Letters from an American - January 24, 2026

Episode Date: January 26, 2026

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January 24, 26. This morning, on a street in Minneapolis, at least seven federal agents tackled and then shot and killed Alex Jeffrey Prettie, a 37-year-old ICU nurse for the local VA hospital. Video from the scene shows Prattie directing traffic on a street out of an area with agents around, then trying to help another person get up after she had been. been pushed to the ground by the agents. The agents then surround Preddy and shoot pepper spray into his face, then pull him to the ground from behind and hit him as he appears to be trying

to keep his head off the ground. An agent appears to take a gun out of Preddy's waistband during the struggle, then turns and leaves with it. A shot then stops Preddy's movements, appearing to kill him, before nine more shots ring out, apparently as agents continued to fire into his body. It looked like an execution. After he was dead, the agents walked away,

apparently making no effort to preserve the crime scene, which people on the street later tried to secure by walling it off with trash bins. As journalist Philip Bump noted, administration officials didn't even pretend to wait for more information before jumping straight to the opponent of the state deserved it.

Mitch Smith of the New York Times reported that federal agents have blocked state investigators from the scene. Drew Evans of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, a statewide investigations team that specializes in police shootings, told reporters his agency

had obtained a search warrant, a rare step, but the federal government government still refused them access. Tonight, in a lawsuit against Homeland Security Secretary Christy Knoem and other administration officials, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison asked a judge for a temporary restraining order to prevent DHS agents from destroying evidence related to the shooting. The suit noted the astonishing departure from normal investigations, seemingly trying not to preserve evidence but to destroy it. A judge who was appointed to the bench by Trump immediately

granted the restraining order, barring the administration from destroying or altering evidence concerning the killing. Ernesto Londonio of the New York Times reported that federal officials also have refused to disclose the identities of federal agents involved in Saturday's shooting, as well as the names of federal agents who have shot people in recent days. Minnesota police have refused to obey the federal officers, though. Local law enforcement has been talking to witnesses and finding videos of the shooting. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said at a press conference, Our demand today is for those federal agencies that are operating in our city to do so with the same discipline, humanity, and integrity that effective law enforcement in this country

demands. We urge everyone to remain peaceful. The Department of Homeland Security, or DHS, has said that it, rather than the FBI, will investigate the shooting. But as Alec Witt of MS Now noted, DHS had already issued a statement about the shooting, which falsely asserted that Preddy had approached U.S. Border Patrol officers with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun, and that he violently resisted as officers attempted to disarm him. The statement continued that an agent fired defensive shots and added that Preti also had two magazines and no ID. This looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement. So, Witt noted, they're going to be investigating

that which they've already issued a summary about? It would seem that it's a closed book. After repeatedly being exposed as liars over previous accusations against those they have shot, the Department of Homeland Security has so little credibility that Witt is not the only journalist calling out the federal agents for lying. Devin Lom of the New York Times wrote, videos on social media that were verified by the New York Times contradict the Department of Homeland Security's account of the fatal shooting of a man by federal agents in Minneapolis on Saturday morning.

The Department of Homeland Security said the episode began after a man approached border patrol agents with a handgun and they tried to disarm him. But footage from the scene shows the man was holding a phone in his hand, not a gun, when federal agents took him to the ground and shot him. But lying to the American people is the only option. for the administration when we can once again all see what happened with our own eyes. Preti did have a permit for a concealed handgun and appeared to have carried the gun with him, although witnesses say he never reached for it. Tonight, Noam doubled down on the lie, saying again, this looks like a situation where an individual arrived at the scene to inflict maximum damage on individuals and to kill law enforcement.

When the Democratic Party's social media account posted, ICE agents shot and killed another person in Minneapolis this morning. Get ICE out of Minnesota now. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller replied, A would-be assassin tried to murder federal law enforcement, and the official Democrat account sides with the terrorists. The Democrat's social media account responded, You're a f*** liar with blood on your hands. Miller continued to bang that drum when Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat of Connecticut, said that ICE must leave Minneapolis

and that Congress should not fund this version of ICE. This is seeking confirmation, chaos, and dystopia. Miller responded, an assassin tried to murder federal agents, and this is your response. When Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar similarly decried the killing, Miller responded, a domestic terrorist tried to assassinate federal law enforcement, and this is your response? You in the state's entire Democrat leadership team have been flaming the flames of insurrection for the singular purpose of stopping the deportation of illegals who invas.

