Fact Check: Do encrypted messages found on Alex Pretti’s phone prove his role in creating chaos?
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: Amid the ongoing protests against the aggressive immigration crackdown by the Trump administration in Minneapolis and the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, rumors claim that encrypted messages were found on Pretti’s phone showing he was a 'key player' in planning the chaos. Let us analyse and fact-check the claim.
Claim: Encrypted messages show Alex Pretti was a 'key planner' in the chaos
A claim began circulating on social media that police found encrypted messages on Alex Pretti's phone proving that the ICU nurse was a 'key player' in coordinating a plan to create the chaos that led to him being shot death by federal agents in Minneapolis.
The claim originated as an article shared on the Celeb Buzz Daily Facebook page on January 31.
The post read, “The mystery of Alex Jeffrey Pretti has just entered its darkest chapter. While his family continues to fight for a 'hero' narrative, investigative sources have dropped a bombshell that is sending shockwaves through the nation."
"Police have reportedly uncovered a series of encrypted messages on Alex's phone indicating he was in active contact with individuals present on the day of the chaos -- not just to talk, but to discuss a coordinated 'plan.'”
Fact Check: False, the rumor originated as a Viet Spam
The claim is not true. Although the article claims this is 'sending shockwaves through the public,' there are no credible reports to support it.
The website and Facebook pages that promote it are part of a Vietnam-based spam network that uses AI-generated clickbait to target audiences in the US and Europe, called Viet Spam.
A search on Google for the keyword produced no relevant results supporting the claim, except another Viet Spam Facebook post making the same claim.
According to Meta’s transparency data, both these Facebook fan pages are managed from Vietnam.
The Vietnam link is important because fact-checkers have tracked a significant number of AI-generated false stories to one operation located in that country.
Massive protests after the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti
The death of Pretti set off protests and renewed anger in a city already unsettled by a similar deadly shooting weeks earlier.
The incident occurred amid heightened tensions over federal immigration enforcement operations under the Trump administration.
Hundreds of protesters gathered in Minneapolis following the shooting, demanding accountability and calling for the withdrawal of federal agents from the city.
Demonstrators cited both the killing and broader concerns over federal enforcement tactics.
