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By Gabe Whisnant
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The parents of Alex Pretti have retained a prominent former federal prosecutor to help represent them in the aftermath of their son’s fatal shooting by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis, the family said Wednesday.
Who is Steve Schleicher?
Steve Schleicher, a partner at the Minneapolis law firm Maslon, is serving pro bono for Michael and Susan Pretti, a family spokesman said. Schleicher is an experienced litigator who served as a special prosecutor for Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison in the 2021 trial of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, helping secure his conviction for the murder of George Floyd.
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Before entering private practice, Schleicher spent 13 years in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota, handling cases ranging from murder to organized crime, racketeering and federal civil rights violations, according to his online resume. He also served as a reserve officer in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps.
Pretti’s younger sister, Micayla Pretti, has separately hired attorney Anthony Cotton of Kuchler & Cotton in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the family said. The lawyers were retained to “protect the family’s interest in the aftermath of this horrific tragedy,” a spokesman added.
Alex Pretti's Killing: What to Know
Pretti, 37, was an intensive care nurse at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center who was shot multiple times on January 24 while filming Border Patrol officers during an immigration enforcement operation. Video of the encounter appears to show one officer removing Pretti’s handgun before two others opened fire.
His death followed the January 7 killing of Renee Good, another Minneapolis resident shot by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer. Good’s family has hired the Chicago-based firm Romanucci & Blandin, which represented Floyd’s family.
Customs and Border Protection agents involved in the fatal shooting of Pretti in Minneapolis have been placed on administrative leave, a CBP spokesperson told Newsweek.
“The two officers involved are on administrative leave and have been since Saturday. This is standard protocol," the spokesperson said.
The Department of Homeland Security has not identified the federal agents involved in the shooting.
The fatal shooting of Pretti has led to further criticism of immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota, coming just weeks after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer shot Good in Minneapolis.
Updates: 1/28/26, 7:51 p.m. ET: This article was updated with new information and remarks.
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