the country. Miller is a white nationalist who has recommended others read a dystopian novel in which people of color invade Europe and destroy Western civilization. Those who support immigration are in the books telling enemies who are abetting an invasion, a word Miller relies on, that is destroying the culture of white countries. They are working for the enemy. In the wake of Preti's shooting, Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to suggest he could bring back law and order to Minnesota

if he handed over the state's voter rolls to the Department of Justice. As Jacob Nutson of Democracy Docket noted, she explicitly tied the administration's violence in the state to its determination to get its hands on voters' personal data before the 2026 election. Minnesota has voted for the Democratic candidate running against Trump in the past three presidential elections, but he insists that he really has won the state each time.

As G. Eliot Morris of Strength and Numbers wrote, Republicans could stop this at any time they wanted to. All it would take to end the murder of American citizens by an untrained government goon squad is 16 Republicans in Congress voting with Democrats to defund ICE, or 23 to impeach and remove Trump. Three in House and 20 in Senate. That's it. 23 Americans can vote for the public and end all of this. Morris also pointed out that in December, Trump's approval rating was negative in 40 states,

including 10 he won in 2025. That covers 30 seats currently held by Republicans. Preti's shooting will likely erode Trump's support further. tonight, even right-wing podcaster Tim Poole reacted to Preti's shooting by noting that it looked as if the agent had disarmed Preti before the other agents shot him. I don't see Trump winning this one, Poole commented. The funding bill for DHS is effectively dead in the Senate, as Democrats have said they will not support any more funding for DHS. Tonight, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat of New York, told reporters, Senate Democrats will not provide the votes to proceed to the appropriations bill if the DHS funding bill is included.

But the July law, the Republicans call the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, poured nearly $191 billion into DHS through September 30th, 20299, with almost $75 billion going to ICE and $67 billion going to Customs and Border Protection. FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, got just $2.9 billion. Representative Seth Moulton, a Democrat of Massachusetts, had more to say. What we just saw this morning on the streets of Minneapolis is another outright murder by federal officials. And let me just be clear, those federal ICE officers are absolute cowards. I am a Marine veteran standing here telling you to your face that they are unprofessional,

pathetic cowards. Because if a Marine, an 18-year-old Marine, did that in Iraq in the middle of a war zone, he would be court-martialed because it is murder. And you pathetic little cowards who have to wear face masks because you're so, damn scared, couldn't even effectively wrestle a guy to the ground, so you needed to shoot him? This is why ICE needs to be prosecuted. Yeah, I voted to defund it, but ICE, you need to be prosecuted. And Director Todd Lyons, who's running ICE right now, I hope you're hearing this, from this Marine to you. You guys are criminal thugs. You need to be held accountable to law

if you think you can enforce it. And you need to be prosecuted right now. Just hours after the killing of Alex Preti, agents pinned U.S. citizen Matthew James Allen to the street. While he screamed, I have done nothing at all. My name is Matthew James Allen. I'm a United States citizen. You're going to kill me.

Is that what you want? You want to kill me? You want to kill me on the street? You're going to have to f- kill me. I have done nothing wrong. Nearby, his sobbing wife screamed, stop, please, stop, please. We were just running away from the gas. That's all we were doing. We all know the poem, Blue Missouri Executive Director Jess Piper wrote, and there is no shade of white that will save you from this murderous regime. Tonight,

Susan and Michael Preti, the parents of Alex Jeffrey Prettie, issued a statement. We are heartbroken, but also very angry, they said. Alex was a kind-hearted soul who cared deeply for his family and friends, and also the American veterans whom he cared for as an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA Hospital. Alex wanted to make a difference in this world. Unfortunately, he will not be with us to see his impact. I do not throw around the hero term lightly. However, his last thought and act was to protect a woman.

The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting. Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked by Trump's murdering and cowardly ice thund. He had his phone in his right hand, and his empty left hand is raised above his head while trying to protect the woman ice just pushed down, all while being pepper sprayed. Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man. Letters from an American was written and read by Heather Cox Richardson. It was produced at SoundScape Productions, Dead in Massachusetts. Recorded with music composed by Michael Moss.