Newly surfaced video reveals physical clash between Alex Pretti and federal agents 11 days before he was fatally shot
New video has emerged showing a physical clash between Alex Pretti and federal agents over a week before he was fatally shot by Customs and Border Protection agents.
A representative for Pretti’s family confirmed to CNN that the man in a video posted Wednesday is Pretti.
In the video posted by the digital outlet The News Movement, Pretti is seen shouting at agents and kicking their vehicle’s taillight as the agents are driving away. The agents stop, exit their vehicle and tackle Pretti to the ground. The interaction in Minneapolis lasts a few seconds before Pretti gets up. A gun appears to be tucked in his waistband, but it is unclear if the agents noticed it. Agents do not disarm Pretti; they instead walk away. It is unclear what took place immediately before or after the footage.
The Department of Homeland Security told CNN Wednesday it is reviewing the footage.
The News Movement surfaced the video after reviewing footage of protesters and federal agents taken in the city 11 days before Pretti was shot and killed. The footage was filmed less than 2 miles from the scene of Pretti’s deadly encounter with federal agents.
In the video, Pretti is wearing a brown hat, brown jacket, light hoodie and tan pants — similar to what he was wearing the day he was fatally shot.
CNN previously reported that Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, had an encounter with agents about a week before his death and was known to federal authorities. According to CNN sources, he suffered a broken rib when a group of federal officers tackled him while he was protesting their attempt to detain other individuals. It is unclear if that encounter is the one filmed by The News Movement. The DHS said in a statement Tuesday that “DHS law enforcement has no record of this incident.”
A Minneapolis man told a local news outlet that he’d seen a protester kicking out the taillight of an ICE vehicle and being tackled to the ground on January 13, as ICE observers and protesters clashed with federal agents.
“It was a really good kick,” the man, Andy Larson, told the Sahan Journal.
Additional video shared online by Larson shows a different angle of the encounter, with Pretti already down on the ground under agents. He is seen scrambling back on his feet and talking with the agents before a canister of tear gas is eventually kicked toward the larger group of protesters.
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