Alex Pretti had previously come to the attention of federal authorities and suffered a broken rib during a clash with immigration agents roughly a week before he was fatally shot by Border Patrol officers in Minneapolis, according to a report.
Pretti, an ICU nurse, was among dozens of anti-ICE demonstrators who had confronted federal agents in the city in the weeks leading up to the shooting.
According to CNN, Pretti told a friend that during the earlier incident he witnessed ICE officers chasing what he believed was a family on foot. He stopped his vehicle and began yelling and blowing a whistle in protest.
The friend said Pretti was then taken down by five agents, who tackled him to the ground. He later claimed one of the officers leaned on his back with enough force to break a rib.
“He genuinely thought he was going to die that day,” the source told CNN, noting that Pretti was released at the scene.
Federal authorities had been documenting information on Pretti and other anti-ICE protesters in Minneapolis around that time, the network reported.
A memo circulated this month instructed agents deployed to the city to collect images, license plate numbers, identification details, and other information related to protesters, agitators, and lodging locations in order to centralize intelligence gathering.
While Pretti’s name was known to federal agents, it remains unclear whether his information was entered into the newly created reporting system or shared more broadly. It is also unknown whether the agents involved in Saturday’s encounter recognized him or had prior knowledge of him.
Video footage appears to show Pretti being forced to the ground by officers before one agent removed a firearm from his waistband. Moments later, another officer fired the fatal shot.
The Department of Homeland Security has denied maintaining any database labeling individuals as domestic terrorists.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the agency routinely monitors threats, assaults, and interference involving its officers and refers such incidents to appropriate law enforcement agencies.
Meanwhile, FBI Director Kash Patel has said the bureau is investigating encrypted Signal group chats allegedly used by activists to exchange real-time information about ICE operations.
Patel warned that such communications can “illegally entrap” officers and place law enforcement personnel at risk, making the comments during an appearance on a conservative podcast earlier this week.