Executive Summary
- Hennepin County Medical Examiner rules Alex Pretti’s death a homicide by multiple gunshot wounds.
- Incident marks the second fatal shooting by federal agents in Minneapolis in January.
- Attorney General Pam Bondi announces federal indictments of nine individuals regarding the St. Paul church protest.
- Journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort are among those facing federal civil rights charges.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner has officially ruled the death of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, as a homicide resulting from multiple gunshot wounds sustained during an encounter with federal agents. The determination was released Monday, confirming the details of the January 24 incident in Minneapolis.
According to the medical examiner’s report, Pretti was “shot by law enforcement officer(s)” and subsequently died in the emergency room at Hennepin Healthcare. This incident marks the second fatal shooting of a U.S. citizen by federal agents in Minneapolis within a single month, following the January 7 death of 37-year-old Renee Good. The successive shootings have exacerbated community tensions, leading to clashes between protesters and law enforcement in the streets of Minneapolis.
In a related development concerning federal law enforcement activity in the region, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced via social media that a grand jury has indicted nine individuals on federal civil rights charges. These charges stem from a January 18 protest at the Cities Church in St. Paul, where a pastor also serves as an official for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The protest had generated strong objections from the Trump administration.
Court documents unsealed on Friday reveal that the indicted individuals face charges of conspiracy and interfering with the First Amendment rights of worshippers. Among those arrested and charged are independent journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort, as well as local activist Nekima Levy Armstrong. The indictments allege the group conspired to disrupt religious services at the location.
Legal & Community Impact
The classification of Pretti’s death as a homicide by the medical examiner is a procedural formalization that confirms the cause of death was the action of another party, though it does not automatically imply criminal liability for the agents involved. This ruling is expected to be a central component in any subsequent use-of-force investigation. Meanwhile, the application of federal civil rights statutes to prosecute protesters and journalists for disrupting a church service represents a significant legal escalation in how federal authorities are addressing local demonstrations involving federal personnel. It is important to note that all individuals named in the indictments, including the journalists and activists, are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
