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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz deployed the National Guard on Saturday following the Border Patrol killing of Minneapolis resident Alex Pretti. The announcement came less than 24 hours after a massive national rally drew a reported 50,000 demonstrators to the city. 

According to minute-by-minute analysis of multiple videos, Pretti, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) observer, was using his cellphone to record Border Patrol agents and was attempting to aid a woman being shoved by agents before he was pepper-sprayed. Several agents then pinned him to the ground, punched, kicked, and removed a firearm from his back waistband before firing 10 shots, killing Pretti.

The shooting came weeks after an ICE officer shot and killed Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis on Jan. 7 and shot protester Julio Sosa-Celis in the leg on Jan. 14

Activists and residents say the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul have faced a surge of enforcement activity for nearly two months, with masked ICE and Border Patrol agents conducting arrests in public spaces and people’s homes. Activists allege that far-right agitators have attempted to infiltrate public gatherings and spread misinformation. Residents, fearful of being grabbed, have not left their homes and are at risk of eviction as activists push for an eviction moratorium to protect them. People everywhere are contributing to and leaning heavily on local mutual aid networks established during the pandemic and George Floyd uprising in 2020. Community spaces have been stepping up to feed and support tens of thousands of families as the people of Minnesota wade through outrage and grief. Across the Twin Cities, people are finding ways to be helpful, fight back, and foster love amid tragedy. 

They are also contending with false narratives about Pretti’s shooting put forth by the federal government. Shortly after the killing, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem and senior Border Patrol official Greg Bovino held a press conference to spread a slew of  claims without evidence, such as stating that Pretti “arrived at the scene to inflict maximum damage on individuals and to kill law enforcement.” Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care unit nurse at Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital, had a permit to carry a concealed handgun and did have a firearm in his back holster, but beyond that, videos from the scene show no evidence to back up DHS claims of him intending to use it. The Minneapolis Department of Corrections created an entire webpage dedicated to “combatting DHS misinformation.”

Bovino has since praised the agents who killed Pretti, calling them “victims,” while Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said Pretti was clearly exercising his First Amendment rights and condemned ICE’s “Operation Surge,” which has so far led to three shootings and two deaths.

“The Minneapolis Police Department went the entire year last year recovering about 900 guns from the street, arresting hundreds and hundreds of violent offenders, and we didn’t shoot anyone,” O’Hara said during a Sunday interview on “Face the Nation.”

During that interview, O’Hara also noted the state’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), which investigates use-of-force incidents, was blocked by federal agents from accessing the scene until after it had been contaminated.

“There were attempts yesterday to begin the investigation,” O’Hara said Sunday. “I do not know what, if anything, was conducted yesterday. I do know that while [BCA] were at the scene, more than once, they were not permitted to enter before the scene was contaminated.”

During a press conference on Sunday, Walz described the shooting as “sickening” and demanded that ICE leave the state. 

“What side do you want to be on?” Walz asked Americans in another press conference. “The side of an all-powerful federal government that can kill, injure, menace, and kidnap its citizens off the streets? Or on the side of a nurse at the VA hospital who died bearing witness to such government? Or the side of a mother whose last words were, ‘I’m not mad at you’? The side of tens of thousands of peaceful citizens who showed up to march when the windchill was 40 below because they love this state and they love this country?”

An estimated 1,000 people flocked to the site of Pretti’s killing on Saturday, where they were briefly bombarded by federal agents with tear gas and shot with pepper and rubber bullets as flash bangs exploded around them. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey praised the barricaded vigil later created by activists as peaceful, with “no arrests and no reports of burglaries or fires.” 

Immigrant rights organizations condemned Pretti’s killing. 

“Yesterday, more than 50,000 Minnesotans took courageous action during the #ICEOutofMN Day of Truth and Freedom, shutting down business as usual to demand dignity, safety, and an end to federal violence in our communities,” the Minneapolis-based Immigrant Defense Network said in a statement on Saturday. “This morning, ICE and federal agents answered that call with more bloodshed.”

The group added that Pretti’s killing was “another reminder that this operation is not about safety—it is about terror.”

The statement also shared a helpline at (612) 255-3112, which it said helps people locate detained loved ones and offers legal support, emergency rental assistance, and food access.

“A farewell kiss”

The surge in teargas and other crowd control agents came as federal agents flooded the area surrounding Nicollet Avenue and 26th Street on Saturday, where Pretti had been killed earlier that morning. Much of the chaos appeared to be caused by DHS surging agents to the scene of the shooting, then retreating, as mourners attempted to arrive.

ICE and Customs and Border Protection, Border Patrol’s parent agency, have been repeatedly documented in the Twin Cities using crowd control agents when they leave. One resident told Prism it appeared to be less for the purpose of controlling a crowd than “like a farewell kiss.” The usage frequently betrays DHS narratives about violent demonstrators needing to be contained and instead highlights what critics describe as aggressive or provocative behavior by federal agents.

From Saturday (MN): CBP agent appears to “offer” a canister of teargas to someone simply standing in the street. Agent proceeds to toss the canister forward, where it lands away from the person he initially offered it to & towards me, visibly marked as press. Unclear if intentional or bad aim.

[image or embed]— talia jane ❤️‍🔥 (@taliajane.bsky.social) January 26, 2026 at 6:50 AM

On Saturday, Prism documented a federal agent appearing to taunt the use of teargas on an unarmed, unmasked person standing several feet away as federal agents were retreating and as demonstrators maintained their distance. On Jan. 22, Bovino was documented casually throwing teargas at unarmed, peaceful anti-ICE activists in Minneapolis. At the Whipple Federal Building on Jan. 23, where an anti-ICE blockade was accompanied by demonstrators throwing snowballs at ICE vehicles, DHS officers threw three canisters of teargas before detaining one person accused of throwing snowballs at passing ICE vehicles, according to witness accounts posted online. On Sunday night, as they dispersed from the hotel they were staying at, federal agents threw two canisters that expelled green smoke.

