Justice Department opens civil rights investigation into Alex Pretti shooting

Sydney Kashiwagi, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Jan 30, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

MINNEAPOLIS — U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed that the Department of Justice has opened a civil rights investigation into the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.

But Blanche sought to downplay the significance of the probe, calling it a “standard investigation.”

“I don’t want to overstate what’s happening,” Blanche said Jan. 30 during a news conference announcing the release of new Jeffrey Epstein files.

“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’s circumstances like what we saw last Saturday.”

But it’s a significant development because the DOJ’s civil rights division has the ability to conduct “pattern-or-practice” investigations, which can result in policy changes, including around excessive use of force by law enforcement agencies.

The Department of Homeland Security has said it is leading an investigation into Pretti’s shooting. That investigation is separate, and Blanche said he expects it to continue. He also said the FBI is investigating the shooting.

Blanche would not say if the DOJ planned to conduct a similar civil rights investigation into the shooting of Renee Good, who was killed by federal agents in Minneapolis on Jan. 7.

“Cases are handled differently by this department depending on the circumstances,” he said.

Meanwhile, state officials have moved forward with their own investigations of both Pretti’s and Good’s shootings.

Federal agents left the scene of Pretti’s shooting unsecured and state investigators were blocked from accessing it to conduct an independent investigation.

A federal judge has ordered officials from the Trump administration to not destroy any evidence tied to the shooting.

--------

—Reporters Eva Herscowitz and Sofia Barnett of the Minnesota Star Tribune contributed to this story.