A federal judge has granted a temporary restraining order brought by Attorney General Keith Ellison against the Department of Homeland Security and other government agencies, preventing them from altering or destroying evidence related to the fatal shooting Saturday of Alex Pretti by DHS agents in Minneapolis.

U.S. District Court Judge Eric C. Tostrud granted the order late Saturday filed by Ellison on behalf of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.

Minneapolis police had called for the state BCA to investigate the shooting and the BCA says it obtained a search warrant for the scene but its investigative team was blocked by federal agents from accessing the area.

Defendants named in the order include the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Patrol, U.S. Border Control and their leadership, as well as U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel.

Also named is David Easterwood, the acting director of the St. Paul Field Office for ICE and a pastor at Cities Church in St. Paul, the church that protesters interrupted Jan. 18. Three alleged leaders of that protest were arrested Thursday and charged with conspiring to interfere with the congregation’s “free exercise of religion.”

Judge’s order

The defendants, including their employees, agents and anyone “acting in concert with them” are prohibited from destroying or altering evidence related to the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Pretti, an ICU nurse at a VA hospital. That includes evidence that the defendants, and those working for them, removed from the scene or have taken into their exclusive custody.

A memorandum in support of the motion argued that “plaintiffs’ irreparable harm is so weighty that any harm to the federal government does not even budge the scales.”

A hearing will be held Monday at the Warren E. Burger Federal Building on any objections the defendants may have to the order and whether it should remain in effect. Tostrud was nominated to his seat by President Donald Trump in 2018.

Pretti, a Minneapolis resident, was shot and killed by federal agents Saturday morning on Nicollet Avenue near 26th Street. Officials with the Department of Homeland Security said Pretti was shot after he approached Border Patrol officers with a 9mm semiautomatic handgun. In bystander videos of the shooting, Pretti is seen with a phone in his hand but none appears to show him with a visible weapon.

Family members of Pretti said he had a permit to carry a concealed handgun in Minnesota.

“The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting,” Pretti’s family said in a statement Saturday.

Local investigators blocked

Police received a report at 9:03 a.m. of a shooting involving federal law enforcement, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said during a press conference Saturday.

O’Hara called for the state BCA to respond and conduct an investigation of the shooting. The BCA obtained a search warrant for the scene, but their investigative team was blocked by Homeland Security agents from accessing the area upon arrival, according to BCA Superintendent Drew Evans.

The FBI conducted a “crime scene evaluation” and, when they left, the BCA attempted “to move in to do our own scene investigation,” Evans said Saturday, but local and state police “were unable to hold that scene and it got overrun with protesters in the area and we were not able to re-examine that scene.”

O’Hara, in a broadcast interview on CBS’s “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on Sunday, said the BCA has since returned to the scene but not before it was contaminated.

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“So, unfortunately, we don’t have any official information from federal law enforcement about what has happened. Even when our officers initially responded to the scene, our watch commander was not given even the most basic information that is typical in a law enforcement involved shooting, just to ensure that there is potentially no other victims,” O’Hara said.

O’Hara said the BCA now is canvassing for additional witnesses and evidence at the scene.

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty has asked for video and other evidence; a link to submit it is available at hennepinattorney.org

Ellison said in a statement Sunday that Pretti was killed “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,” Ellison said.

AIRPORTS

James Lawrence

The Metropolitan Airports Commission announced that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has appointed James Lawrence as chair of the MAC board, which oversees Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and six general aviation airports in the Twin Cities, effective Wednesday. Lawrence previously chaired the commission’s Planning, Development and Environment Committee and was acting vice chair of the 15-member board. He succeeds Rick King, who retired in November 2025.

ARCHITECTURE/ENGINEERING

Golden Valley-based design and consulting firm WSB announced the promotion of Shannon Gwost to director, contract administration, overseeing three offices including Baxter, Minn., Fargo, N.D., and St. Cloud. Gwost has been with the firm for 10 years,

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Platinum Bank, Oakdale, announced that Nicole Sever has been named president, effective Jan. 1. Sever previously was as the bank’s chief sales officer; she succeeds David Faust, who remains with the company as vice chair and as a director. …First Resource Bank, Forest Lake, announced Aaron Siegle has assumed the role of chief executive officer, and Charlie Anderson as president and chief operating officer. Tim Siegle, the bank’s outgoing CEO, will transition to chairman of the bank’s holding company, Ameri Financial Group, and will serve as vice chair of the FRB board of directors. … Piper Sandler Cos., a Minneapolis-based investment bank, announced the following leadership appointments: Co-heads of healthcare investment banking: Brandon Rice and Chad Huber; Carlos Sanchez, co-head of consumer investment banking, and Paul Scansaroli, co-head of equity capital markets.

