A federal judge late on Jan. 24 ordered the Trump administration to retain all evidence related to the fatal shooting of Alex Jeffrey Pretti during an altercation with Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis earlier that day.
Tostrud's order granted the request from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and Hennepin County prosecutors.
“The officers attempted to disarm the suspect but the armed suspect violently resisted,” DHS said in a statement. “This looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.”
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison called for an independent investigation into the incident.
"Federal agents are not above the law, and Alex Pretti is certainly not beneath it," Ellison said in a statement. "A full, impartial, and transparent investigation into his fatal shooting at the hands of DHS agents is non-negotiable."
Ellison said the lawsuit was intended to "bar the federal government from destroying or tampering with any of the evidence [it has] collected" throughout the events related to the shooting.
"Justice will be done," he said.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told The Epoch Times in a statement, “Any claim that the federal government would ‘destroy’ evidence is a ridiculous attempt to divide the American people and distract from the fact that our law enforcement officers were attacked—and their lives were threatened—yesterday."
“We are actively investigating this matter and will continue to do so as we do for any [officer-involved] shooting," she said. "DHS eagerly awaits any effort from Minnesota to help our officers arrest criminal aliens in the meantime."
Tostrud wrote in his order that a hearing will be held at 2 p.m. local time on Jan. 26, at which the federal government will have a chance to raise any objections to the order, including whether it "should remain in effect." Any written responses or objections to the order must be filed by 12 p.m. on Jan. 26, he said.
"It appears that Alex Pretti was disarmed," Fox host Peter Doocy asked the secretary. "If he was disarmed, is it the protocol to use deadly force?"
Noem responded that all video angles will be “part of this investigation.”
“Every video will be analyzed, everything will be looked at, and that's part of the answers that I can't speak to—every single thing that those officers thought, but this happened in seconds,” she said. “They clearly feared for their lives and took action to defend themselves and the people around them.”
Protests Continue After Shooting
One day after the shooting, protests continued across Minnesota’s Twin Cities and in other places nationwide, including Los Angeles, New York City, and Washington.Despite temperatures plummeting to minus 6 degrees Fahrenheit on Jan. 25, protesters had converged on the scene of the Jan. 24 shooting in Minneapolis, with a crowd yelling at federal agents and telling them to go home.
Some pulled garbage cans from alleys to block streets and other protesters chanted, “Observing [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] is not a crime” and “[Immigration and Customs Enforcement] out now.”
Hundreds of people also visited a makeshift memorial for Pretti at the location of the shooting.
“Periods of heightened tension place significant strain on public safety systems and underscore the need for stability, professionalism, and respect for constitutional principles,” the statement reads.
“The [International Association of Chiefs of Police] reaffirms its commitment to the constitutional protections that safeguard individuals from unlawful or unreasonable searches and seizures, recognizing that public trust and effective policing depend on faithful adherence to these fundamental rights.”
The organization stated that “officer safety is inseparable from community safety and must remain a fundamental priority in all public safety decisions.”
“Every peaceable Minnesotan has the right to keep and bear arms—including while attending protests, acting as observers, or exercising their First Amendment rights,” the caucus wrote in a statement. “These rights do not disappear when someone is lawfully armed, and they must be respected and protected at all times.”