The footage, which began circulating this week, captures Pretti yelling “Assault me, motherf*cker!” at federal officers during an encounter.
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Newly surfaced video appears to show anti-ICE agitator Alex Pretti shouting profanities at federal officers and daring them to assault him during a confrontation in Minneapolis a little over a week before he was fatally shot by Border Patrol agents.
The footage, which began circulating this week online, captures Pretti yelling “Assault me, motherf*cker!” at federal officers during an anti-ICE encounter. Family members later confirmed to the Minneapolis Star Tribune that the man seen in the video is Pretti.
The newly released clip is a different angle of footage that showed Pretti confronting federal agents on January 13, 11 days before his death. That earlier bystander video showed Pretti approaching Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who were blocking a street, shouting at them, kicking a government vehicle’s tail light out, and spitting towards agents. The January 13 footage was originally recorded and released by the outlet The News Movement.
In that earlier video, a federal agent exits a vehicle, grabs Pretti, and pushes him to the ground. Other officers then deploy tear gas and pepper balls to disperse nearby agitators. Pretti later breaks free from the initial hold, and a firearm can be seen in his waistband.
Pretti, 37, was shot and killed on January 24 after confronting Border Patrol agents during an enforcement operation in Minneapolis. Authorities said he was part of a group of roughly 50 anti-ICE activists who gathered as agents attempted to arrest a criminal illegal immigrant.
A witness identified as Blair said that the gathering formed quickly after word spread that ICE agents were in the area. “Word got around that a bunch of ICE agents had shown up and were making rounds, so folks mobilized,” she said. Blair estimated the crowd numbered about 50 people.
Officials have said Pretti was resisting arrest when the shooting occurred. In bystander footage from January 24, an officer can be heard shouting “gun.” Authorities believe a shot may have been discharged from Pretti’s firearm after it was removed, which they say contributed to agents opening fire.
