A new video shows armed anti-ICE protester Alex Pretti kicking out the taillight of a federal vehicle, then fighting off an attempted arrest in Minneapolis, a week before he was shot and killed in a separate confrontation with federal agents in the city.
The video, taken Jan. 13 by independent outlet The News Movement, showed Mr. Pretti had a firearm tucked into his waistband during the confrontation. He was killed 11 days later.
Mr. Pretti’s family confirmed to The Minnesota Star Tribune that he was the one in the video.
The Jan. 13 footage opens with Mr. Pretti, 37, standing in a road while he shouts “f—- trash” and spits toward a federal vehicle that begins to drive away.
Mr. Pretti follows after the SUV and kicks it twice in its rear passenger side taillight, causing it to break off the vehicle, according to the video. He then backs away from the SUV, flips both his middle fingers and yells, “F—- you!”
The SUV stops, and a federal agent emerges from the vehicle and forces Mr. Pretti to the ground.
As agents swarmed to gain control of Mr. Pretti, the video captures him shouting “help me” as he resists arrest.
Some of the agents fired tear gas and pepper balls into the crowd of agitators that stood by.
The video shows agents letting Mr. Pretti out of their grasp moments later, and he clambers to his feet to continue shouting at them. His gun is first seen on the video when he breaks free from the agents, who leave shortly afterward.
“A week before Alex was gunned down in the street — despite posing no threat to anyone — he was violently assaulted by a group of ICE agents,” Steve Schleicher, an attorney representing the family, said in a statement to the Star Tribune after viewing the video from Jan. 13. “Nothing that happened a full week before could possibly have justified Alex’s killing at the hands of ICE on Jan 24.”
The presence of Mr. Pretti’s Sig Sauer P320 9 mm pistol appeared to cause federal agents to fatally shoot him during Saturday’s confrontation in Minneapolis.
Video of that incident showed Mr. Pretti briefly put his hands on a federal agent who had just shoved a female agitator to the ground.
The agent then pepper-sprayed and wrestled with Mr. Pretti, who appeared to resist agents as they tried to detain him.
An agent shouted “gun” at one point during the altercation, and Mr. Pretti was shot and killed seconds later.
Video of the struggle appeared to capture an agent taking away Mr. Pretti’s gun right before he was mortally wounded.
The Border Patrol agents who opened fire on Mr. Pretti are under investigation.
The slaying of Mr. Pretti, who worked as an ICU nurse, was the second person killed by federal immigration authorities in Minneapolis this month.
Renee Good, 37, was shot dead after she drove her car toward an agent on Jan. 7.
Ms. Good used her vehicle to partially block the road on which the agents were carrying out their operation.
When agents moved toward her and ordered her out of the vehicle, Ms. Good accelerated and appeared to hit an agent.
The agent responded by firing three rounds at her car.
On Thursday, White House border czar Tom Homan said he is working on a “drawdown” plan for federal immigration authorities in Minnesota in hopes of reducing tensions there.
