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Alex Pretti’s family says feds are stonewalling justice

newsOct 27, 2026221,021

The parents of Alex Pretti, a U.S. citizen shot and killed by immigration agents in Minneapolis in January, say the Department of Justice has refused to provide substantive updates and is violating their rights under the federal victims' rights law. In a July letter to Attorney General Todd Blanche obtained by CNN, the Prettis' attorney, Steve Schleicher, wrote that the family has heard nothing from the DOJ since sending the letter and called the department's conduct "cruel." The family held a news conference saying federal officials have "shielded Alex's killers" by withholding the full federal case file from state investigators despite a public statement that evidence would be shared. The Prettis met with U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota Dan Rosen on July 13, the same day Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said federal officials had turned over volumes of evidence, but the family's letter says Rosen refused to confirm or explain the arrangement. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who is suing the Department of Justice, told CNN federal investigators briefly agreed to share evidence and then stopped cooperating and that a court order may be needed to secure the remaining file. The DOJ responded in court filings saying it is not required to turn over evidence to a state agency before an active federal case is underway. Video of Pretti's killing exists and contradicted earlier Department of Homeland Security descriptions of the incident, the articles note.

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