Judge grants order barring feds from altering or destroying evidence in Pretti shooting
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A federal judge has granted a temporary restraining order barring federal officials from destroying or altering evidence related to Saturday’s fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by a federal agent in Minneapolis.
That’s in response to a lawsuit filed Saturday night by the Hennepin County Attorney's Office and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
Judge Eric Tostrud’s order bars the federal government from “destroying or altering evidence related to the fatal shooting involving federal officers that took place in or around 26th Street and Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis on Jan. 24, 2026, including but not limited to evidence that defendants and those working on their behalf removed from the scene and/or evidence that defendants have taken into their exclusive custody.”
The lawsuit was filed after the BCA said it was blocked from accessing the shooting scene on Saturday to collect evidence, despite having a search warrant giving them authority to do so.
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The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office is representing the BCA in the lawsuit. Attorney General Keith Ellison issued a statement after Tostrud granted the temporary restraining order.
“Alex Pretti was killed by DHS agents in broad daylight in front of all of our eyes. Both the rule of law and the sense of justice we all carry within us demand a full, fair and transparent investigation into his death. We will not settle for less,” Ellison said.
He added that the ruling “protects that investigation by barring federal agents from altering or destroying any evidence they captured involving the fatal shooting of Alex. Justice will be done.”
A hearing on that lawsuit is set for Monday afternoon in federal court. It’s one of several ongoing court cases surrounding the federal operation underway in Minnesota.
— Andrew Krueger, MPR News
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