MN - Alex Pretti dead after Minneapolis shooting involving immigration agents, US media report, January 24, 2026

[LAborn]

1 min ago

Homan acknowledges right to protest — a departure from other officials who called protesters “agitators” or “rioters"​

From CNN's Michael Williams

White House border czar Tom Homan on Thursday acknowledged that Americans have a right to protest federal immigration enforcement.

“You have your First Amendment rights — I support that,” Homan said during a press conference in Minneapolis today. “You have the right to protest. I’m just asking to keep it peaceful.”

His comments represent a notable departure from how other top officials had referred to protesters. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino had repeatedly called those protesting federal immigration operations in the city “agitators,” “rioters,” or “insurrectionists.”

Homan added that threatening, impeding or assaulting law enforcement is “never okay” and there will be “zero tolerance” for doing so.

https://edition.cnn.com/us/live-news/minneapolis-ice-trump-01-29-26?t=1769694798476

The agitators and aggressors are ICE, every time. Unless you've been to a gathering, you may not know that because MSM is airing false info. Happened during BLM, it's happening now. Indi journalists who stream live at the protests are most reliable source....

 

[SouthAussie]

'If you don't like ICE, take it up with Congress’​

Right. That will work. Congress has been so ineffective. Everything is Executive Orders. imo

 

[JennieM]

1m ago

Shrai Popat

Homan didn’t answer a reporter’s question about the specific number of federal immigration agents that are currently in Minneapolis.

“There’s been some rotations,” he said.

This comes after reports that, after Gregory Bovino left the state, a number of border patrol officers were directed to also leave.

Trump’s border chief vows ‘improvements’ for ICE operations but doesn’t mention fatal shootings of US citizens – live

Border czar Tom Homan in Minneapolis says ‘no agency is perfect’ and acknowledges improvements that need to be made to federal immigration enforcement

www.theguardian.com

 

[JennieM]

I don’t think locals feel any better after that presser.

 

[LAborn]

We cant know what his employers would have thought about that altercation. I would imagine that anyone who knew him would have thought it was a bad idea and he was very lucky he didnt get arrested, that kind of behaviour will never help ones case.

I would like to point out though, that even in this incident, where AP was clearly very upset and agitated, and did behave badly, he still never has a hand on his gun. The agents in this incident were rightfully angry with his behaviour, and did tackle him, and yet he still walked away. He didnt threaten anyone and they didnt shoot him.

In my opinion, the only way this prior incident would have any bearing whatsoever on what happened on Saturday would be if those agents in the prior incident were the same ones who later killed him, in which case I would suggest that it was retaliation that got him killed and not his conduct on the day, which was nothing like it had been in the prior incident.

It doesn't matter how you spin it, they should not have shot him. He wasnt interfering in anything, he was helping a woman up, he wasnt threatening, he never made any moves that even suggested he was reaching for a concealed weapon, he posed no danger to the scrum if agents that piled on him. He was executed in the street. There is no justification for that.

Just another thought, even in a court case the defendants prior criminal history generally may not be used against them to determine guilt.

*NOT suggesting AP was a criminal, example for sake of argument.

Why didn't they arrest him? Protesters have done far less and get brutalized.

 

[JennieM]

Homan defends decision to deploy large numbers of ICE agents​

We've just had another question from a reporter who asks Homan - how did we get here?

Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino had agents stopping US citizens and asking them for ID, creating fear, the reporter says. It took the death of Alex Pretti for us to get here. How did this happen? Who made the decision for this operation to proceed in this way?

Homan responds, claiming that up to 12,000 people per day were coming across the border under the previous Biden administration.

A massive deployment of ICE agents was needed to deal with this "humanitarian crisis" and secure the border, he says.

We brought extra resources in to provide security, he adds, saying that resources can be drawn down when violence and hateful rhetoric decrease.

'No one is off the table' in targeted immigration operations​

Homan is asked about people ICE agents are looking for and if they will target those simply for being undocumented.

He says criminality is the main focus, and that anyone who has come here illegally has committed a crime. He adds that "no one is off the table" in targeted immigration operations.

Allowing undocumented immigrants in and letting them go through due process later is "sending the wrong message".

The Trump administration, Homeland Security and ICE are working hard to combat national security threats.

Tom Homan: Watch Trump's border tsar speak in Minneapolis as he takes over immigration crackdown

Tom Homan has been deployed after two people were shot dead by federal agents in the city in less than a month.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Mo Thuairim]

Homan: ICE need a holiday, they are human!

 

[Inthedetails]

On SM locals are saying nothing has changed since the murders.

President Donald Trump seemed to signal a willingness to ease tensions in Minneapolis after a second deadly shooting by federal immigration agents, but there was little evidence Wednesday of any significant changes following weeks of harsh rhetoric and clashes with protesters.

Trump signals interest in easing tensions, but Minneapolis sees little change on the streets

President Donald Trump seemed to signal a willingness to ease tensions in Minneapolis after a second deadly shooting by federal immigration agents.

www.wsls.com

 

[LibraStarr]

“Unless you committed a serious crime, you are good to go.”

Hmm, 5-year olds walking to school being arrested and detained. Yep.

It was more like "if we are sending the message that 'unless you committed a serious crime, you are good to go', then we will never get rid of this problem"

He is also claiming that being undocumented is a crime, which isn't necessarily true, most of the time, just being undocumented is a civil offense, like getting a speeding ticket.

