{"id":2629,"date":"2026-01-28T15:50:24","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T15:50:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/?p=2629"},"modified":"2026-01-28T15:50:24","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T15:50:24","slug":"alex-pretti-broke-rib-in-confrontation-with-federal-agents-a-week-before-death-sources-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/?p=2629","title":{"rendered":"Alex Pretti broke rib in confrontation with federal agents a week before death, sources say"},"content":{"rendered":"

Federal immigration officers have been collecting personal information about protesters and agitators in Minneapolis, sources told CNN \u2013 and had documented details about Alex Pretti before he was shot to death on Saturday.<\/p>\n

It is unclear how Pretti first came to the attention of federal authorities, but sources told CNN that about a week before his death, he suffered a broken rib when a group of federal officers tackled him while he was protesting their attempt to detain other individuals.<\/p>\n

In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security said that \u201cDHS law enforcement has no record of this incident.\u201d<\/p>\n

A memo sent earlier this month to agents temporarily assigned to the city asked them to \u201ccapture all images, license plates, identifications, and general information on hotels, agitators, protestors, etc., so we can capture it all in one consolidated form,\u201d according to correspondence reviewed by CNN.<\/p>\n

Pretti\u2019s previous encounter is another reflection of the aggressive approach federal agents are taking with observers and protesters \u2013 a philosophy underscored by the request for agents to collect information about protesters whose activities are broadly protected by the First Amendment.<\/p>\n

DHS has repeatedly warned of threats against federal law enforcement officers during immigration enforcement operations\u2014and criticized protesters who they argue are impeding those operations. On Tuesday, the department also publicized an online tip form to share information about people allegedly harassing ICE officers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen our law enforcement encounter a violent agitator who is breaking the law, obstructing law enforcement or assaulting them, our law enforcement make records to advance prosecution. This is not ground breaking, it is standard protocol,\u201d said DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin in a statement.<\/p>\n

The earlier incident started when he stopped his car after observing ICE agents chasing what he described as a family on foot, and began shouting and blowing his whistle, according to a source who asked not to be named out of fear of retribution.<\/p>\n

Pretti later told the source that five agents tackled him and one leaned on his back \u2013 an encounter that left him with a broken rib. The agents quickly released him at the scene.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat day, he thought he was going to die,\u201d said the source.<\/p>\n

Pretti was later given medication consistent with treating a broken rib, according to records reviewed by CNN.<\/p>\n

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People gather around a makeshift memorial at the site where Alex Pretti was fatally shot in Minneapolis. – Evelyn Hockstein\/Reuters<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Earlier this month, a DHS official in Minneapolis sent a memo to Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations officers assigned to the state on temporary duty asking them to use a form to input information on protesters and agitators.<\/p>\n

The form \u2014 titled \u201cintel collection non-arrests\u201d \u2014 allows agents to fill in personal information of agitators and protesters who they encounter. It\u2019s not clear whether other agencies in Minnesota are also using the form.<\/p>\n

Previously, agents had informally shared information about protesters and agitators with each other, the memo said.<\/p>\n

Pretti\u2019s name was known to federal agents, according to a source \u2013 though it\u2019s unclear whether the new intake form was used to share his information.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also not clear whether the federal agents who encountered Pretti on Saturday recognized him before they confronted him \u2013 eventually wrestling him to the ground, taking a gun from his waistband and then fatally shooting him.<\/p>\n

Some Trump officials have spoken publicly about the idea of creating a database of protesters, though it\u2019s not clear what ICE has done with the information collected through the form circulated to agents in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne thing I\u2019m pushing for right now \u2026 we\u2019re going to create a database where those people that are arrested for interference, impeding and assault, we\u2019re going to make them famous,\u201d Tom Homan, Trump\u2019s border czar, told Fox News earlier this month. \u201cWe\u2019re going to put their face on TV. We\u2019re going to let their employers, in their neighborhoods, in their schools, know who these people are.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Sunday, a DHS spokeswoman denied the agency was compiling a database of \u201cdomestic terrorists\u201d after a video in Maine showed a federal agent recording the license plate of a woman observing him during an operation and telling her, \u201cWe have a nice little database and now you are considered a domestic terrorist.\u201d<\/p>\n

McLaughlin told CNN about the Maine incident, \u201cThere is NO database of \u2018domestic terrorists\u2019 run by DHS. We do of course monitor and investigate and refer all threats, assaults and obstruction of our officers to the appropriate law enforcement. Obstructing and assaulting law enforcement is a felony and a federal crime.\u201d<\/p>\n

In her statement to CNN on Tuesday, she reiterated that there is no DHS database.<\/p>\n

Federal officials have made clear they are investigating anti-ICE activities they allege crossed the line into violence.<\/p>\n

On Monday, FBI Director Kash Patel said the agency was investigating Signal group chats used by observers to share information about ICE activities, warning on a conservative podcast that people cannot \u201ccreate a scenario that illegally entraps and puts law enforcement in harm\u2019s way.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, DHS announced it was launching an investigation into a US citizen \u201cwho attempted to purchase a firearm on two separate occasions,\u201d allegedly stated she wanted to \u201cprotect herself from ICE Agents, and also to kill ICE Agents.\u201d<\/p>\n

This story has been updated.<\/em><\/p>\n

CNN\u2019s Isabelle Chapman contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at\u00a0CNN.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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