Minnesota takes rare legal steps to ensure probe of Alex Pretti shooting

Kyle Stokes

Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension special agents wearing black jackets, standing near yellow police tape in front of a building with purple and orange patterns; people and floral tributes visible nearby on a snowy day. — Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agents survey the South Minneapolis street where federal agents fatally shot Alex Pretti. Photo: Octavio Jones/AFP via Getty Images

Within hours of a Border Patrol agent's killing of Alex Pretti on Saturday, Minnesota officials launched a series of extraordinary legal maneuvers to stake local authorities' claim to investigate the shooting.

Why it matters: The moves are meant to counter what state officials and legal experts framed as unprecedented obstruction by federal authorities surrounding a shooting investigation that — under most circumstances — would involve state and local authorities.

"This is uncharted territory," Attorney General Keith Ellison told reporters Sunday. "We've never had to do anything like this before."

"Closing the crime scene, sweeping away the evidence, defying a court order and not allowing anyone to look at it … This is an inflection point in America," added Gov. Tim Walz.

Context: The moves appear geared toward avoiding a repeat of the aftermath of an ICE agent's fatal shooting of Renee Good on Jan. 7.

In that case, state investigators pledged a joint investigation with the FBI — only for the U.S. Attorney's Office to kick them off the probe a day later.
Trump administration officials have since said there's no need for a federal investigation into the Good shooting, and continue to deny Minnesota officials access to evidence they'd routinely use to investigate a law enforcement shooting.

State of play: A U.S. District Court judge will hold a hearing Monday afternoon after Minnesota officials sued in federal court to "vindicate their right to access evidence," including the names of the agents involved in Pretti's shooting.

The judge issued an order Sunday temporarily barring the FBI and Department of Homeland Security from "destroying or altering evidence" gathered after Pretti's shooting.

In the hours after Pretti's shooting, state investigators obtained a search warrant from a Hennepin County judge to access the scene of Pretti's death — an "unusual" move, they noted in a federal court filing — but federal agents refused to honor it and physically blocked state investigators from the area.

Between the lines: Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) agents routinely investigate police shootings — including those involving federal officers, such as U.S. Marshals' 2021 fatal shooting of Winston Smith.

Federal agents do not enjoy "absolute immunity" from state laws, as some Trump administration officials have previously claimed — but legal experts also note that any attempt to charge a federal agent in state court would face additional hurdles.

What they're saying: "This reeks of a cover-up by [federal] officials who don't want an independent investigation. I don't say that lightly," University of St. Thomas law professor Rachel Moran told Axios in an email.

"When federal agents … again block independent investigators from accessing the scene, that suggests to me that they just don't want anyone to investigate," Moran added.

The other side: Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Axios that any claim the government would destroy evidence is "a ridiculous attempt to divide the American people."

Zoom out: In D.C., and even in some conservative Minnesota counties, there were signs of alarm over the recent unprecedented breakdown in cooperation between state and federal law enforcement.

State Rep. Marion Rarick (R-Maple Lake) implored federal officials to work with state investigators, whom she praised in a Facebook post: "Bring full transparency. Bring truth."
A "thorough and impartial investigation" of Pretti's shooting "requires cooperation and transparency between federal, state and local law enforcement," U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina) wrote on X.
"The use of federal authority should be guided by a transparent strategy that complements — rather than supplants — state and local efforts to uphold the law," the National Governors Association wrote in a statement signed by Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D).
The International Association of Chiefs of Police issued a statement begging the White House to convene "thoughtful federal, state and local law enforcement leaders for policy-level discussions aimed at identifying a constructive path forward."

What's next: "The investigation will not pause," state Public Safety Commissioner Bob Jacobson pledged, noting that BCA agents were at the scene Sunday collecting evidence.

Ellison also noted he will be in federal court Monday morning defending yet another lawsuit the state filed that seeks to end the federal immigration surge.

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