BBC Comments On Footage Of Protest In Minneapolis
Newly released footage is reshaping public understanding of the events leading up to the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, adding documented context to a case that has already ignited national controversy.
Video published Wednesday appears to show Pretti confronting federal immigration agents in Minneapolis less than two weeks before he was shot and killed by Customs and Border Protection officers, an encounter that investigators and media outlets are now scrutinizing closely.
WOW
Footage shows Alex Pretti ATTACKING DHS Agents.
Could he have been known to the agents as they attempted to arrest him?
Known violent extremist, armed, violent, actively resisting?
pic.twitter.com/6Y34cotG04— Tim Pool (@Timcast) January 28, 2026
The footage, captured on January 13 by digital outlet The News Movement, shows a man identified as Pretti shouting profanities at federal agents, spitting on their vehicle, and kicking out the right taillight of a Ford SUV as it attempted to leave the scene.
According to The News Movement, the clip was analyzed by the BBC, which confirmed the man’s identity with a 97 percent facial recognition match. The BBC publicly verified the analysis during its 10 p.m. GMT broadcast, noting the individual’s matching facial hair, coat, and gait. The network later confirmed to Mediaite that its team had indeed used facial recognition technology in its review.
Multiple major outlets, including CNN and the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, have since confirmed with Pretti’s family that the man shown in the video is Alex Pretti. Additional angles of the confrontation show agents exiting their vehicle, tackling Pretti to the ground, and briefly restraining him as onlookers shout. Tear gas or pepper-based munitions appear to be deployed into the surrounding crowd before agents retreat and leave the area. Pretti is later seen standing and responding “OK” when a bystander asks about his condition.
Notably, the footage appears to show a firearm visible above Pretti’s waistband during the altercation, though it remains unclear whether agents noticed it at the time. The agents do not appear to disarm him before disengaging. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed Wednesday that it is reviewing the footage as part of an ongoing assessment.
Alex Pretti was itching for another confrontation with Border Patrol, whom he’d been stalking, harassing and terrorizing. HE had been victimizing THEM. His felonies are on tape. He was reckless, and it cost him his life. Find another poster boy, illegal-loving Leftists. https://t.co/9phA05Ppuw
— Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) January 28, 2026
The video resurfaced amid heightened scrutiny following Pretti’s death on January 24, during an anti-ICE protest less than two miles from where the January 13 incident occurred. His family’s attorney, Steve Schleicher, has argued that the earlier confrontation has no bearing on the fatal shooting, maintaining that Pretti posed no threat when he was killed. CNN previously reported that Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, was known to federal authorities and may have suffered a broken rib during a prior encounter with agents, though DHS has stated it has no official record of that incident.
