VIDEO FOOTAGE OF THE PRETTI SHOOTING LEADS GUN RIGHTS ADVOCATE TO BELIEVE THE SHOOTING WAS NOT JUSTIFIED

Gun rights advocate says DHS shooting of Alex Jeffrey Pretti 'does not appear justified' amid claims protester was disarmed seconds before he was killed

 

By Jack Toledo and Josh Boswell 

 

Daily Mail

Jan 24, 2026

 

 

Rob Doar, senior vice president of the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, anaylzed one of the several angles of footage of the killing of 37-year-old Alex Jeffrey Pretti in Minneapolis and believed that it showed, 'an agent remove a firearm from the holster of the 37-Y/O man (Pretti), prior to the shooting'

 

A gun rights advocate says he has major concerns about the legality of the shooting Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti after watching footage of his killing. 

Rob Doar, senior vice president of the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, analyzed one of the several videos taken of the shooting of Pretti on Saturday and shared his damming opinion that the killing was unwarranted on social media.

Pretti, who was a US citizen and an intensive care nurse who treated critically ill military veterans, was killed shortly after 9am on January 24, after an altercation involving multiple federal officers.

Video footage showed he was wrestled to the ground before one federal agent fired multiple shots into his chest, after which the agents scattered. The Department of Homeland Security told the Daily Mail that the suspect was armed with two magazines, and the gun was later recovered by federal authorities.

However, Doar noted that the gun may have been found moments before the altercation turned deadly: 'This video appears to show an agent remove a firearm from the holster of the 37-Y/O man (Pretti), prior to the shooting.'

'I never see the man touch his firearm, and it looks like he's disarmed before being shot, said the gun rights advocate in another post.

Doar told Star Tribune that he concluded that, 'If Mr. Pretti was disarmed — absent any other evidence of any risk to an officer —I don’t see how deadly force would be justified.'

The footage, which Doar analyzed, shows several masked agents wrestling Pretti while he is on his knees. An officer dressed in a grey coat and cap appears to pull an item from the protestor's waistline, which seems to be a pistol-shaped object; however, no evidence has confirmed the contents of the object at the time of this report.

 

Pretti, who was a US citizen and an intensive care nurse who treated critically ill military veterans, was killed shortly after 9am on January 24, after an altercation involving multiple federal officers

'This video appears to show an agent remove a firearm from the holster of the 37-Y/O man (Pretti), prior to the shooting,' noted Doar in a post on X

 

The gun rights advocate's account was echoed by David Bier, Director of Immigration Studies at the Cato Institute.

Bier told the Daily Mail that the agent in the grey coat, 'doesn’t have any gun, doesn’t pull a weapon from his body, and then he emerges from the group with a gun in his hands.'

’There are so many agents in there,’ Bier added, ‘It’s not impossible that it was one of the other agents’ guns that got mixed up in all of it. But it certainly seems like it was the victim’s gun, and it was removed by the agent right away.'

The director noted that if the object in question were a gun, his behavior in the video would make sense since he appears to step away to 'presumably to dispose of the victim’s weapon.’

Bier said that he believed the killing was wrong, and that it was ‘much less ambiguous’ than previous DHS officer-involved shootings.

'There’s no real ambiguity in this case. They’re pumping so many bullets into a person lying on the ground, who’s been disarmed, and was never a threat in the first place,’ he said.

'But the administration has been clear. They’ve already exonerated (the shooter) before an investigation. They’re refusing the state’s attempt to investigate.

'The coverup is happening and I certainly expect we’ll see more, if this is what they’re saying is good training and proper procedure.’

The killing set off protests in the city, with large military-style vehicles surrounding demonstrators who blocked streets with dumpsters and restaurant furniture, while federal agents fired tear gas and pepper balls in response.

Protests have picked up in Minneapolis in recent weeks as federal agents from the DHS and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) continue to occupy the city following the death of Renee Good, who was shot and killed by an agent on January 7 and the non-fatal shooting of another man last week.