HEALTH CARE

Medica Foundation, an arm of Minnetonka-based health insurer Medica, announced the retirement of JoAnn Birkholz as executive director, effective Jan. 9. Birkholz began her career as a critical care nurse and joined Medica in 1999 as director of provider and customer support within Health Services.

MANUFACTURING

GF, an Apple Valley-based manufacturer of Uponor-branded indoor plumbing products, announced Javier Alarcón as vice president of finance for GF Building Flow Solutions Americas, effective Dec. 15. He succeeds President John Reutter, who also served as vice president of finance in an interim capacity. Alarcón previously was at CHS Inc., most recently as segment CFO, Agriculture.

MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY

Forj Medical, a St. Paul-based contract developer and manufacturer of medical components, announced the appointment of Ward Sokoloski as chief operations officer. Sokoloski most recently was vice president of operations at ECA Medical. Forj Medical was formed by the merger of Minnetronix and Intricon.

ORGANIZATIONS

The Minnesota Chamber Foundation, St. Paul, announced the appointment of the following members to its Board of Directors: Kathy Bray, SFM Mutual Insurance Co.; Justin Erickson, The Brookshire Co.; Mercedes Jackson, Fredrickson; Kristina Morton, API Group, and Laura Oberst, Wells Fargo. The Foundation also announced Rene Knippel, Stearns Bank, as the chair of the Committee for Workforce Solutions.

RECREATION

MarineMax, a global retailer and servicer of recreational watercraft, announced the promotions of Brent Wiczek to district president for Minnesota and of Jeremy Wiczek to general manager of MarineMax Nisswa and MarineMax Crosslake. The brothers previously were with Nisswa Marine.

SERVICES

Assisted Living Locators, a nationwide franchised senior placement and referral service, announced the opening of a Rochester, Minn., office serving the Rochester, Faribault, Owatonna, Red Wing, and Albert Lea communities. The office is owned and operated by Evangeline “Eva” Stadtherr, with her husband, Daniel Stadtherr.

TECHNOLOGY

FORTÉ, formerly AVI Systems, an Eden Prairie-based provider of audio-visual systems for businesses and schools, announced that Josh Braun has been promoted to chief information officer, a new position at the company. Braun joined FORTÉ in 2016 as director of IT and was promoted to vice president of IT in 2019.

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UTILITIES

Otter Tail Corp., a Fergus Falls, Minn.-based diversified electricity provider and manufacturer, announced it has appointed Chris Clark of Minnetonka and Steve Rasche of St. Louis, Mo., to the board of directors, effective Jan. 1. Clark is the retired president of Xcel Energy – Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota; Rasche is retired as chief financial officer for Spire Inc.  

EMAIL ITEMS to businessnews@pioneerpress.com.

 

WASHINGTON — A growing number of Republicans are pressing for a deeper investigation into federal immigration tactics in Minnesota after a U.S. Border Patrol agent fatally shot a man in Minneapolis, a sign that the accounting of events by President Donald Trump’s administration may face bipartisan scrutiny.

The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee sought testimony from leaders at Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, saying “my top priority remains keeping Americans safe.”

Rep. Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y., said in a statement that he takes oversight of the Department of Homeland Security seriously and that “Congress has an important responsibility to ensure the safety of law enforcement and the people they serve and protect.”

That call was echoed by the committee’s former chairman, Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, along with Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. Their statements, in addition to concern expressed from several Republican governors, reflected a party struggling with how to respond to Saturday’s fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse at a VA hospital.

The killing has raised uncomfortable questions about the GOP’s core positions on issues ranging from gun ownership to states’ rights and trust in the federal government.

Cassidy, who is facing a Trump-backed challenger in his reelection bid, said in a social media post that the shooting was “incredibly disturbing” and that the “credibility of ICE and DHS are at stake.” He, too, was pushing for “a full joint federal and state investigation.” Tillis, who is not seeking reelection, urged a “thorough and impartial investigation” and said “any administration official who rushes to judgment and tries to shut down an investigation before it begins are doing an incredible disservice to the nation and to President Trump’s legacy.”

