Video of Alex Pretti honoring dead Veteran goes viral
A video of Alex Pretti honoring a dead veteran has gone viral online, following Pretti’s death. Pretti, a U.S. citizen and nurse, who worked in the Intensive Care Unit nurse at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center for multiple years, was shot and killed by federal immigration officers on Saturday in Minneapolis, according to his parents, who identified him to The Associated Press.
Tributes have flooded in for Pretti. One such tribute was shared by a man named Mac Randolph, a digital creator on Facebook. Randolph said that Pretti had been the ICU nurse of his late father and shared a video online of Pretti reading his “dad’s final salut.”
Speaking to Newsweek, Randolph said, “We are tired of being lied to. When does this end? Alex was the best of us. ICE and this administration has proven time and time again to be the worst of us.”
Newsweek has contacted the Department of Homeland Security outside of regular working hours for comment.
The Context
Pretti, 37, was shot and killed in Minneapolis by federal immigration officers, less than three weeks after Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, was shot dead by an immigration agent in the city.
In both instances, conflicting narratives have come from federal and state officials, and video footage taken by bystanders at both incidents has sparked questions and criticism.
Federal agents have said that Pretti violently resisted, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has said that an official fired “defensive shots” after “officers attempted to disarm this individual but the armed suspect reacted violently.”
However, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has said this account is “nonsense” and “lies.”
What To Know
Randolph shared the video to Facebook following Pretti’s death, where it has been viewed more than a million times as of reporting. “RIP Alex Pretti,” Randolph wrote. “Never wanted to share this video but his speech is very on point.”
Randolph’s father, Terrance Lee Randolph, died on December 10, 2024, according to an obituary published in the Minnesota Star Tribune. The video shows Pretti speaking after his death, saying, “Today we remember that freedom is not free, we have to work at it, nurture it, protect it, and even sacrifice for it. May we never forget to always remember our brothers and sisters who have served, so that we may enjoy the gift of freedom.”
“In this moment, we remember and give thanks for their dedication and selfless service to our nation,” Pretti said.
Randolph told Newsweek, “Alex was an example of brimming human compassion doing one of the hardest and most honorable jobs you can do. Caring for veterans in their time of need. Easing their pain and answering their questions even when those answers are hard to absorb.”
The clip has resonated widely online, as tributes continue to pour in for Pretti.
What People Are Saying
Mac Randolph told Newsweek: “The real hero’s [sic] are the nurses and Drs that work at the VA hospital not the untrained thugs murdering our hero’s in our would be peaceful streets. This is not left or right. This common sense human compassion.”
Zach Lambet, a Texas-based pastor, in a post on X viewed over 300,000 times: “Alex Pretti spent his life caring for others as a VA nurse and today he gave his life protecting a fellow protestor who was being violently assaulted by ICE. He lived helping people in need and died helping people in need. I hope my two sons grow up to be men who stand in the gap for folks just like Alex.”
Peter Twinklage, journalist, in a post on X: “i beg you to watch Alex Pretti, the *latest* ICE-murdered man who the White House has called a TERRORIST, pray for a departed veteran he cared for at a VA hospital.”
What Happens Next?
Protests and public scrutiny of federal immigration enforcement in Minneapolis have continued following the two fatal shootings.
The odds of a government shutdown have surged in the aftermath, as Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said his party will block a Department of Homeland Security funding package.
