Michael Pretti said his family wants accountability after Alex Pretti, 37, was shot and killed by federal officers in Minneapolis on Jan. 24. He made the remarks in the family’s first television interview, set to air Tuesday on Good Morning America, seven months after the shooting.
Michael Pretti on Alex Pretti
Michael Pretti told George Stephanopoulos, "We've seen what happened. The videos are pretty clear. But we want justice. We want accountability for the people that did this to Alex." He also said, "He cared deeply about his community. Minneapolis was his community. He wanted people to be treated fairly, no matter what walk of life, what their background was."
He said Alex Pretti was observing immigration activity when the shooting occurred. The family’s account centers on video they say shows a federal officer shoving a woman into him, after which Alex Pretti tried to help her. The video showed both of his hands visible, with one holding a phone and the other raised as if to shield himself from pepper spray.
Susan Pretti on TV footage
Susan Pretti said the family learned he had been shot by watching television coverage. "That's how we found out, watching it on TV. Watching our son be shot ten times on TV," Michael Pretti said, repeating what his parents saw. Susan Pretti said she recognized his jacket and sunglasses from the footage and said, "In the back," when describing what she saw first.
She added, "I was not shocked that he helped somebody. My shock is that he was murdered and no one has given us the complete truth or anyone has been held accountable. And it's been seven months," and then asked, "What did he do to deserve to be murdered? To be left cold, on the ground, dead, my child? What did he do?"
Federal and Trump administration
Michael Pretti said there was "more effort in vilifying him than pursuing justice, investigating this." The verified video account says Alex Pretti was wrestled to the ground, his firearm was removed by an officer while he was on the ground, and approximately 10 shots were fired after that. He had a legal permit to carry the firearm.
Federal and Trump administration figures cast him differently after the shooting. Greg Bovino said it looked like Pretti wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement. Kristi Noem called the killing an act of domestic terrorism, Stephen Miller posted that Alex Pretti was an assassin and domestic terrorist, and Donald Trump called him an agitator and perhaps an insurrectionist after video of a confrontation with federal agents surfaced 11 days before the shooting.
The interview was scheduled to air Tuesday at 7 a.m., placing the family’s account back in public view without any new investigative step attached to the broadcast. The family’s demand now is straightforward: they want the video, the shooting, and the response examined in a way that leads to accountability.