Administration officials remained firm in their defense of the hard-line immigration enforcement tactics in the Minnesota city, blaming Democrats in the state along with local law enforcement for not working with them. Many Republicans either echoed that sentiment or stayed silent. Trump made no public appearances Sunday, though issued a number of social media posts on topics including the ballroom he is constructing at the White House and further criticism of Canada.

The White House will likely face at least some GOP pushback

Trump has enjoyed nearly complete loyalty from fellow Republicans during his first year back in the White House. But the positions staked out in the wake of the shooting signal that the administration will face at least some pushback within the party in its swift effort to define Pretti, who protested Trump’s immigration crackdown, as a violent demonstrator.

Deputy White House chief of staff Stephen Miller issued social media posts referencing an “assassin” and “domestic terrorist.” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Pretti showed up to “impede a law enforcement operation.”

At a minimum, some Republicans are calling for a de-escalation in Minneapolis.

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt told CNN’s “State of the Union” that the shooting was a “real tragedy” and Trump needs to tell Americans what the “end game” is.

“Nobody likes the feds coming to their states,” Stitt said. “And so what is the goal right now? Is it to deport every single non-U.S. citizen? I don’t think that’s what Americans want.”

He added: “Right now, tempers are just going crazy and we need to calm this down.”

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott said the shooting was “not acceptable.”

“At best, these federal immigration operations are a complete failure of coordination of acceptable public safety and law enforcement practices, training and leadership,” he said in a post. “At worst, it’s deliberate federal intimidation and incitement of American citizens.”

Echoing criticism that local law enforcement isn’t cooperating with federal officials, Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., suggested the administration focus its immigration efforts elsewhere.

“If I were President Trump, I would almost think about if the mayor and the governor are going to put our ICE officials in harm’s way and there’s a chance of losing more innocent lives or whatever, then maybe go to another city and let the people of Minneapolis decide do we want to continue to have all these illegals?” he told “Sunday Morning Futures” on the Fox News Channel. “I think the people of Minnesota would rebel against their leadership.”

A sensitive moment for the GOP

Pretti’s killing comes at a sensitive moment for the GOP as the party prepares for a challenging midterm election year. Trump has fomented a sense of chaos on the world stage, bringing the NATO alliance to the brink last week as he pushed Denmark to cede control of Greenland to the United States while also intensifying a dispute with Canada’s prime ministe r. Domestically, Trump has struggled to respond to widespread affordability concerns.

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Meanwhile, approval of his handling of immigration — long a political asset for the president and the GOP — has tumbled in recent months. Just 38% of U.S. adults approved of how Trump was handling immigration in January, down from 49% in March, according to an AP-NORC poll.

The killing spurred notable tension with the GOP’s long-standing support for gun rights. Officials say Pretti was armed, but no bystander videos that have surfaced so far appear to show him holding a weapon. The Minneapolis police chief said Pretti had a permit to carry a gun.

Yet administration officials, including Noem and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, have questioned why he was armed. Speaking on ABC’s “This Week” Bessent said that when he has attended protests, “I didn’t bring a gun. I brought a billboard.”

Such comments were notable for a party where support for the Second Amendment’s protection of gun ownership is foundational. Indeed, many in the GOP, including Trump, lifted Kyle Rittenhouse into prominence when the then-17-year-old former police youth cadet shot three men, killing two of them, during a 2020 protest in Wisconsin against police brutality. He was acquitted of all charges after testifying that he acted in self defense.

In the wake of Pretti’s killing, gun rights advocates quickly noted that it is legal to carry firearms during protests.

“Every peaceable Minnesotan has the right to keep and bear arms — including while attending protests, acting as observers, or exercising their First Amendment rights,” the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus said in a statement. “These rights do not disappear when someone is lawfully armed.”

In a social media post, the National Rife Association said “responsible public voices should be awaiting a full investigation, not making generalizations and demonizing law-abiding citizens.”

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who is often critical of the White House, said “carrying a firearm is not a death sentence.”

“It’s a Constitutionally protected God-given right,” he said, “and if you don’t understand this you have no business in law enforcement or government.

The second-ranking Justice Department official said he was aware of reports that Pretti was lawfully armed.

“There’s nothing wrong with anybody lawfully carrying firearms,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said on “Meet the Press” on NBC. “But just make no mistake about it, this was an incredibly split-second decision that had to be made by ICE officers.”