [Same assets]
With numerous Democrats who were expected to vote for the bill before, now changing their minds.
Including Patty Murray, a key negotiator on the funding package, who wrote: “Federal agents cannot murder people in broad daylight and face zero consequences. I will NOT support the DHS bill as it stands.” [Post and B roll]
As well as Mark Warner, Tim Kaine, Dick Durbin, Brian Schatz, Jacky Rosen, Catherine Cortez Masto, and even the independent Angus King, who told Face the Nation: [Lead B roll into clip]
[Clip, 04:51 - 05:02] Caption: “I hate government shutdowns. I’m one of the people that helped negotiate a solution to the last, the end of the last shutdown, but I can’t vote for a bill that includes ICE funding under these circumstances.”
And they’re notable because most of those names broke with their party to end the last shutdown, and in the case of King and Cortez Masto in particular, they never even supported that shutdown in the first place.
So it’s pretty clear that the dam broke open this weekend, and there’s been conflicting rumours about how Senate Republicans might respond.
With The New York Times reporting that they immediately began examining whether they could split off the DHS bill, negotiate it more, and pass everything else in the meantime. [Quote, find “the bulk”]
But The Wall Street Journal reports that actually, they planned to stick with the current funding package, rather than split it up. [Quote, find “split it up”]
And reportedly Republicans and the White House have “reached out” to Democrats, “but have not yet raised any realistic solutions.” [Quote same link, find “realistic”]
Now thanks to the snowstorm, the Senate is not scheduled to return to session until Tuesday, and Schumer reportedly told his party the vote wouldn’t come until Thursday. [B roll]
But even if the Senate passes anything, it’ll have to go back to the House for approval of any changes, and the House is on recess this whole week.
So by all indications, there’s likely gonna be a partial shutdown, though how long is an open question.
But while many of the government services I mentioned before might shutter, the one that almost certainly won’t is ICE. [B roll]
Right, because they’ve still got a comfy 75 billion dollar war chest from Trump’s so-called One Big Beautiful Bill. [Same B roll]
But for critics, that’s just one more reason why handing them another 10 billion dollars would be plainly stupid.
So now some are cheering that the Democrats have finally grown a spine and stood up against this fascist regime. [Headline]
But others say, no, actually, the Dems are still weak as jelly, because if you look at what they’re demanding, it’s just minor reforms.
Right, literally, according to NBC Schumer told his caucus the message had to be to “restrain, reform and restrict ICE.” [Quote and B roll]
With the likes of Senator Chris Murphy, the top Democrat on the subcommittee that oversees homeland security funding, adding that he can’t support “this version of ICE,” rather than going after ICE as such. [Post and B roll]
But the party’s further-left wing argues that we don’t just need to reform ICE; we need to defund it at least, abolish it at most, and impeach Kristi Noem.
With for example Zohran Mamdani leading the charge in that direction even before the Pretti shooting radicalized more of his fellow Democrats.
[Clip, 01:31 - 01:59]
But those from the moderate wing argue that obviously, abolishing ICE is a non-starter for negotiations with Republicans.
Saying if we want to meaningfully reign the agency in, we need to meet them halfway, and if we just refuse to fund it no matter what, then it’ll keep doing what it’s been doing.
But then on the further left wing, people argue that the concessions made by Republicans so far have been small, and that’s assuming this administration even follows the law.
Right, I mean, in the current version of the DHS funding bill, you’ve got stuff like de-escalation training, but critics say that assumes the problem is poor training and not deliberate malignance.
There’s also added authority for the agency’s inspector general to investigate disputed accounts of ICE activities, but that doesn’t mean anyone will actually be held accountable.
And then there’s 20 million dollars for purchasing ICE body cameras, though actually wearing them isn’t mandatory.
But proponents of reform argue that after the Pretti shooting, Democrats’ demands have gotten more ambitious.
Including things like an independent federal-state investigation, including Minnesota officials, into ICE murders and tactics, [Quote, find “murders”]
Mandatory body cameras, a ban on face masks, a ban on roving ICE patrols, a ban on administrative warrants that violate the Fourth Amendment, and an end to arrest quotas. [Second through fifthsixth bullets]
With others saying that the immediate departure of ICE and Border Patrol from Minneapolis and other cities should be nonnegotiable.
