Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, posted Tuesday: “Nine months ago, we saw federal agents kill Alex Pretti. Since then, the federal government has lied about him and refused to share evidence with the local law enforcement investigating this case. His family deserves justice, and that starts with sharing evidence.”
She was quoting a video of Pretti’s father at a St. Paul news conference, the family’s first public appearance since the January 24 shooting of the intensive care nurse in Minneapolis.
[NOTE: Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen and intensive care nurse, was shot and killed by two federal immigration officers in Minneapolis on January 24, 2026, during an immigration enforcement operation.]
Michael Pretti said: “We wish Alex was alive. This administration has taken that away from us. We will no longer stay silent about the actions of the Department of Justice in the 275 days since Alex’s murder.”
He said: “No one from the federal government called us on that horrible day, but they did go on TV to tell lies about Alex.”
Susan Pretti, his mother, said: “The federal government went on TV and lied about Alex.”
The family was referring to the administration’s initial account of the shooting. Then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said that day that Pretti, who was carrying a firearm, committed an act of domestic terrorism.
Asked days later whether the president agreed, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “I have not heard the president characterize Mr Pretti in that way.”
Pretti’s father named U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Dan Rosen and Attorney General Todd Blanche, and said: “Share the evidence now, so prosecutors can follow the facts and hold these men accountable.”
The family’s attorney, Steve Schleicher, said: “I’ve never seen a family treated with such cruelty and disrespect.”
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison told CNN: “Any prosecutor can tell you, you can’t go forward with half a file. You need the whole thing.”
[NOTE: Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension says it is missing cell phones, recorded interviews and other evidence it calls “critical.” The Justice Department, in a court filing, says it does not have to share evidence with a state agency while a federal investigation is underway. In a July letter to the family, Rosen is quoted: “I can’t tell you for all kinds of reasons.”]
A Justice Department spokesperson said: “The timing is consistent with how these types of investigations proceed.”
Flanagan has made the case part of her closing message. On Wednesday she wrote: “We’ve got one week to reject the chaos, cruelty, and corruption coming from Trump in Washington.”