Minnesota Governor Tim Walz activated the National Guard on Saturday to support local law enforcement as protests intensified following the fatal shooting of a man by a federal agent in south Minneapolis.
The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office requested the Guard’s help to relieve deputies who have been stretched thin managing crowds at the Whipple Federal Building, a site of daily demonstrations since the killing of Renee Good by an ICE agent earlier this month.
The situation escalated quickly after a U.S. Border Patrol agent shot and killed an armed 37-year-old Alex Pretti around 9 a.m. near Nicollet Avenue and East 26th Street.
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While police declined to immediately release his name, Pretti’s parents identified him to local media as an intensive care unit nurse. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara noted that information remains limited but stated that investigators believe Pretti was a “lawful gun owner with a permit to carry.”
This description stands in stark contrast to the account from federal officials.
The Department of Homeland Security described the incident as a “targeted operation” gone wrong, claiming Pretti approached agents with a handgun and “violently resisted” disarmament.
Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino said the agent—an eight-year veteran—fired in self-defense fearing a “massacre,” pointing to the suspect’s extra magazines as evidence of intent to do “maximum damage.”
President Donald Trump seized on the event to blast state leadership.
Taking to Truth Social, Trump accused Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey of “inciting insurrection” and covering up billions in financial fraud. He shared photos of the gun recovered at the scene, demanding, “Where are the local Police? Why weren’t they allowed to protect ICE Officers?”
Trump framed the federal presence as a necessary crackdown on crime and financial theft, calling the local leaders “sanctimonious political fools.”
READ: Bovino Says Armed Man Wanted To ‘Massacre’ Agents As Minnesota Governor Wants Feds Gone
The shooting has reopened wounds in a city already on edge. It occurred just over a mile from where Renee Good was killed by an ICE agent on January 7. That earlier shooting had already sparked weeks of unrest, and Saturday’s death drew hundreds more protesters out into the frigid streets.
With federal officials claiming self-defense against a would-be mass shooter and local families mourning a nurse, the arrival of the National Guard marks a critical turning point in the standoff between Minnesota and Washington.
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