The Donald Trump-led administration on Sunday defended the fatal shooting of a U.S. citizen by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis, even as bystander videos contradicted officials’ account and tensions escalated between local authorities and federal officers.

Residents gathered in freezing temperatures and snowfall to leave flowers and candles at a makeshift shrine for 37-year-old Alex Pretti, who was shot dead on Saturday.

Administration officials said Pretti assaulted agents, forcing them to fire in self-defense, a claim challenged by multiple videos recorded at the scene.

Pretti is the second American citizen to be killed by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis this month, as President Donald Trump, a Republican, has deployed thousands of armed and masked agents in an unprecedented deportation push.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz renewed calls for Trump to withdraw federal agents from the state, which has asked a federal judge to restrain what it describes as unconstitutional excesses in the surge.

“The victims are Border Patrol agents,” Gregory Bovino, a senior Border Patrol official, said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

That position, echoed by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and other administration officials, drew sharp criticism from local Democratic leaders, law enforcement, and Democrats in Congress. They pointed to bystander videos showing Pretti holding only a cellphone before agents wrestled him to the ground and shot him at close range.

Protests have intensified in recent weeks, with residents confronting federal agents in icy streets, blowing whistles, and chanting. Thousands again filled downtown Minneapolis on Sunday, waving signs that read: “ICE OUT!”

Videos verified by Reuters show Pretti holding a phone, not a gun, as he attempted to assist other protesters who had been pushed to the ground by agents. The footage shows an agent shoving two women, as Pretti steps between them and raises his arm to shield himself when pepper-sprayed. Several agents then restrained him, forcing him onto his hands and knees.

As agents pinned Pretti down, someone can be heard shouting what sounded like a warning about a gun. Video then appears to show one agent removing a handgun from Pretti’s waistband and stepping away. Moments later, another officer aimed at Pretti’s back and fired four shots in quick succession, followed by additional gunfire from a second agent.

Darius Reeves, a former head of ICE’s field office in Baltimore, said the agents’ apparent lack of communication was troubling. “It’s clear no one is communicating to me, based on my observation of how that team responded,” Reeves told Reuters.

Minnesota officials confirmed Pretti had a valid state permit to carry a concealed firearm, a right the U.S. Supreme Court ruled constitutional in 2022.

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the videos contradicted the administration’s account. “The videos speak for themselves,” he told CBS’ “Face the Nation,” adding he had seen no evidence that Pretti brandished a weapon.

Tensions were already high following the January 7 killing of U.S. citizen Renee Good by a federal immigration agent. Trump officials said she attempted to ram an agent with her vehicle, but bystander video suggested she was trying to steer away when she was shot. State and local authorities are investigating whether the agent violated Minnesota law. The U.S. Justice Department withdrew cooperation from that probe, prompting at least a dozen federal prosecutors to resign.

At Minnesota’s request, a federal judge on Saturday night ordered the Trump administration to preserve all evidence related to Pretti’s killing.

Business leaders from major Minnesota companies, including Target, Cargill, and Best Buy, issued a joint letter calling for the “immediate de-escalation of tensions and for state, local and federal officials to work together to find real solutions.”

Former U.S. Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton condemned the killings in separate statements, with Clinton accusing the administration of lying and Obama warning that American values are under assault. “This has to stop,” Barack and Michelle Obama said.

Tribune Online reports that Pretti worked as an intensive care nurse at a Veterans Affairs hospital. On Sunday, more than 200 healthcare workers gathered at the site of his death to leave flowers and tributes. A woman in medical scrubs, who said she had worked with Pretti, broke down in tears. “He was caring and he was kind,” she said, asking not to be named for fear of federal retaliation. “None of this makes any sense.”

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said his 31-year-old son, a nurse, told him colleagues were shaken by the killing. “When he was at work today and last night, he said, ‘Look, our colleagues were crying and in tears, and they took this hit to one of their own very personally,’” Ellison told reporters.

Trump has defended the immigration operations as necessary to reduce crime and enforce federal law. (Nigerian Tribune)

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