Parents Say Officials Shielded Agents In Son's Death

The parents of a Minnesota nurse killed by federal immigration agents are accusing the Justice Department of withholding information and shielding the agents involved. Michael and Susan Pretti made their first public remarks on Tuesday about their son, Alex Pretti, who was 37 and worked at a veterans hospital.

Alex Pretti died on January 24 after being shot by federal immigration agents. The Trump administration described him as an armed domestic terrorist who violently resisted during immigration operations in Minneapolis. Video footage of the incident showed Pretti holding a cellphone and not brandishing a weapon or attacking agents before being shot in the back while lying in the street. Pretti had no criminal record and held a license for the handgun he had holstered before agents removed it and opened fire.

Michael Pretti said federal officials have provided no meaningful information. "At every turn, they have ignored us, misled us and shielded Alex's killers," he said. Susan Pretti said the federal government went on television and lied about her son. "They tried to slander his memory to cover up their crime. Not only was it wrong, it was shameful," she said.

The couple said US Attorney General Todd Blanche and Dan Rosen, the top federal prosecutor in Minnesota, have declined to discuss the case with them. Rosen agreed to meet with the parents in July after they contacted his office for months but would not provide information on the investigation's status, the Pretti family said. The Trump administration has argued that Minnesota lacks jurisdiction to investigate federal officers.

Minnesota officials recently said the federal government stopped sharing information with state investigators reviewing the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, a 37-year-old shot by an ICE officer as she drove away from a January protest. Susan Pretti said the family is asking for accountability. "Alex was murdered nine months ago. It's difficult to get up every day, to function, to be a parent, knowing that your child is never coming home," she said.

The Justice Department said in a statement to Reuters that communications with family members occur later in a case, such as at indictment, initial appearance, plea, trial, or sentencing, and not typically during an investigation.