DHS later claimed that demonstrators on Saturday attacked officers, including biting off the tip of an officer’s finger. Prism only observed federal agents’ aggression toward people for standing on the curb instead of on the sidewalk and yelling, “Go home.” Activists told Prism that DHS detained dozens of people and seized their devices, with reports of some held for over eight hours. According to Safe Haven, a grassroots jail support initiative, people released from DHS custody have their phones taken, in addition to being denied medication and medical care while detained.

Alex Pretti autonomous zone 

After DHS retreated from Nicollet Ave after murdering ICE observer Alex Pretti, community members flocked to where he was killed, creating barricades for the purpose of protecting the space from federal agents who may want to return to unleash chaos on mourners. 1/

[image or embed]— talia jane ❤️‍🔥 (@taliajane.bsky.social) January 25, 2026 at 5:10 PM

By Saturday afternoon, makeshift barricades lined three blocks on Nicollet Avenue, which community members said were for protection from DHS. Spent munitions scattered the blocks of Nicollet Avenue and 26th Street, where a partially burned-out vehicle sat with its windows smashed. According to witnesses, the vehicle caught on fire after CBP agents threw crowd control munitions at mourners, which landed under or inside the vehicle. Prism examined the scene, with teargas scorch marks visible in the street and snow. CBP did not immediately respond to Prism’s request for comment.

At the center of the newly formed autonomous zone, a vigil for Pretti at the site of his killing drew hundreds of mourners. Above their heads, bullet holes could be seen in the glass of the storefront behind where Pretti had been killed. The roadways to the vigil were blocked by Minneapolis police vehicles, later joined by National Guard trucks, allowing access only by foot.

Businesses on Nicollet Avenue that were still open after the shooting converted into warming centers, distributing free food, hot coffee, hand warmers, and whatever supplies people dropped off. Folding tables put out on the street quickly overflowed with resources, as mourners arrived at the vigil site toting boxes of hand warmers, doughnuts, pizza, and hot coffee. On the farthest ends of the autonomous zone, bonfires appeared in the street to offer warmth to those farthest from the vigil, with temperatures below zero throughout the day, dipping into the negative teens by nightfall.

Across the Twin Cities and nationally, “Shine a Light for Minnesota” vigils were called on Saturday night, drawing community members who gathered to sing uplifting songs, carry candles, or leave candles to twinkle in the snow.

I encountered dozens of vigils across the Twin Cities last night, either with people still present or candles left twinkling in the snow. Some made candleholders by freezing flowers and stickers in water. They seemed to be a creative collaboration with the extreme cold, gentle expressions of love.

[image or embed]— talia jane ❤️‍🔥 (@taliajane.bsky.social) January 25, 2026 at 6:54 PM

“We now have a new person to hold in our hearts forever,” a vigil attendee said to a crowd of roughly 100 people on the corner of St. Clair Avenue and Cleveland Street in St. Paul. The vigil was attended by several families with young children. Attendees brought candles and sang songs such as “Three Little Birds,” “Let It Shine,” and “Here Comes the Sun.”

“We’re going to support every person here. And we’re going to get [ICE] out of here,” another speaker who did not identify herself declared to the crowd in an affirmation that was met with cheers.

By Sunday night, Minneapolis police entered the autonomous zone to begin negotiations with mourners to shift the vigil, which had spilled into the street, onto the sidewalk—a first step toward clearing the autonomous zone and reopening the roadway.

Activists expose hotel where DHS is staying

At around 7 p.m. Sunday night, anti-ICE activists descended on Hilton’s Home2 Suites near the University of Minnesota. It had been rumored for weeks that some DHS agents were staying at the hotel, and the raucous protest Sunday night drew agents out, verifying their accommodations. The agents launched so much teargas at demonstrators that by 10 p.m., according to one resident who spoke with Prism, when he opened his front door, the street was “foggy,” and his eyes and throat burned immediately.

I’m tired of seeing people vilify the Twin Cities. This is a very peaceful city. I’ve not felt unsafe here in my entire life until ICE was here.

Observer at Home2 Suites protest

Activists smashed the hotel’s windows, leaving spraypainted messages of “ICE OUT” and “Fuck ICE” across the shattered facade. By 11 p.m., workers inside could be seen cleaning up wreckage left in the lobby as lingering demonstrators continued banging on trash bins, leaving behind spray-painted messages for ICE, and scattering trash along the street. According to one observer who spoke to Prism, the mess was a small price to pay for the hotel housing a federal agency responsible for killing multiple people and throwing an otherwise peaceful community into violent chaos.

“To be honest, I think Hilton can handle a little bit of property damage,” an observer who requested anonymity for safety reasons told Prism. “I don’t think we can get Alex Pretti or Renee Good back ever.”

Asked what he thought people should know about the Twin Cities that isn’t being talked about, he said, “We fucking care, man. At least, a lot of us do. I’m tired of seeing people vilify the Twin Cities. This is a very peaceful city. I’ve not felt unsafe here in my entire life until ICE was here.”

“I’m tired of people painting Minneapolis and Minnesotans as some awful pieces of shit who are getting paid to do this. I get paid less than minimum wage in a job that is extremely not protesting,” he continued. “This isn’t a job. This is survival.”

Editorial Team:
Sahar Fatima, Lead Editor
Carolyn Copeland, Top Editor
Rashmee Kumar, Copy Editor