The parents of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive-care-unit nurse and United States citizen who was shot and killed by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis in January, spoke publicly for the first time since his death on Tuesday, October 27, and accused the Trump administration of withholding evidence from local prosecutors investigating the killing, Reuters reported.
"Our experience with the Department of Justice has left us wondering how Alex will ever get justice," his father Michael Pretti said at a press conference in Minneapolis. "Do your job and stop shielding Alex's killers," he demanded, according to Reuters. His mother Susan Pretti said: "It has been a miserable year for our family. All we want is justice for Alex [and] that the federal government treat us with the dignity and respect that our son deserves."
What happened in January
Pretti was killed while participating in protests against the federal immigration enforcement surge in Minneapolis, shortly after immigration agents fatally shot another US citizen, Renee Good, Reuters reported. Their deaths sparked fierce protests, condemnations from local leaders and calls for accountability in Minnesota and across the United States.
Trump administration officials swiftly defended the Border Patrol agents who killed Pretti, claiming he was trying to attack them with a handgun he was carrying legally. Bystander videos, however, showed Pretti had a phone in his hand and was trying to help a protester who had been pushed to the ground when agents pinned him down and shot him, Reuters reported. Local authorities have said he had a legal permit to carry a firearm, according to Minnesota reporting summarised by KSTP and MPR News. Those competing accounts are allegations and official claims, not findings of a court.
The fight over evidence
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty launched a criminal investigation soon after Pretti's death. In March, she sued the Trump administration for access to evidence in the killings of Pretti and Good, as well as the non-lethal shooting of a Venezuelan man by an immigration agent in January, Reuters reported.
Moriarty said in July that the federal government was handing over "voluminous" evidence related to the shootings. When her office examined the material from the Minnesota US Attorney's Office, however, it realised "some information had been withheld," she said earlier this month in a declaration filed in federal district court in Washington, according to Reuters. She added: "Furthermore, it is clear that the federal government has obtained additional material since they last shared information with the State," including material obtained through grand jury processes and other witness statements.
Minnesota reporting added further detail to that timeline. According to court filings described in recent reporting, Moriarty said Minnesota US Attorney Daniel Rosen told her on September 10 that further evidence sharing would be paused indefinitely because of challenges with officials in Washington, and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said in an October 22 statement that state officials were continuing their federal court case seeking access to evidence. The dispute concerns additional material still sought by state investigators, rather than a claim that no evidence was ever shared.
What the Justice Department says
US prosecutors responded that they were not obligated to release further evidence because Moriarty's office had not yet initiated legal proceedings in the case, Reuters reported. The Justice Department said in a statement to Reuters: "communications with family members, if any, come at a later stage of a case, such as indictment, initial appearance, plea, trial, or sentencing. Those communications do not typically occur during an investigation." It added: "The timing is consistent with how these types of investigations proceed."
The family, appearing with attorney Steve Schleicher, also allege the department violated their rights under federal victims' rights law, according to reporting by ABC News and CNN cited in national coverage. That is the family's allegation, not a court ruling. Mark Osler, a University of St. Thomas law professor and former federal prosecutor, told KSTP that investigations involving a death can require substantial time, and prosecutors have legitimate reasons to protect some investigative information — but he disputed the suggestion that families ordinarily receive no meaningful communication, saying a family's unanswered requests are unusual.
The case is not about immigration status — Pretti was a US citizen — but about how federal enforcement operations in a major city are investigated when a citizen dies, who controls the evidence, and whether a state prosecutor can run an independent review. Those questions affect every community that encounters federal agents, including Punjabi and other immigrant communities in Minnesota and nationwide.
What happens next
No final charging decision and no court ruling resolving the current evidence dispute had been reported as of Tuesday. The next steps to watch are the federal court case over evidence access, any further material handed to Moriarty's office, and whether the Justice Department changes its communication with the family. Awaaz Punjab will update this story when a court or prosecutor announces a decision, and will not treat either side's claims as proven until that happens.