Parents of Alex Pretti claim Justice Department is shielding agents who killed their son

MINNEAPOLIS — The parents of Alex Pretti are done being silent.

At a press conference Tuesday in downtown Minneapolis, they painted a picture of the stark difference they see between the caring, loving son they raised and the callous, disrespectful actions of the United States government after federal agents shot him dead on a south Minneapolis street nine months ago.

“We are here begging for the Department of Justice to do what is right and hold the men who murdered our son accountable for what they did,” said Susan Pretti, Alex’s mother.

Alex’s father, Michael Pretti, repeatedly emphasized that the federal government has “ignored us, misled us and shielded Alex’s killers.”

“What we have been treated to is cruelty,” he said, adding that in the 275 days since Alex was killed, the family has not received a single phone call from anyone with the federal government.

As they spoke, Susan and Michael were flanked by two tables.

One table included several items the Pretti family brought to Minneapolis, including his stethoscope, letters of sympathy from strangers, an American flag and a glass cross.

Susan Pretti described her first-born son as an “exceptionally kind and caring” man who understood right from wrong and did not tolerate bullies.

“He was intensely curious and always wanted to do the right thing,” she said, adding that Alex loved working with veterans as an ICU nurse, saying he understood he served a community that deserves respect “but was too often ignored.”

Both parents said they remain deeply tethered to the people of Minneapolis who have honored their son, worked to preserve his memory and shared their grief.

“We have received over 2,000 cards and letters; we have read every single word and kept every single one of those cards,” Michael Pretti said.

The other table held a poster board with a quote from the Senate confirmation hearing of Attorney General Todd Blanche in July, when he explained how he would oversee the investigation into Pretti’s death.

“I expect that these investigations should be run as every investigation of similar kinds, and so that necessarily includes working with state and locals in the appropriate way,” Blanche said.

Steve Schleicher, an attorney for the Pretti family, said Blanche’s actions have been the opposite.

He said that the Pretti family sent a letter to Blanche asking the Justice Department for basic information, such as the identities of the agents who shot their son. He said they haven’t gotten a response or acknowledgment from the government.

“It’s unlike anything that I’ve ever seen, and it’s beneath us,” Schleicher said.

Michael Pretti said that same lack of cooperation has come from U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Dan Rosen, including in a direct meeting with him.

“His only words have been, ‘I can’t tell you,’” Michael said of Rosen’s response to any questions about the investigation into their son’s death.

The Minnesota Star Tribune has reached out to the U.S. Department of Justice for comment. Minnesota U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesperson Hoang Bui said: “At this time, there are no comments from the office.”

The family said their statements Tuesday, a week before Election Day, were not political. They said they were not asking for favors or special treatment, but simply that all evidence be shared with Minnesota prosecutors so that a fair investigation can be conducted.

They said they believe in this country and its government and believe that everyone across the world who watched Alex’s killing knows that they witnessed an unjustified killing.

“We are supposed to trust our government to do the right thing, to investigate things,” Michael said. “Our son was murdered. We all saw it. And the lack of cooperation is baffling, it’s disappointing and reprehensible.”

“I think it haunts many Americans to see a U.S. citizen who is peaceful and in his community shot multiple times in the back while on the ground,” he added. “It simply should not have happened. It is not right. Imagine that your child was killed because of the actions of the federal government. Imagine learning that your child had been murdered by watching it on TV.”

The pursuit of evidence sharing and cooperation with the federal government by Minnesota law enforcement has been ongoing since the immediate aftermath of Pretti’s killing on Jan. 24 in south Minneapolis.

It included state law enforcement securing a judicial warrant on the day of the killing so investigators with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension could access the crime scene and secure evidence. The warrant was not honored by federal agents, leading state officials to say Minnesota was in “uncharted territory” and it was unclear if the federal government was following the rule of law.

That afternoon, Gov. Tim Walz said he was baffled that federal officers believed they could shoot and kill someone on Minnesota’s streets and simply walk away.

“You kill a man, and then you just leave?” Walz said. “You’re law enforcement, and you just leave. Is there a single case in American history where you just like walk away and say, ‘I guess that just happened’? And we’re not going to clean up our mess?”

Since then, lawsuits and court hearings have been undertaken to determine what evidence the federal government controls, how they are securing it and when it needs to be shared with state officials.

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison have spearheaded those efforts. Earlier this month, they alleged the federal government has again reversed course and stopped sharing evidence from the killings of Pretti and Renee Good.

According to court records in a federal lawsuit against the Justice Department, the abrupt reversal was directed by the Trump administration and state investigators still do not have the firearms used to shoot Pretti, Pretti’s firearm taken by officers before he was shot, the officer’s cellphones and a recording of a statement by one of the officers who shot him.

Schleicher said the federal government’s response — or lack thereof — is unfathomable.

“This nine months of silence and stonewalling, why would it take nine months for the federal government to share what it has with other law enforcement agencies?” he asked. “Why did the agents at the crime scene deprive and deny access to officers from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension?”

“Why are elected officials not asked every day — every day — from the president to the attorney general to the United States attorney, why are they not asking about the murder of a U.S. citizen at the hands of their own federal government?”

While Blanche has said the FBI is conducting its own “standard investigation” into Pretti’s killing, Michael Pretti said he had a basic message for Rosen and Blanche.

“Look in your heart and do what is right,” he said. “Share the evidence now so prosecutors can follow the facts and hold these men accountable. Do your job and stop shielding Alex’s killers.”