Honoring Alex Pretti

Earlier this evening thousands of Minnesotans gathered in their neighborhoods to hold candlelight vigils for Alex Pretti, who was brutally beaten and shot to death by ICE today. We also held space for Renee Good, killed by ICE earlier this month, and for all who hves been abducted and/or traumatized by the Trump regime’s fascist occupation of Minnesota, the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul in particular.

It has been and continues to be a heavy day for sure, but we know we are stronger together. And so we gathered -- from Bryn Mawr to Frogtown, from Highland Park to Camden, from Seward (my neighborhood) to Mirriam Park. There are millions of us across the state and across the country who will not be silent in the face of fascism; who will not stop "showing up" until ICE is both out of Minnesota and abolished.

Earlier today, Alex’s parents released the following statement about their son.

And a 1/25/26 update . . . Following is a beautiful and powerful piece written by Jessica Hauser.

I was Alex Pretti’s final nursing student. He was my friend and my nursing mentor. For the past four months, I stood shoulder to shoulder with him during my capstone preceptorship at the Minneapolis VA Hospital. There he trained me to care for the sickest of the sick as an ICU nurse. He taught me how to care for arterial and central lines, the intricacies of managing multiple IVs filled with lifesaving solutions, and how to watch over every heartbeat, every breath, and every flicker of life, ready to act the moment they wavered. Techniques intended to heal.

Alex carried patience, compassion and calm as a steady light within him. Even at the very end, that light was there. I recognized his familiar stillness and signature calm composure shining through during those unbearable final moments captured on camera.

It does not surprise me that his final words were, “Are you okay?” Caring for people was at the core of who he was. He was incapable of causing harm. He lived a life of healing, and he lived it well.

Alex believed strongly in the Second Amendment and in the rights rooted in our Constitution and its amendments. He spoke out for justice and peace whenever he could, not only out of obligation, but out of a belief that we are more connected than divided, and that communication would bring us together.

I want his family to know his legacy lives on. I am a better nurse because of the wisdom and skills he instilled in me. I carry his light with me into every room, letting it guide and steady my hands as I heal and care for those in need.

Please honor my friend by standing up for peace, preferably with a cup of black coffee in hand and a couple of pieces of candy in your pocket, just as he would. He would remind you that caring for others is hard work, and we must do whatever it takes to get through the long shifts. Step outside with your dog, breathe in the world, hike or bike as he loved to do, and let yourself find peace in the quiet moments within nature. Stand up for justice and speak with those whose views differ from your own. Hold your beliefs with strength, but always extend love outward, even in the face of adversity.

Take one step, no matter how small, to help heal our world. Through these acts, carry his light forward in his name. Let his legacy continue to heal.

– Jessica Hauser
via social media
January 25, 2026

Related Off-site Links:
Man Killed in Minneapolis by Federal Agents Identified as VA Nurse Alex Pretti: “He Wanted to Help People” – Melody Schreiber (The Guardian, January 24, 2026).
Pain, Anger, Action in Twin Cities After a Second Fatal Shooting by a Federal Agent – Hannah Ihekoronye (Minnesota Public Radio News, January 24, 2026).
Alex Pretti Remembered as Kind, Competent and Quiet – MPR News (January 24, 2026).
Video Contradicts Department of Homeland Security Claims About Killing of Alex Pretti – Julia Conley (Common Dreams, January 24, 2026).
Vigils Across Minnesota Remember Alex Pretti – MPR News (January 24, 2025).

UPDATES: As “Loyal Agents of Nazis” in GOP Murder Citizens, U.S. Is at “Turning Point,” Advocates Say – Julia Conley (Common Dreams, January 25, 2026).
Judge Grants Order Barring Feds from Altering or Destroying Evidence in Pretti Shooting – Andrew Krueger (MPR News, January 25, 2026).
“Please Get the Truth Out,” Alex Pretti’s Parents Plead as Trump Officials Baselessly Smear Shooting Victim – Julia Conley (Common Dreams, January 25, 2026).


For previous Wild Reed posts on the Trump regime’s fascist occupation of Minnesota, see:
• Omar Fateh: Quote of the Day – December 4, 2025
• Photo of the Day – December 5, 2025
• Susie Hayward on What’s Happening in Minneapolis
• Doing What We Can to Stop Unjust Arrests of Immigrants
• Great Event, Great Sign, Great Nails
• Christmas Eve Musings
• May We Do Likewise
• “This Is What Fascism Looks Like” – January 7, 2026
• “It Was Murder”: 12 Powerful Responses to the Death of Renée Nicole Good
• Omar Fateh: “Folks Are Waking Up”
• A Good Faith Appeal and a Grim Response
• Why Minnesota?
• Chris Hedges on ICE: “I Have Seen These Masked Goons Before”
• Steven Donziger: “Let’s Get Real . . . ICE Is a Domestic Terrorist Organization”
• Historian Kyle Dekker: “It’s Not Nazi Ideology We Are Fighting. It’s American”
• Knowing Our Rights
• Mike Figueredo on Why Trump Might Be Pushing the U.S. to the Brink of Collapse
• Dispatches from Occupied Minnesota
• Marianne Williamson on How to Psychologically Endure This Moment
• What Moral Clarity Looks Like in Minnesota This MLK Day
• Nemik’s Eulogy for Renée Nicole Good
• “ICE Out!”: The Minnesota General Strike – 1/23/26


Image: Michael J. Bayly