 

An officer dressed in a grey coat and cap appears to pull an object from the protestor's waistline, which seems to be a pistol-shaped object; however, no evidence has confirmed the contents of the object at the time of this report

David Bier, Director of Immigration Studies at the Cato Institute also believed that shooting was unjustified and concluded that Pretti was disarmed as well

Pretti is seen facing off with federal agents before he was shot dead

Protests have picked up in Minneapolis in recent weeks as ICE continues to occupy the city following the death of Renee Good, who was shot and killed by an agent on January 7 and the shooting of another man last week

 

The city’s police department is also on scene and working to keep more than 100 observers and protesters separated from the federal agents, the Star Tribune reported.

Several witnesses were transported to the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building as ICE agents tried to order local police to leave the scene, but Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara refused.

O'Hara called the display an 'unlawful assembly' and urged people to leave the area.

'We recognize that there is a lot of anger and a lot of questions around what has happened, but we need people to remain peaceful,' he said at a press conference Saturday.

A command post has been set up by local law enforcement at the scene near Glam Doll Donuts at 26th Street and Nicollet Avenue.

It is unclear how many protesters have been detained at the scene.

In a press conference Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino said the officer who shot the man had been serving with the Border Patrol for the past eight years.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told the Daily Mail that agents were in the area attempting to apprehend, ‘an illegal alien wanted for violent assault’ when they were approached by Pretti.

 

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told the Daily Mail that the suspect was armed with two magazines, and that the gun has since been recovered by federal authorities

Pretti was pronounced dead at the scene.

 

Federal authorities identified the man they were initially seeking as Jose Huerta‑Chuma, an Ecuadorian national. Border Patrol Bovino said Huerta‑Chuma has a criminal history that includes domestic assault, disorderly conduct and driving without a license, though federal court records did not list any cases under his name.

According to DHS, Pretti was armed and carrying a gun with two magazines at the time he was detained. The agency later released a photograph of a nine‑millimeter semi‑automatic handgun it said was recovered during the clash.

Officials claimed officers attempted to disarm Pretti but that he ‘violently resisted’ before a Border Patrol agent fired the fatal shot.

Pretti was pronounced dead at the scene. DHS said he did not have identification on him at the time.

Minneapolis Police Chief O’Hara said Pretti had no serious criminal history, with records showing only minor parking violations. O’Hara added that he was a lawful gun owner with a valid permit.

DHS has since shared its account of the shooting on X, saying the deadly incident began as a 'targeted operation against an illegal alien wanted for violent assault.'

'An individual approached US Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun,' the department wrote. 'The officers attempted to disarm the suspect but the armed suspect violently resisted.'

'Fearing for his life and the lives and safety of fellow officers, an agent fired defensive shots. Medics on scene immediately delivered medical aid to the subject but was pronounced dead at the scene,' the statement added.

 

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told the Daily Mail that agents were in the area attempting to apprehend, ‘an illegal alien wanted for violent assault’ when they were approached by Pretti

 

'The suspect also had 2 magazines and no ID - this looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.'

Records show that Pretti attended the University of Minnesota. State records show Pretti was issued a nursing license in 2021, and it remains active through March 2026.

Pretti's friends have since confirmed his identity to the Daily Mail as they paid tribute to the 'good, kind' who they say was 'executed' by a Border Patrol agent.

The University of Minnesota alumnus most recently listed himself as a ‘junior scientist’ on LinkedIn.

He worked as a nurse for the Veterans Health Administration at the Minneapolis VA hospital and earned a reported $90,783 in 2023, according to public records.

‘I worked with him daily for years at the VA hospital,’ Ruth Anway, a Minneapolis‑based nurse, told the Daily Mail.

‘He was an ICU nurse. He worked with veterans. He was a really good guy. He definitely did not deserve to get killed.’

Anway said Pretti was politically engaged and deeply informed.

Saturday’s shooting sparked immediate protests, with bystanders yelling profanities at federal officers and telling them to leave the city.

Minneapolis has faced rising tensions amid the federal enforcement presence and ongoing protests - a backdrop shaped by prior high‑profile police killings, including the death of George Floyd in 2020.