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And as people try to talk about this on social media, we're now seeing claims that TikTok is censoring content about ICE, Minneapolis, and Alex Pretti.[][][]
Right, people have been saying that when they try to post about it they get no views or the content stays under review instead of getting uploaded.
For its part TikTok, claims that it has been dealing with a power outage that is impacting its services, including its algorithm.[]
And some reports have noted that people posting any kind of content, no matter the subject, have been dealing with outages and glitches, too.
But many, including politicians, are taking these censorship claims seriously because it comes on the same weekend that TikTok announced new U.S. ownership of the app.
And people are already skeptical of these companies and their ties to Trump.
Under the newly announced U.S. joint venture, the three new managing investors include the private equity fund Silver Lake, tech company Oracle, and investment firm MGX, which each hold a 15% share, []
And ByteDance still gets to hold on to a share of just under 20%.
As for how security concerns are being addressed, U.S. user data will now be stored in Oracle’s U.S. cloud,
And the algorithm will also be retrained, tested, and updated based on U.S. user data, and algorithm recommendations will again be secured by Oracle.
TikTok has said this new deal will “safeguard the U.S. content ecosystem through robust trust and safety policies and content moderation.”
But people are not thrilled to hear that these companies have any say in “content moderation” on the app.
Because Oracle, as you may know, is co-founded by Trump ally Larry Ellison, who has lobbied for the president.
And his son, David Ellison, is the new CEO of Paramount Skydance, which is now overseeing CBS’s News’ rightward shift to becoming essentially Fox News Lite.
So many are afraid that the Ellisons could do to TikTok what they did to CBS.
But that is not even where the Trump ties end, because the MGX firm that has a 15% stake is UAE-based and has done deals with the Trump crypto business.
And Trump himself is giving himself major credit for this deal too, saying he was happy to have helped to “save” TikTok, and adding:
“It will now be owned by a group of Great American Patriots and Investors, the Biggest in the World, and will be an important Voice. Along with other factors, it was responsible for my doing so well with the Youth Vote in the 2024 Presidential Election. I only hope that long into the future I will be remembered by those who use and love TikTok.” []
And I mean, yeah, he will probably be remembered by TikTok users, but that isn’t necessarily a good thing.
You had a Georgetown professor telling the New York Times that this deal allows for “more theoretical room for one side’s views to get a greater airing.”
Adding:
“My worry all along is that we may have traded fears of foreign propaganda for the reality of domestic propaganda.”
And if you look into some corners of TikTok, you can see the concerns, with people saying things like:
“It will safeguard the U.S. content ecosystem through robust trust and safety policies and content moderation.” (0:39-0:46)
“I don’t think that we are scared enough. For this to happen right now is really, really bad.” (0:54-0:59)
There was also even more outrage over the app over the weekend regarding its new privacy policy, as many thought it was now tracking immigration status.
But, it’s not quite like it sounds.
Right, the policy says that the app can collect sensitive personal information like:
“sexual life or sexual orientation, status as transgender or nonbinary, citizenship or immigration status.”[]
And so you have tons of people saying they will be deleting the app because of this, that this is way too far. [][][]
But the thing is, a version of that was already in TikTok’s policies before U.S. ownership was announced, it is not new to the U.S. deal.
With Tech Crunch explaining that this language is:
“primarily there to comply with state privacy laws like California’s Consumer Privacy Act.”[]
Because TikTok collects data from user content, right, so you would have to discuss that information yourself either in a video or comment for it to be processed by TikTok.
And the app just legally has to tell you it is processing this in accordance with the law.
So, it’s nothing super new, but it is again understandable that it raised so many red flags in this political climate.
And also because there are other actual policy changes in these new terms.
Right, for example, TikTok expanded some of its capabilities for targeted advertising and precise location tracking for people whose settings enable this.][
So there is just a lot going on with TikTok right now.
And we will have to see if people feel their algorithm is changing under this new era, if that sparks any mass exodus from the platform, or if any new concerns pop up now that people are on pretty high alert.