 

[Strangeworld]

No matter how he framed it in his presser, it still came across as gaslighting - its everyone else's fault. No responsibility taken, reinforcing how wonderful ICE are, all will be good as long as you all behave

I don't know how anyone can continue to support this government, it reeks of authoritarianism and keeps getting worse. Surely the majority of US citizens can see this? Can certainly see it plainly from outside the US

 

[Inthedetails]

Homan: ICE need a holiday, they are human!

What was that phrase the federal agent said after Pretti was killed? Oh yeah, "boo hoo."

jmo

 

[SouthAussie]

Homan defends decision to deploy large numbers of ICE agents​

We've just had another question from a reporter who asks Homan - how did we get here?

Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino had agents stopping US citizens and asking them for ID, creating fear, the reporter says. It took the death of Alex Pretti for us to get here. How did this happen? Who made the decision for this operation to proceed in this way?

Homan responds, claiming that up to 12,000 people per day were coming across the border under the previous Biden administration.

A massive deployment of ICE agents was needed to deal with this "humanitarian crisis" and secure the border, he says.

We brought extra resources in to provide security, he adds, saying that resources can be drawn down when violence and hateful rhetoric decrease.

Is he suggesting that up to 12,000 people per day were crossing into Minnesota from Canada? And they need all those agents in Minnesota to secure the border.

imo

 

[Strangeworld]

Homan: ICE need a holiday, they are human!

52 week holiday maybe, all at the same time

 

[Inthedetails]

Is he suggesting that up to 12,000 people per day were crossing into Minnesota from Canada? And they need all those agents in Minnesota to secure the border.

imo

Hint: Minneapolis is not near the Canadian border.

But, go check it out, ICE. It'll make the weather in Minneapolis seem balmy.

jmo

 

[JennieM]

Homan not saying how many ICE, CBP officers in Minnesota​

Homan is now asked to be specific about how many ICE and border patrol agents are operating in Minnesota.

Homan does not give a figure.

Instead, he says there's been some rotations, which happen "all the time".

"My main focus now is draw down," he tells the press.

Homan says he won't make any comments on Minnesota shootings​

Homan is now asked about the new footage that has emerged of Alex Pretti. The video shows an altercation between Pretti and federal officers 11 days before his death.

A spokesperson for the Pretti family has confirmed the man in the video is the ICU nurse, with the family’s lawyer adding that "nothing that happened a full week before could possibly have justified Alex's killing".

Homan says he will not comment "on any shootings".

"We'll let the investigate play out and let it go where it goes," he says. "I'm not going to come out and make any comments whether I think its right or wrong."

Homan says Trump has told him that he "doesn't want to see anybody die", adding that this includes people that federal immigration agents are looking for.

He reiterates that he wants ICE agents to operate "in the safety and security" of jails rather than on the street.

And that brings an end to Trump's border tsar's first news conference since his arrival in Minnesota.

Tom Homan: Watch Trump's border tsar speak in Minneapolis as he takes over immigration crackdown

Tom Homan has been deployed after two people were shot dead by federal agents in the city in less than a month.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[JennieM]

now
ICE agents have been instructed not to engage with “agitators” following the arrival of Tom Homan amid the fallout after federal agents shot two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis, Reuters reports.

The new orders instruct agents to focus on “targeted enforcement,” as Homan described in a press conference this morning, while refraining from random seizures in street stops in Minneapolis.

“DO NOT COMMUNICATE OR ENGAGE WITH AGITATORS,” said an email disseminated by a top ICE official. “It serves no purpose other than inflaming the situation. No one is going to convince the other. The only communication should be the officers issuing commands.”

ICE officers will receive megaphones so that they can issue commands to the public and “need to verbalize every step of the arrest process”, Reuters reported.

Trump’s border chief vows ‘improvements’ for ICE operations but doesn’t mention fatal shootings of US citizens – live

Border czar Tom Homan in Minneapolis says ‘no agency is perfect’ and acknowledges improvements that need to be made to federal immigration enforcement

www.theguardian.com

 

[Summerliz03]

No matter how he framed it in his presser, it still came across as gaslighting - its everyone else's fault. No responsibility taken, reinforcing how wonderful ICE are, all will be good as long as you all behave

I don't know how anyone can continue to support this government, it reeks of authoritarianism and keeps getting worse. Surely the majority of US citizens can see this? Can certainly see it plainly from outside the US

Many, many people in the US can see it (I’d honestly say a majority do at this point, as Trumps approval rating is the lowest it’s ever been. Last time I checked, it was like 39%. ICEs approval rating is even lower) Unfortunately our congress has basically disappeared, and since the republicans hold the majority in both houses, they ultimately will do whatever Trump tells them, despite what their constituents want. The only real thing we can do is to protest, which is happening every where, every day. But it seems like this administration is set on squashing that as best they can since they are using violence against protesters all the time (again; which is what authoritarian governments do) IMO.

 

[LAborn]

It was more like "if we are sending the message that 'unless you committed a serious crime, you are good to go', then we will never get rid of this problem"

He is also claiming that being undocumented is a crime, which isn't necessarily true, most of the time, just being undocumented is a civil offense, like getting a speeding ticket.

Isn't this what the judicial branch is for? They decide who and when people are prosecuted.

 

[statt#1]

I actually think they will be convicted of serious charges, even if only as scapegoats. We have seen how the legal system has been manipulated by Trump and his government, and Trump is very concerned about perceptions right now. He isn't liking what he is seeing in the citizen/voter response. He will do whatever he can to preserve or rebuild his fan base, and he's already upset the NRA. I can see these ICE agents getting the book thrown at them to appease the unrest directed at Trump

I agree, this in my opinion is a possibility.

 

[Mo Thuairim]

(Snipped by me for focus) Unfortunately our congress has basically disappeared

Can we set up a 'missing' thread for Congress?