Artists Memorialize Alex Pretti, Minneapolis Man Killed by Border Patrol
Fury and grief are reverberating through the creative community after federal agents shot the 37-year-old ICU nurse.
The killing of Alex Jeffrey Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis this weekend has left people across the nation simultaneously reeling with fury and grieving another loss to the community. Like the fatal shooting of fellow Minneapolis resident Renee Macklin Good less than three weeks prior, Pretti's killing was also caught on video and widely publicized, sparking an escalation in civilian protests as Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) continue their crackdown on the Twin Cities area.
Horror-stricken artists and activists have shared his photo internationally at vigils, demonstrations, and online. Many artists were moved by a professional portrait of Pretti smiling in his sky-blue work scrubs, and responded quickly by capturing his likeness in tribute artworks honoring his life and work.
Born in Illinois and raised in Green Bay, Wisconsin, 37-year-old Pretti woerked as an intensive care unit nurse for a United States Department of Veteran Affairs hospital in Minneapolis. Like thousands of others incensed by ICE agent Jonathan Ross's use of deadly force against Macklin Good on January 7, Pretti had been participating in protests against the agency's violent and targeted presence in Minneapolis and Saint Paul.
Video clips show Pretti attempting to help another person who had been pushed as border patrol agents sprayed him in the face with a chemical irritant. Several others quickly arrived to force Pretti to the ground and away from the other civilian. While one agent is recorded repeatedly striking him with a metal can, another officer is seen disarming Pretti by removing a gun from his belt and stepping away. In the seconds afterwards, at least 10 shots can be heard as the agents subduing him opened fire.
Despite the video footage, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem stated that Pretti had “attacked” border patrol agents and was “brandishing” a gun, while White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller referred to him as “an assassin” who “tried to murder federal agents.” There is no video evidence that he wielded the weapon, which he owned and was licensed to carry, at any point.
Pretti's death has sparked immense sorrow nationwide, especially as mourners call attention to his career in caregiving. His immediate family issued a public statement saying that Pretti “wanted to make a difference in this world.”
“Unfortunately he will not be with us to see his impact,” the family's statement continued. “I do not throw around the hero term lightly. However his last thought and act was to protect a woman.”
The Pretti family lambasted the Trump administration's characterizations of the fatal shooting as “reprehensible and disgusting,” emphasizing that the 37-year-old was not holding a firearm in his hand at any time.
While many render and share Pretti's portrait in remembrance and solidarity, others look to his life and career symbolically — especially highlighting his surname and that of Good's. One collage artist took a photo of Pretti in his workplace and nestled him in a bouquet of flowers.
Artist Molly Crabapple said she was struck by the intensity and injustice of his final moments and by the photo of him taken right before he was pepper-sprayed. “He looks utterly composed,” Crabapple wrote in a Substack post accompanying her ink and gouache drawing on paper, which depicts an unfazed Pretti surrounded by chaos.
In her work, the agent standing before Pretti is scrawled as a frenetic cross between a pig and a horned monster sprouting claws and spewing blood.
“His sort of calm is only possessed by those who have seen terrible things — and any ICU nurse has seen their share of horrors — and know they are capable of behaving how they ought to anyway,” Crabapple wrote.
Alex Pretti was a compassionate ICU nurse whose death during a federal immigration operation has raised urgent questions about use of force and civil rights.
— Gianluca Costantini (@channeldraw) January 25, 2026
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