Detroit vigil honors Minneapolis nurse killed during immigration protest

George Hunter, The Detroit News on Feb 1, 2026

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DETROIT — Members of the nation's largest federal government employee union, elected officials, religious leaders and others held a vigil Sunday to honor an intensive care nurse who was killed by federal immigration agents during a Jan. 24 protest in Minneapolis.

About 50 people gathered for the vigil outside the John D. Dingell Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center on John R. Similar events were held at VA hospitals across the country to honor Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old member of the American Federation of Government Employees union who worked for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

In an incident that is the subject of a U.S. Department of Justice civil rights investigation, Pretti was shot multiple times by federal agents during a protest in Minneapolis against President Donald Trump's illegal immigration deportation surge and the tactics used by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

According to witnesses and video of the incident, Pretti was recording the agents with his phone and directing traffic before intervening in a woman's arrest. After he approached agents who were struggling with a woman they were taking into custody, Pretti was pepper-sprayed and tackled before an agent removed a handgun from his waistband. Someone yelled "Gun, gun" before at least two agents fired shots at Pretti, killing him.

Trump administration officials have accused Pretti, who had a concealed pistol license, of unlawfully interfering with an arrest, while critics of the shooting said Pretti was exercising his constitutional right to protest. Pretti was filmed during a Jan. 13 demonstration spitting at agents and kicking the taillight off a federal law enforcement vehicle. In that incident, federal agents tackled Pretti and scuffled with him, although he was not arrested.

Pretti's death followed the Jan. 7 fatal shooting of Rene Good, who was fatally shot after driving her vehicle toward an ICE agent. Good's death is not being investigated by the Department of Justice.

Members of the AFGE union, U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, and Pastor Charles Williams II of the National Action Network Michigan Chapter and the Historic King Solomon Baptist Church in Detroit were among those who attended Sunday's vigil.

"It's very encouraging to see so many people felt a connection to Alex and wanted to honor him this way," Tlaib said. "Alex’s parents have asked (people) to please stop spreading lies about (their) son. He liked helping people, and he did that until his last breath.”

ICE officials did not respond to an email seeking comment Sunday.

Pastor Maurice Rudds of Greater Mount Tabor Church told the gathering: "You are at the right place at the right time. I am grateful to be with people who are making things happen.

"We are going to win," Rudds said. "It may take a lot of time, but we are on the right side of justice and we are going to win. I was taught as a boy to recite the Pledge of Allegiance … but this is not the America I love.”Christine Kozicki, a retired teacher from White Lake, said she doesn't like the direction of the country.“I see fascism, coming,” said the retired teacher from White Lake Township. “My grandparents came to this country from Poland in 1905, and I’ve been to Poland and have seen the concentration camps. I hear that same drumbeat here in the United States right now.”Roachal Ford, member of the union Local 933, said ICE is taking money from other federal agencies.“ICE needs to be defunded,” Ford said. “They’re killing people.”Bryanaa Wilkiams, also a member of Local 933, added: “This is affecting my generation. America is no longer free.”The AFGE is the nation's largest federal employee union, representing more than 820,000 workers.

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