Topline
Customs and Border Protection agents involved in the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti have been placed on administrative leave, according to multiple outlets, taking an absence from their duties after Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino said Sunday they would continue their work in another city.
Pretti was shot and killed by federal agents Saturday.
Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP via Getty Images
Key Facts
The move is standard protocol, according to an unnamed Department of Homeland Security official cited by The New York Times.
The two agents who fired their weapons were placed on leave, according to Fox News, which cited a DHS official who said administrative leave is not indicative of suspicion of wrongdoing.
The DHS official who spoke to the Times said Bovino’s statement that the agents were continuing their work elsewhere was “inaccurate.”
Bovino will reportedly leave Minnesota after participating in federal operations there this month.
Pretti, who was legally carrying a holstered handgun, was recording federal agents with his phone Saturday and at one point stepped between them and a woman they pushed to the ground, leading to the altercation that resulted in an agent disarming him before he was shot to death.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions have continued in Minnesota following the shooting as local and state officials including Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., have pushed for a reduced number of agents in Minnesota in addition to an independent investigation into Pretti’s death, which is being managed by Homeland Security Investigations.
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What To Watch For
Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey have pushed for de-escalation this week, speaking with Trump directly. Frey said the “president agreed the present situation can’t continue” and noted some federal agents would begin leaving Minneapolis on Tuesday. Trump said he and Walz “seemed to be on a similar wavelength” during their call, while Walz’s office said the call with Trump was “productive.” However, following a call Frey had with Trump’s border czar Tom Homan in which the mayor “made it clear that Minneapolis does not and will not enforce federal immigration laws,” Trump accused Frey on Wednesday of violating the law and said in a Truth Social post he was “PLAYING WITH FIRE.” Supreme Court precedent dating back decades is on Frey’s side.
Key Background
Minnesota is the latest state where large immigration operations have taken place as the Trump administration carries out an aggressive mass deportation agenda. Federal agents were met with protests in Minneapolis early this month, when Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE agent while apparently trying to drive away from them in her vehicle. Pretti was killed by federal agents just weeks later, triggering even more outrage over immigration operations in the state and its communities. A primary frustration aired amid the ongoing protests has been against the Trump administration’s characterizations of Good and Pretti, whom Trump officials have called “domestic terrorists” despite video evidence and witness testimony indicating otherwise. Good was a stay-at-home mom and Pretti was an intensive care unit nurse in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Both died at the same age.
Further Reading
Greg Bovino Isn’t Losing Job Despite Report Suggesting Otherwise, DHS Says (Forbes)
Trump Accuses Minneapolis Mayor Of Violating The Law—But Legal Experts Say Otherwise (Forbes)