Trump Administration Accused of Spreading Misinformation About Pretti Killing

US President Donald Trump’s administration and its allies have released conflicting information about the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, had approached US Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun on Saturday. The agents allegedly attempted to disarm him, but he violently resisted.

However, video footage shot by bystanders shows Pretti filming a group of US Border Patrol agents before stepping in to defend a woman who was shoved to the ground by one agent. In the footage, Pretti can be seen trying to help the woman before being tackled to the ground and shot multiple times after a scuffle on the icy road.

An analysis of the video footage by US media and Bellingcat, a Netherlands-based investigative journalism group, found that Pretti’s gun had already been confiscated by an agent before he was shot dead. Minneapolis police chief Brian O’Hara later stated that Pretti was a lawful gun owner with a permit and had only a few traffic tickets in his criminal history.

Despite the conflicting information, some right-wing influencers have amplified the Trump administration’s claims about Pretti’s death. They have labeled him an “assassin” and described him as having attempted to “murder federal agents”. Some accounts also shared digitally altered images purporting to be pictures of Pretti dressed in female clothing.

Pretti’s parents have denied these claims, stating that their son was a “kindhearted soul” and that the administration’s statements about him were “reprehensible and disgusting”. This incident is not an isolated case, as similar accusations have been made against Renee Good, another 37-year-old woman who was fatally shot by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis earlier this month.

Source: Al Jazeera