Justice Dept. opens civil rights investigation into Alex Pretti’s death

The Justice Department has opened a federal civil rights investigation into the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by federal Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis last weekend, shifting the primary responsibility for the probe from the Department of Homeland Security.

“We’re looking at everything that would shed light on that day,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said at a news conference Friday. “That’s like any investigation that the Department of Justice and the FBI does every day. It means we’re looking at video, talking to witnesses, trying to understand what happened.”

This signals a shift in how the Trump administration has handled the shootings involving immigration agents, which has drawn sharp congressional criticism of ICE and nationwide protests.

When federal officers shot Mr. Pretti, Trump administration officials said the Department of Homeland Security would lead the probe, prompting calls for an independent investigation.

He did not explain why the department opened an investigation, but said that the FBI would continue to work with the Department of Homeland Security in its “use of force” investigation into whether its agents abided by protocol.

“I don’t want to overstate what’s happening,” Mr. Blanche said. “I don’t want the takeaway to be that there’s some massive civil rights investigation that’s happening. This is what I would describe as a standard investigation by the FBI when there are circumstances like what we saw last Saturday. And that investigation — to the extent it needs to involve lawyers at the Civil Rights Division, it will involve those.”

On the topic of Mr. Pretti’s death, Mr. Blanche said that “President Trump has said repeatedly, ‘Of course, this is something we’re going to investigate.’” He said the Civil Rights Division does not investigate every law enforcement shooting, and there must be circumstances and facts that “warrant an investigation.”

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem first acknowledged the probe transfer between agencies during a Fox News interview Thursday evening, as the Homeland Security Investigations unit was intended to lead the investigation.

“We will continue to follow the investigation that the FBI is leading and giving them all the information that they need to bring that to conclusion, and make sure that the American people know the truth of the situation and how we can go forward and continue to protect the American people,” she said.

Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said the investigations unit will support the FBI’s investigation. The DHS’s Customs and Border Protection is also conducting its own internal examination.

So far, Minnesota state investigators have been shut out of the federal investigation.