Anger grows in Minneapolis a day after federal agents kill nurse
MINNEAPOLIS ‒ Subzero temperatures did little to cool the anger and resentment growing across Minneapolis a day after federal immigration agents shot and killed ICU nurse Alex Pretti , who was attending a protest.
Approximately 3,000 federal agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Border Patrol were deployed across the city as part of a detention surge ordered by President Donald Trump.
Facing them with increasing hostility were tens of thousands of residents furious about how the Trump administration is carrying out those detentions.
“We are angry. We are scared. And we are very sad about what happened,” said Minneapolis resident and new mom Leah Thompson, 31. “It’s absolutely terrifying to think about what’s happening and what comes next.”
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At the scene of the shooting
Pretti, 37, died Jan. 24 after he was fatally shot by a U.S. Border Patrol agent during a protest. Videos appear to show Pretti holding a cellphone and trying to help another attendee when he was taken to the ground and shot.
He was legally carrying a handgun; federal officials say he could have used it to attack agents.
Hundreds of bundled-up mourners, many of them with signs demanding federal authorities back down, clustered on Nicollet Avenue where Pretti was shot a day earlier. Among them was Thompson, a stay-at-home mom who said she felt compelled to pay her respects with friends.
Across the city, restaurants have mounted flyers banning ICE agents from entering without a judicial warrant. Dozens of more residents stood atop overpasses in single-digit temperatures, waving signs that demanded the withdrawal of federal authorities.
Protesters also directed their anger at Trump himself, arguing his administration is wrongly sweeping up otherwise law-abiding immigrants instead of focusing tightly on convicted criminals.
Pretti was the second Minneapolis resident killed by federal agents this month. On Jan. 7, an ICE officer shot and killed Renee Nicole Good in a nearby part of the city. Unarmed, Good was behind the wheel of her car when an agent fired as she appeared to be pulling away. White House officials accused her of “weaponizing” her vehicle.
In a social media post, Trump called protesters “fraudsters and insurrectionists.”
Not targeted arrests but 'door to door in ethnic neighborhoods'
Minneapolis resident Ly Thor, 36, said she has no objection to federal officials removing dangerous criminals, but said that’s not how ICE and the Border Patrol agents are operating.
“They claim they’re doing a targeted approach, but they're just going door to door in ethnic neighborhoods,” said Thor. “That’s not targeted.”
Thor also said she’s shocked by how cavalier federal officers appear to be when it comes to wrongful arrests or shooting people. As a medical professional, she said, even a minor identification error could get her in serious trouble.
“We would feel better if they took some accountability,” she said.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has vowed to seek a state-level investigation into Pretti’s death, and repeated his call for federal immigration officials to leave the state. Walz and Trump have repeatedly clashed over the last several years; Walz was the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2024, when Trump ran for re-election.
“Minnesota believes in law and order. We believe in peace,” Walz said in a statement. “And we believe that Trump needs to pull his 3,000 untrained agents out of Minnesota before they kill another American in the street."
'The trust is not there'
Downtown at the city’s Civic Center, Donna Jones, 52, held aloft a sign calling for ICE to leave Minneapolis. The flip side called to defund the Department of Homeland Security, prosecute ICE agents and impeach Trump.
Jones said she works in the remodeling industry, and has seen workers with legal permission detained or even whisked away to another state before being released. She said friends who own restaurants have workers afraid to leave their homes, even when they have permission to work in the U.S.
She said she felt moved to protest with her daughter, Ayla, 22, after watching federal officials provide what appeared to be inaccurate explanations of the recent fatal shootings.
“They say stuff and it’s like you can see they’re lying. They’re blatantly lying to our faces,” Jones said. “The trust is not there.”
The Jan. 25 protest at Civic Center drew more than 100 people, some of whom periodically marched around the block.
Ayla Jones held up a sign referencing the Nuremberg Trials, the post-WWII prosecutions of leading Nazis.
“That’s where the Nazis were held accountable,” she said. “It set the precedent that just following orders will not protect you.”
Still, both women said they were heartened to see so many other people from Minneapolis out in the streets. Donna Jones said some of her Republican acquaintances have dismissively suggested everyone out protesting is somehow being paid, rather than being moved by love for their neighbors.
“We’re all in this together,” she said.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Alex Pretti shooting spurs more anger, resentment in Minneapolis
