{"id":435796,"date":"2026-01-25T04:03:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-25T04:03:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/435796\/"},"modified":"2026-01-25T04:03:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-25T04:03:13","slug":"large-protests-spread-across-us-after-alex-pretti-fatally-shot-by-federal-agents-minneapolis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/435796\/","title":{"rendered":"Large protests spread across US after Alex Pretti fatally shot by federal agents | Minneapolis"},"content":{"rendered":"

Large protests spread across US cities on Saturday \u2013 including Minneapolis, New York City, San Francisco, Boston and Providence, Rhode Island \u2013 after 37-year-old Alex Pretti, a registered nurse living in Minneapolis, was shot dead by federal agents<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The wave of demonstrations come just one day after thousands marched through the streets of Minneapolis<\/a> to protest against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Protesters again braved the extreme cold to speak out against the agency and show support for Pretti and others who have been harmed by the surge of immigration agents who have flooded the city in recent week.<\/p>\n

\u201cFuck ICE, ICE out,\u201d a crowd could be heard shouting in livestreams<\/a> of the demonstration on Saturday night.<\/p>\n

Thousands more rallied in Union Square in New York City, with footage<\/a> showing demonstrators shouting: \u201cSay it once, say it twice, we will not put up with ICE!\u201d<\/p>\n

New York city council member Chi Oss\u00e9 addressed<\/a> the crowd in freezing temperatures to call for the abolishment of ICE.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need Nuremberg trials for the people of ICE, for the people who are committing crimes against humanity here in our country. I refuse to call them law enforcement. They are agents of chaos. They are destroying the fabric of our country,\u201d Oss\u00e9 shouted to the group before him.<\/p>\n

In Washington DC, a giant crowd formed outside the headquarters of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Video footage captured cries of \u201cshame\u201d<\/a> ringing out through the cold air on Saturday night as hundreds of people gathered in the dark.<\/p>\n

Across the country in San Francisco, hundreds of people gathered in the city\u2019s downtown as the sun began to set. Footage on social media showed large crowds holding signs and chanting slogans such as \u201cstand up fight back\u201d. Protesters held aloft banners admonishing ICE and demanding justice for Renee Good, another Minneapolis resident who was shot and killed by an immigration officer earlier this month.<\/p>\n

People protest in downtown Washington DC. Photograph: Alex Wroblewski\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

In Providence, hundreds showed<\/a> up to protest in front of the local headquarters of DHS.<\/p>\n

\u201cShut it down, shut it down, shut it down,\u201d some protesters screamed, while others held signs reading \u201cNo Tyrants & No Kings\u201d and \u201cICE is the worst of the worst\u201d.<\/p>\n

Marching the streets in Boston, droves of demonstrators chanted en masse<\/a>: \u201cOne, two, three, four, ICE detention no more! Five, six, seven, eight, end the terror and the hate!\u201d<\/p>\n

Pretti, a US citizen who worked in the intensive care unit at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System, which serves veterans, was shot multiple times during an exchange with law enforcement officers.<\/p>\n

Viral video footage of the incident showrf Pretti being wrestled to the ground by the law enforcement officers before he was shot. Pretti was apprehended after appearing to come to the defense of an observer who was shoved to the ground by a federal officer. That officer then sprayed Pretti with a chemical agent, repeatedly, before tackling him to the street along with other agents. At least one analyst suggested<\/a> that some footage showed Pretti had a gun taken away from him before the shots were fired.<\/p>\n

The DHS and its secretary, Kristi Noem, have repeatedly asserted that Pretti \u201capproached US border patrol officers with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun\u201d and that \u201cofficers attempted to disarm\u201d him, despite all available video evidence showing Pretti without a gun in his hand. Additionally, Brian O\u2019Hara, the Minneapolis police chief, said Pretti was a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry. Minnesota<\/a> law allows citizens to obtain permits to carry handguns in public. The law does not require the concealment of those weapons.<\/p>\n

Demonstrators in Minneapolis stand behind a makeshift barricade during a protest in response Pretti\u2019s killing. Photograph: Adam Gray\/AP<\/p>\n

Back in Minneapolis, protesters converged at the scene of Pretti\u2019s shooting despite dangerously cold weather.<\/p>\n

As dark fell, hundreds of people gathered quietly by a growing memorial at the spot where the nurse was killed. Some carried signs saying \u201cJustice for Alex Pretti\u201d. Others chanted Pretti and Good\u2019s names. A doughnut shop and a clothing store nearby stayed open, offering protesters a warm place as well as water, coffee and snacks.<\/p>\n

Caleb Spike said he came from a nearby suburb to show his support and his frustration. \u201cIt feels like every day something crazier happens,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat\u2019s happening in our community is wrong, it\u2019s sickening, it\u2019s disgusting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Agencies contributed reporting<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Large protests spread across US cities on Saturday \u2013 including Minneapolis, New York City, San Francisco, Boston and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":435797,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":{"0":"post-435796","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-top-news","11":"tag-top-stories","12":"tag-topnews","13":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=435796"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435796\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/435797"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=435796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=435796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=435796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}