The Justice Department has opened a federal civil rights investigation into the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old Minneapolis protester who was killed last weekend by two federal immigration officers, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Friday.
Blanche characterized the move as a routine step rather than an extraordinary escalation, describing it as a “standard investigation by the FBI when there are circumstances like what we saw last Saturday.” He said the FBI will lead the inquiry and that lawyers from the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division will be involved if the facts warrant their participation.
The FBI said Friday it has assumed control of the investigation into Pretti’s death. The shift comes after the Department of Homeland Security initially assigned the investigation to DHS’s Investigations unit, an unusual decision that drew criticism from current and former law enforcement officials. Those officials said HSI does not typically investigate officer-involved shootings and lacks the specialized equipment normally used in such cases.
DHS announced Wednesday that the two federal officers who fired at Pretti — a U.S. Border Patrol agent and a Customs and Border Protection officer — have been placed on administrative leave since the shooting. An official said the move was standard protocol following a fatal use-of-force incident and added that earlier claims the officers had continued working were inaccurate.
Pretti’s killing marks the second time this month that a U.S. citizen has been fatally shot by federal agents in Minneapolis. On Jan. 7, Renee Good was killed by an ICE agent during a separate enforcement operation.
The DOJ has so far declined to open a civil rights investigation into Good’s death, a decision that prompted resignations by several career prosecutors in the Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota. Blanche declined Friday to say whether a similar civil rights inquiry had been opened or would be opened into Good’s shooting.
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Federal prosecutors in Minneapolis have since pressed the U.S. attorney for an explanation over the absence of a civil rights inquiry in Good’s case and warned that additional resignations could follow if the department does not address internal concerns.
Both shootings occurred amid an expanded federal immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis that has drawn sharp scrutiny from lawmakers, civil liberties groups, and local officials. The investigation into Pretti’s death is ongoing, and officials have not said whether any disciplinary action or criminal charges could result.