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The Justice Department has opened a federal civil rights investigation into\u00a0the shooting of Alex Pretti, the Minneapolis resident killed Saturday by Border Patrol officers, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Friday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re looking at everything that would shed light on what happened that day and in the days and weeks leading up to what happened,\u201d Blanche said during a news conference.<\/p>\n
Blanche did not explain why DOJ decided to open an investigation into Pretti\u2019s killing, but has said a similar probe is not warranted in the Jan. 7 death\u00a0of Renee Good, who was shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis. He said only on Friday that the Civil Rights Division does not investigate every law enforcement shooting and that there have to be circumstances and facts that \u201cwarrant an investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPresident Trump has said repeatedly, \u2018Of course, this is something we\u2019re going to investigate,\u2019\u201d Blanche said of the Pretti shooting.<\/p>\n
Steve Schleicher, a Minneapolis-based attorney representing Pretti\u2019s parents, said Friday that \u201cthe family\u2019s focus is on a fair and impartial investigation that examines the facts around his murder.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Department of Homeland Security also said Friday that the FBI will lead the federal probe into Pretti\u2019s death.<\/p>\n
Homeland Security Secretary\u00a0Kristi Noem\u00a0first disclosed the shift in which agency was leading the investigation during a Fox News interview Thursday evening. Her department previously said Homeland Security Investigations, a departmental unit, would head the investigation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will continue to follow the investigation that the FBI is leading and giving them all the information that they need to bring that to conclusion, and make sure that the American people know the truth of the situation and how we can go forward and continue to protect the American people,\u201d Noem said, speaking to Fox host Sean Hannity.<\/p>\n
Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said Homeland Security Investigations will support the FBI in the investigation. Separately, Customs and Border Protection, which is part of DHS, is doing its own internal investigation into the shooting, during which two officers opened fire on Pretti.<\/p>\n
DHS did not immediately respond to questions about when the change was made or why. The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n
It was not immediately clear whether the FBI would share information and evidence with Minnesota state investigators, who have thus far been\u00a0frozen out\u00a0of the federal investigation.<\/p>\n
In the same interview, Noem appeared to distance herself from\u00a0statements she made\u00a0shortly after the shooting, claiming Pretti had brandished a handgun and aggressively approached officers.<\/p>\n
Multiple videos that emerged of the shooting contradicted that claim, showing the intensive care nurse had only his mobile phone in his hand\u00a0as officers tackled him to the ground, with one removing a handgun from the back of Pretti\u2019s pants as another officer began firing shots into his back.<\/p>\n
Pretti had a state permit to legally carry a concealed firearm. At no point did he appear to reach for it, the videos showed.<\/p>\n
The change in agency comes after two other videos emerged of an earlier altercation between Pretti and federal immigration officers 11 days before his death.<\/p>\n
The Jan. 13 videos show Pretti yelling at federal vehicles and at one point appearing to spit before kicking out the taillight of one vehicle. A struggle ensues between Pretti and several officers, during which he is forced to the ground. Pretti\u2019s winter coat comes off, and he either breaks free or the officers let him go and he scurries away.<\/p>\n
When he turns his back to the camera, what appears to be a handgun is visible in his waistband. At no point do the videos show Pretti reaching for the gun, and it is not clear whether federal agents saw it.<\/p>\n
Schleicher, the Pretti family attorney, said Wednesday the earlier altercation in no way justified the shooting more than a week later.<\/p>\n
In a post on his Truth Social platform early Friday morning, President Donald Trump suggested that the videos of the earlier incident undercut the narrative that Pretti was a\u00a0peaceful protester\u00a0when he was shot.<\/p>\n
\u201cAgitator and, perhaps, insurrectionist, Alex Pretti\u2019s stock has gone way down with the just released video of him screaming and spitting in the face of a very calm and under control ICE Officer, and then crazily kicking in a new and very expensive government vehicle, so hard and violent, in fact, that the taillight broke off in pieces,\u201d Trump\u2019s post said. \u201cIt was quite a display of abuse and anger, for all to see, crazed and out of control. The ICE Officer was calm and cool, not an easy thing to be under those circumstances!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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