Alex Pretti did not just appear out of nowhere in Minneapolis on Jan. 24, the day he was shot while assaulting federal agents with a loaded gun. It turns out his fatal shooting by a Border Patrol officer came after weeks of escalating, personal clashes with federal immigration agents, who clearly knew who he was and had him on their radar.
In the weeks before his death, Pretti had at least two other physical confrontations with federal officers that were captured on video and widely shared, making him a familiar face to the agents working the streets. The first known incident was on Jan. 13. As PJ Media previously reported, this video shows him marching up on ICE agents who were carrying pepper spray, closing the distance, and unleashing a stream of profanity as they tried to pull back to their SUVs. He screamed “f**k you!” at the officers and demanded, “What the f**k is wrong with you? Every decision you’ve made in your life is f**king wrong!” as they climbed into their vehicles, while also mocking one agent as a “pepper spray b***h” and “f**king trash.”
Clearly, he was a classy guy. Exactly what you would expect from an ICU nurse, right?
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In the video, we can see Pretti kick the back of the vehicle hard enough to break the taillight of the black SUV as it left. That was the trigger. An agent jumped out, others rushed in, and they swarmed Pretti, tackling and striking him on the pavement as bystanders screamed and filmed. Officers then fired tear gas and pepper balls into the crowd. Agents eventually let Pretti gather his things and walk away. In multiple clips from that day, a handgun appears tucked in his waistband.
Four days later, on Jan. 17, things escalated again. According to a source quoted by CNN, Pretti stopped his car after spotting ICE officers chasing a family on foot.
Pretti allegedly began shouting and blowing a whistle, and was then tackled to the ground by five agents. The source claimed one officer leaned on his back, causing his ribs to break.
The ICU nurse, who allegedly 'thought he was going to die', was reportedly released at the scene - but allegedly remained on federal agents' radar.
Agents deployed in Minneapolis were instructed earlier this month to 'capture all images, license plates, identifications, and general information on hotels, agitators, protestors,' according to documents obtained by the outlet.
Federal officers are understood to have kept documented details about Pretti, although it is unclear when they first started collecting information on him.
The final known encounter between Pretti and federal agents was on Jan. 24, where, once again, he engaged with federal officers while carrying a loaded gun.
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The totality of these incidents reveals not the mild-mannered ICU nurse that the mainstream media presents him to be, but as a man who regularly attempted to obstruct federal officers from enforcing the law, and would get violent in the process. He was a man looking for trouble, behaving in a way that I believe the overwhelming majority of people would never do.
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