On January 24, 2026, federal Border Patrol agents shot and killed 37-year-old Alex Pretti in the Whittier neighborhood of Minneapolis during a chaotic confrontation amid heightened immigration enforcement. The killing has sparked a national firestorm because it happened in the middle of broad Operation Metro Surge activity and was captured on multiple videos that quickly contradicted official spin.
Bystander footage analyzed by multiple outlets shows Pretti holding a phone and raising an empty hand as he was restrained, not brandishing a weapon as initial DHS briefings claimed — a detail the establishment press initially buried in favor of dramatic government talking points. Conservatives should call out the obvious: when video undercuts an official narrative, the media’s reflex is too often to parrot the narrative that fits the narrative of chaos and villainy they prefer.
Yet even as video contradicted early government rhetoric, administration officials doubled down with overheated language, with Border Patrol commanders and DHS spokespeople describing supposed intent to “massacre” officers before footage proved otherwise. This kind of inflammatory talk from the top does real damage — it inflames passions, poisons public trust, and hands the narrative to the left when sober analysis is what’s needed.
Newly released clips also show a separate Jan. 13 encounter in which a man who appears to be Pretti engaged aggressively with federal agents — spitting, kicking a taillight, and being tackled — complicating the story and giving conservatives legitimate questions about context and causation. Those earlier confrontations don’t excuse any unjustified killing, but they do matter to understanding what happened and why federal officers were in a tense operational posture that day.
Let’s be clear: Americans who support law and order want both effective enforcement of the border and accountability when force is misused. CBP reported to Congress that agents fired in the incident and an internal review is underway, which is the correct procedural step — but the rush to condemn agents publicly while the facts are still being collected has been one-sided in the media. Conservative commentators like Rob Finnerty rightly highlighted the dishonest tone and selective outrage in liberal coverage, reminding patriots that media bias too often forgives mob tactics while vilifying those trying to keep the peace.
This tragedy should not become another cudgel for partisan theater. Working Americans deserve calm, full investigations, fair treatment for any agents who followed protocol, and accountability if standards were breached. Stand with law-abiding citizens who want both secure streets and truthful reporting, and demand that the press stop weaponizing tragedy to score political points.
