Two Hispanic federal agents who fired shots during the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis last weekend have been identified in government records, a revelation that has complicated early media narratives surrounding the incident.
According to a ProPublica report citing government records, the officers were Border Patrol Agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection Officer Raymundo Gutierrez. Both agents are Hispanic, a detail absent from much of the initial coverage that framed the confrontation largely through a racial and political lens.
Customs and Border Protection informed congressional leaders last week that two agents discharged their weapons during the Jan. 24 confrontation at the intersection of West 26th Street and Nicollet Avenue.
On Friday, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed the Department of Justice has opened a civil rights investigation into the shooting. Homeland Security Investigations is leading the review with support from the FBI.
As part of the inquiry, investigators are examining whether a federal agent may have accidentally discharged Alex Pretti’s firearm after disarming him, potentially triggering the deadly sequence. According to a New York Post report citing law enforcement sources, an unintentional discharge may have led other officers to believe they were under fire, prompting them to return fire.
Minnesota officials are simultaneously pushing to maintain local authority over the case. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said last week that her office expects to have sufficient evidence to decide whether charges will be filed.
Pretti’s death ignited a new wave of protests across the Twin Cities opposing the federal immigration enforcement surge. In the aftermath, President Trump told local leaders he would consider scaling back the federal presence. Border czar Tom Homan, who was dispatched to Minneapolis to take control of federal operations, later said any ICE drawdown would depend on cooperation from state and local officials.
The publication of the agents’ names has drawn sharp criticism from the Department of Homeland Security.
“DHS will never confirm or deny attempts to dox our law enforcement officers. Doxxing our officers put their lives and their families in serious danger,” the department said in a statement to FOX 9.
“Our law enforcement officers are on the frontlines arresting terrorists, gang members, murderers, pedophiles, and rapists. Now, thanks to the malicious rhetoric of sanctuary politicians, they are under constant threat from violent agitators. They are facing a 1,300% increase in assaults against them, a 3,200% increase in vehicular attacks against them, and an 8,000% increase in death threats against them. Publicizing their identities puts their lives and the lives of their families at serious risk. This matter remains under investigation.”
ProPublica editors defended the decision to release the names, arguing the public interest outweighed safety concerns.
“ProPublica is publishing the names of the two federal immigration agents involved in the fatal shooting of Minnesota protester Alex Pretti,” the outlet wrote. “We believe there are few investigations that deserve more sunlight and public scrutiny than this one, in which two masked agents fired 10 shots at Pretti as he lay on the ground after being pepper-sprayed.
“The Department of Justice said it is investigating the incident, but the names of the two agents have been withheld from Congress and from state and local law enforcement.
“The policy of shielding officers’ identities, particularly after a public shooting, is a stark departure from standard law enforcement protocols, according to lawmakers, state attorneys general and former federal officials. Such secrecy, in our view, deprives the public of the most fundamental tool for accountability.”
As the investigation continues, the identification of the two agents involved has added complexity to a story that many activists and media outlets initially rushed to frame in far simpler terms.
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