Alex Pretti reportedly broke a rib in encounter with ICE agents a week before he was shot

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: Federal immigration officers had already documented information about Alex Pretti before he was shot and killed, according to sources who spoke to CNN. Authorities are also said to be quietly gathering personal details on protesters and agitators in Minneapolis. 

How Pretti first landed on the federal radar remains unclear. But sources told CNN that roughly a week before his death, he suffered a broken rib after being tackled by a group of federal officers while protesting their attempt to detain other individuals.

The Department of Homeland Security disputed that account.

In a statement, the agency said that “DHS law enforcement has no record of this incident.” According to a source familiar with the encounter, the earlier incident occurred after Pretti stopped his car when he saw Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents chasing what he described as a family on foot. He began shouting and blowing a whistle to draw attention, the source said on condition of anonymity.

Pretti later told the source that five agents tackled him and that one officer leaned on his back, leaving him with a broken rib. He was released at the scene shortly afterward.

“That day, he thought he was going to die,” the source said. Medical records reviewed by CNN show Pretti was later given medication consistent with treatment for a broken rib.

DHS tracked protesters amid Minnesota enforcement crackdown

The earlier confrontation fits into what sources describe as an increasingly aggressive posture by federal agents toward protesters and observers, even as many such activities are broadly protected under the First Amendment.

Earlier this month, a DHS official in Minneapolis sent a memo to Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations officers temporarily assigned to Minnesota. The memo asked agents to document information on protesters and agitators using a standardized form.

The form, titled “intel collection non-arrests,” allows agents to record personal details of protesters and agitators they encounter, even when no arrest is made. It remains unclear whether other federal agencies operating in Minnesota are also using the same form. Previously, agents shared such information informally among themselves.

Another internal communication reviewed by CNN instructed agents to “capture all images, license plates, identifications, and general information on hotels, agitators, protestors, etc., so we can capture it all in one consolidated form.”

According to a source, Pretti’s name was known to federal agents prior to fatal encounter. However, it is unclear whether the new intake form was used to record his information. DHS has repeatedly warned of threats against federal officers during immigration enforcement operations and has criticized protesters for obstructing those efforts.

The department also promoted an online tip form encouraging the public to share information about people allegedly harassing Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.

“When our law enforcement encounter a violent agitator who is breaking the law, obstructing law enforcement, or assaulting them, our law enforcement make records to advance prosecution. This is not ground breaking, it is standard protocol,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.

Protester database proposal raises new scrutiny 

It remains unclear whether the federal agents who confronted Alex Pretti on Saturday recognized him from the earlier incident before wrestling him to the ground, removing a gun from his waistband, and fatally shooting him.

Some Trump administration officials have publicly suggested building a database of protesters, though the Department of Homeland Security has not disclosed how information collected through the Minneapolis form is being used.

Border czar Tom Homan said, “One thing I’m pushing for right now … we’re going to create a database where those people that are arrested for interference, impeding, and assault, we’re going to make them famous,” adding that “we’re going to put their face on TV” and notify their employers and communities.