Fact Check: Is Drake Maye related to Alex Jeffery Pretti?

Recent online posts claimed that football quarterback Drake Maye is related to Alex Pretti

PUBLISHED 1 HOUR AGO

Viral post claims Drake Maye and Alex Pretti are related (Getty Images, (@va.gov/X)

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: Following the fatal shooting of Minneapolis nurse Alex Jeffrey Pretti by a Border Patrol officer, several claims attributed to him have been circulating on social media. The recent rumor is that football quarterback Drake Maye is related to Pretti. Let us examine the rumor and fact-check the claim.

Claim: Drake Maye and Alex Pretti are related

Following the fatal shooting of Pretti in Minneapolis on Thursday, January 22, rumors began circulating online, with one viral post claiming that Drake Maye, the New England Patriots quarterback, is related to Pretti.

Several posts about the claim have been spreading on social media platforms, especially on Facebook, with some posts claiming that Maye has criticized the ICE over the death of Pretti.

Fact Check: No evidence supporting the claim

FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS - DECEMBER 28: Drake Maye #10 of the New England Patriots throws a pass against the Los Angeles Chargers at Gillette Stadium on December 28, 2024 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) — Drake Maye of the New England Patriots throws a pass against the Los Angeles Chargers at Gillette Stadium on December 28, 2024, in Foxborough, Massachusetts (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

However, most of these claims are baseless and not supported by evidence.

There is no known relation between Alex Pretti and Drake Maye. Additionally, Maye has not made any public comments on the death of Alex Pretti.

Searches on Google for relevant keywords do not generate any results supporting the claim.

If the claim were true, it would have been widely covered by news media outlets.

The misleading posts went viral amid the NFL's AFC Championship game between the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots, in which Maye played a prominent role.

Intensified protests after the killing of Alex Pretti

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - JANUARY 24: People pay their respects during a candlelight vigil for Alex Pretti after he was shot and killed earlier in the day on January 24, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Federal agents shot and killed Pretti amid a scuffle to arrest him. The Trump administration has sent a reported 3,000 federal agents into the area, with more on the way, as they make a push to arrest undocumented immigrants in the region. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) — People pay their respects during a candlelight vigil for Alex Pretti after he was shot and killed earlier in the day on January 24, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Federal agents shot and killed Pretti amid a scuffle to arrest him (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

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.

The Minnesota National Guard was mobilized later Saturday to move 'from a ready posture to active support' at a federal building in Minneapolis and near the scene of the shooting, according to a National Guard spokesperson.

DHS has said Pretti was brandishing a weapon at officers when he was shot. AFGE disputed that claim, stating that 'based on the video currently available, that claim is not clearly established.'