Judge blocks Trump admin from 'destroying or altering' evidence in deadly Minneapolis shooting

A federal judge in Minnesota has blocked the Trump administration from "destroying or altering evidence" related to a deadly shooting involving a Border Patrol agent in Minneapolis on Saturday.

The ruling came after the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office and the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension filed a lawsuit Saturday to prevent the destruction of evidence in the shooting death of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old Minneapolis resident killed by a Border Patrol agent during an immigration enforcement operation.

According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Pretti approached Border Patrol agents armed with a 9 mm pistol and "violently resisted" when they attempted to disarm him.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, names DHS, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) and U.S. Border Control, as well as Attorney General Pam Bondi, as defendants.

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The groups, represented by the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office, said the litigation is accompanied by a motion for a temporary restraining order that asks the court to immediately prevent the defendants from destroying any evidence related to the shooting.

In granting the temporary injunction, Judge Eric Tostrud wrote that federal officials and those acting on their behalf cannot destroy evidence taken from the scene of the south Minneapolis shooting or now in their exclusive custody, which state authorities say they were previously barred from inspecting.

Tostrud scheduled a hearing Monday to review the order.

"As I said earlier today, I will not rest, my team will not rest, until we have done everything in our power, everything within our authority, to achieve transparency and accountability," Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in a statement. "Our office has jurisdiction to review this matter for potential criminal conduct by the federal agents involved and we will do so."

Moriarty added that the lawsuit is just one of the actions her office is taking "to ensure that a thorough and transparent investigation can be completed at the state level."

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In announcing the litigation, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison asserted that "federal agents are not above the law and Alex Pretti is certainly not beneath it."

"A full, impartial, and transparent investigation into his fatal shooting at the hands of DHS agents is non-negotiable," he said in a statement. "Minnesota law enforcement is currently carrying out such an investigation, and it is essential that the evidence collected by federal agents is preserved and turned over to state officials. Today’s lawsuit aims to bar the federal government from destroying or tampering with any of the evidence they have collected."

Ellison added that "justice will be done."

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House, the Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department for comment.

In a separate statement, Ellison said he shares "intense grief and anger" that Pretti was shot and killed during the Trump administration's Operation Metro Surge.

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He said his office will argue in court Monday to end "this illegal and unconstitutional occupation of our cities and the terror and violence it's inflicting."

The Department of Homeland Security said it is leading the investigation into the shooting.

Pretti was a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs ICU nurse. Though medics immediately delivered aid, Pretti was pronounced dead at the scene.

Fox News Digital's Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.

GOP Sen. Cassidy breaks with Trump over deadly shooting by Border Patrol agent in Minneapolis

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., called for a full investigation after a federal agent fatally shot a man who was allegedly armed in Minneapolis on Saturday, calling the incident "incredibly disturbing."

Cassidy joined a chorus of Democratic lawmakers raising questions following the shooting death of 37-year-old Minneapolis resident Alex J. Pretti, who was killed by a Border Patrol agent on Saturday. Pretti allegedly confronted officers during a Department of Homeland Security operation in south Minneapolis and was carrying a gun, according to the agency.

"The events in Minneapolis are incredibly disturbing," Cassidy said in a post on X. "The credibility of ICE and DHS are at stake. There must be a full joint federal and state investigation."

Cassidy added that "we can trust the American people with the truth."

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The Louisiana Republican's comments were seemingly at odds with members of his party, including President Donald Trump, who said in a post on Truth Social following the shooting that federal agents "had to protect themselves" because of the lack of support from local police in Minneapolis.

"This is the gunman’s gun, loaded (with two additional full magazines!), and ready to go—What is that all about? Where are the local Police? Why weren’t they allowed to protect ICE Officers?" Trump wrote in the post. "The Mayor and the Governor called them off? It is stated that many of these Police were not allowed to do their job, that ICE had to protect themselves—Not an easy thing to do!"

Last week, Trump pledged his endorsement for U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow if she entered the GOP primary in Louisiana, challenging Cassidy, who has served in the U.S. Senate since 2015. Letlow launched her Senate bid days later.

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Cassidy was one of the Senate Republicans who voted to convict Trump after the House impeached him in 2021. The Senate vote ultimately fell short of the threshold required to convict Trump.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said during a news conference Saturday that the incident occurred while DHS officers carried out "targeted operations" in Minneapolis against an illegal immigrant with a violent criminal history.

"An individual approached U.S. Border Patrol officers with a 9-millimeter semi-automatic handgun," Noem said, adding that agents attempted to disarm him.

"The officers attempted to disarm this individual, but the armed suspect reacted violently," Noem said. "Fearing for his life and for the lives of his fellow officers around him, an agent fired defensive shots."

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Noem said Pretti had "two magazines with ammunition in them that held dozens of rounds" and no identification, adding that "this looks like a situation where an individual arrived at the scene to inflict maximum damage on individuals and to kill law enforcement."

She said DHS is investigating the shooting "just like we do all other officer-involved shootings," adding that additional details would be forthcoming.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said during a news conference Saturday that "we need ICE out of Minnesota," while placing blame on the Trump administration.

"I have personally warned them that there would be more deaths, that more of this would happen," she said. "And clearly they're not listening. So, we ask people around the country to talk to their Republican representatives to make clear that this is not the America that is ours. This has got to stop."

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to Klobuchar's comments in an X post Saturday, saying federal agents should not be removed from Minnesota.

"We need dangerous criminal illegal aliens out of Minnesota. The Democrats have their priorities completely upside down. They will not keep the American people safe," she wrote.

In his own post, Vice President JD Vance blamed "far left agitators" for the recent unrest in Minneapolis.

"This level of engineered chaos is unique to Minneapolis," he posted on X Saturday evening. "It is the direct consequence of far left agitators, working with local authorities."

Fox News Digital reached out to the Department of Homeland Security and the White House for comment.

Fox News Digital's Jasmine Baehr and Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.

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