Trump appointed Judge Tostrud bars DHS from tampering with evidence in Minneapolis shooting case
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: A federal judge appointed by President Donald Trump, on Saturday, January 24, granted a temporary restraining order barring the Department of Homeland Security from altering or destroying evidence in the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in south Minneapolis.
The order followed a lawsuit filed by Minnesota state investigators who said that they were blocked from accessing the scene despite having a search warrant.
The ruling came as bystander videos and witness statements raised questions about official accounts of the incident. Pretti, 37, an ICU nurse and US citizen, was shot and killed during a federal immigration enforcement operation on Saturday morning.
Judge Eric Tostrud orders DHS to preserve evidence in Alex Pretti shooting
US District Court Judge Eric Tostrud granted the temporary restraining order at the request of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), preventing DHS from modifying or destroying any evidence related to the shooting.
The order is set to remain in effect through Monday afternoon, when Tostrud is expected to decide whether to extend it.
The BCA’s lawsuit alleged that DHS mishandled evidence at the scene near East 26th Street and Nicollet Avenue and blocked state investigators from conducting their work.
According to the filing, BCA agents were denied access to the area even after securing a judge-signed search warrant. Tostrud was appointed to the federal bench in 2018 during Trump’s first term.
The court action came amid heightened scrutiny of the circumstances surrounding Pretti’s death.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on Saturday that Pretti “approached” officers with a 9mm semiautomatic handgun during what she described as a targeted operation, adding that agents attempted to disarm him and that an officer fired after “fearing for his life and the lives of his fellow officers around him.”
However, multiple videos filmed by bystanders showed Pretti holding a phone in his right hand, with his left hand appearing empty in moments leading up to the shooting.
The footage showed a chaotic scene involving several federal officers and protesters, with pepper spray deployed and Pretti being forced to the ground before shots were fired.
The videos did not clearly show who fired the first shot.
Sworn witness declarations submitted to the federal court further contradicted federal officials’ accounts.
One witness said that Pretti was filming with his phone and did not appear to reach for or hold a gun. “I didn’t see him touch any of them,” the witness said, adding that Pretti did not appear to resist as multiple agents restrained him.
Another witness, a pediatrician, said that they did not see Pretti attack or brandish a weapon and described agents shooting him “six or seven times.”
Minneapolis to ask for temporary restraining order to end ICE operation
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said that the city will file a declaration on Monday, seeking a temporary restraining order to halt 'Operation Metro Surge', the federal immigration enforcement effort underway in the Twin Cities.
“The relief we’re asking for is stopping this Operation Metro Surge in the immediacy,” Frey said. “It’s preventing this massive influx of agents that is making it very difficult for us to do our jobs in the city as well as we need to do them.”
When asked whether he expects the Trump administration to comply with a court order if one is issued, Frey said he believes it will.
“These are the underpinnings of our democracy, of our republic and of this constitution,” he said. “The answer better be yes.”
