DOJ Opens Civil Rights Probe Into Alex Pretti Shooting by Federal Agents in Minneapolis

Lead

The U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division has opened a civil-rights investigation into the Jan. 24 shooting death of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, officials said. Pretti was shot multiple times as Border Patrol officers attempted to arrest him while he recorded agents on his phone. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the probe on Friday in Washington and said it is separate from the Department of Homeland Security’s internal shooting review. Federal and state authorities remain in a procedural standoff: Minnesota investigators have been excluded from the federal reviews, prompting a state lawsuit over evidence preservation.

Key Takeaways

• The Civil Rights Division has launched an investigation into Alex Pretti’s death on Jan. 24; Pretti was shot multiple times during a Border Patrol arrest attempt.
• Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the probe will examine the day’s events and the preceding days and weeks, and may include witness interviews, documentary evidence and subpoenas.
• The DOJ review is separate from a Department of Homeland Security shooting investigation into the same incident.
• An earlier federal shooting this month involving Renee Macklin Good in Minneapolis is not being investigated by the Civil Rights Division, Blanche said.
• Minnesota investigators have been excluded from both federal reviews, and the state has filed suit seeking preservation of evidence from the Pretti shooting.
• Pretti’s family attorney, Steve Schleicher, called for a fair, impartial inquiry focused on the facts surrounding what he described as a murder.
• Blanche declined to set a timetable for the DOJ review and did not commit to releasing body-worn camera footage.

Background

The use of federal immigration agents in local policing contexts has been contentious in Minneapolis and other cities, especially where encounters escalate to use of lethal force. Border Patrol and other federal law enforcement teams increasingly operate in urban areas for immigration enforcement, raising questions about training, oversight and the appropriate jurisdiction for serious use-of-force incidents. Civil rights advocates and community leaders have long pushed for independent federal review when a local or state inquiry might be seen as conflicted or limited.

Historically, the DOJ Civil Rights Division intervenes when facts suggest potential violations of constitutional or statutory rights; it does not investigate every police shooting. That discretion has produced tension with state prosecutors and families seeking more immediate transparency. In this case, both federal and state processes are active: DHS is conducting an internal review while state officials say they will finish their own inquiry and reserve the right to pursue charges after it concludes.

Main Event

On Jan. 24, Border Patrol officers attempted to detain Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. According to officials, Pretti was recording immigration officers on his phone when he was shot multiple times during the arrest attempt. The Department of Homeland Security opened a review of the shooting, and on Jan. 30 the Justice Department confirmed its Civil Rights Division will separately investigate whether federal civil-rights laws were violated.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche described the Civil Rights Division’s work as comprehensive, noting investigators will interview witnesses, review documents and, if necessary, issue subpoenas to gather evidence. He told reporters the division has “the best experts” to conduct such probes, while declining to offer a specific timetable or to promise release of body-camera footage from the agents involved. The DOJ probe will look at both the immediate encounter and the events that preceded it.

The announcement also distinguished the Pretti inquiry from a separate federal shooting earlier this month that killed Renee Macklin Good; Blanche said that incident is not the subject of a Civil Rights Division investigation. Meanwhile, state officials have been barred from assisting in the federal reviews, and Minnesota has since filed a lawsuit seeking to ensure evidence from the Pretti shooting is preserved.

Analysis & Implications

An independent Civil Rights Division investigation elevates the Pretti case beyond a routine use-of-force review. If investigators find evidence of willful deprivation of rights under color of law, the probe could lead to federal civil-rights charges against agents — a high legal threshold that requires proof of intentional misconduct. Even absent criminal charges, the DOJ review can influence civil litigation, administrative discipline and policy reforms by compiling a public record and making findings about systemic practices.

The separation between DHS’s internal review and the DOJ criminal/civil-rights inquiry underscores dual accountability tracks: agency-internal investigations examine policy and training failures, while the Civil Rights Division assesses potential violations of federal law. That split can produce different outcomes and timelines, complicating community expectations for quick answers and transparency, particularly around body-camera evidence.

The exclusion of state investigators from federal reviews is a recurring flashpoint. States argue exclusion limits their ability to pursue local criminal charges, while federal authorities often cite statutory protections and interagency protocols. This dynamic increases the chance of parallel proceedings, lawsuits over evidence preservation, and political friction between state and federal officials — all of which affect public confidence and the perceived legitimacy of outcomes.

Comparison & Data

The table contrasts the two recent federal-involved shootings in Minneapolis. While both incidents involve federal agents and have drawn scrutiny, only the Jan. 24 shooting of Alex Pretti is currently under review by the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. The difference in investigatory posture highlights the Division’s selective case intake and the reasons states and families press for federal involvement.

Reactions & Quotes

Officials and family representatives responded quickly after the DOJ announced the probe, framing it as an important check on federal-use-of-force incidents and a necessary step for accountability.

“It means talking to witnesses. It means looking at documentary evidence, sending subpoenas if you have to.”

Todd Blanche, Deputy Attorney General

Blanche used that language at a Washington briefing to describe the scope and tools available to the Civil Rights Division. He emphasized that the review will consider the lead-up to the shooting as well as the encounter itself, but he did not provide a schedule for completion or commit to releasing body-worn camera footage.

“The family’s focus is on a fair and impartial investigation that examines the facts around his murder.”

Steve Schleicher, Pretti family attorney

Schleicher reiterated the family’s demand for an impartial process and for answers about the sequence of events that led to Pretti’s death. Civil-rights groups and community members have also called for transparency and timely disclosure of investigatory findings.

Unconfirmed

• Whether body-worn camera footage from the agents involved will be released publicly remains undecided by federal authorities.
• The precise sequence of actions in the moments before and during the shooting, including any threat assessment by agents, has not been fully corroborated in public records.
• It is not yet confirmed whether state prosecutors will file criminal charges against federal officers after completing their own inquiries.

Bottom Line

The DOJ Civil Rights Division’s decision to investigate the Jan. 24 death of Alex Pretti signals federal attention to potential civil-rights issues in a Border Patrol use-of-force case. That review, running alongside a DHS internal probe and Minnesota’s separate processes, creates multiple, sometimes competing, pathways to accountability and public information.

Key things to watch are whether the Civil Rights Division uncovers evidence meeting the high legal bar for willful constitutional violations, whether body-camera footage is released, and whether the state pursues charges after its independent investigation. Each development will shape legal outcomes, administrative reforms and community trust in both federal and local institutions.

Sources

• NPR — national public radio report summarizing DOJ and local statements (journalism)