NOTE: ProPublica has identified the two ICE agents who shot Alex Pretti. ICE has not confirmed the report.
(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) A leftist pundit sparked backlash Friday after suggesting it was unprecedented for authorities to withhold the identity of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents involved in the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti.
The comment surfaced on X, where self-described journalist Aaron Rupar questioned whether there was “any modern precedent” for refusing to publicly identify the federal agents involved in Pretti’s Jan. 24 death.
In response, conservative commentator Greg Price pointed to the case of Ashli Babbitt, a veteran who was fatally shot inside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Her shooter, Michael Byrd, identified himself voluntarily on Aug. 26, 2021, when he sat for a primetime interview on NBC Nightly News with then-host Lester Holt.
When Ashli Babbitt was killed, the officer who shot her was not identified for over seven months. https://t.co/HJhlsvJdec
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) January 30, 2026
Capitol Police had declined to release Byrd’s name, citing purported security concerns following leaks about his identity.
Asked during the interview why he decided to identify himself, Byrd said he wanted to give his side of the story.
“There’s a lot of things [sic] that have been reported that are inaccurate and misrepresentations of my actions on January the 6th,” he claimed.
Byrd has claimed that he acted with “the utmost courage” and “saved countless lives.”
However, earlier records obtained by Judicial Watch found that other officers at the scene did not see a weapon in Babbitt’s hands prior to the shooting and that they did not hear Byrd issue any verbal commands prior to the shooting. Lt. Byrd later confessed that he shot Ashli before seeing her hands or assessing her intentions or even identifying her as female.
Despite the Babbitt precedent, leftist pundits are framing the decision to withhold the names of the federal agents behind Pretti’s death as a deliberate lack of transparency.
Pretti was fatally shot in Minneapolis, following a confrontation with federal immigration agents during what DHS described as a targeted enforcement operation. The White House has said Pretti was armed at the time and attempted to interfere with agents while recording them. However, video evidence shows that he was disarmed before he was shot.
Pretti has been widely portrayed by left-leaning activists and media figures as a peaceful anti-ICE observer. However, a newly surfaced video from Jan. 13 appears to show Pretti spitting at Border Patrol agents before kicking and damaging the taillight of a federal vehicle.
The Trump administration has said it is investigating Pretti’s death, and the federal agents involved have been placed on administrative leave.
