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By Soo Kim
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Leaders and employees across the technology sector are publicly condemning the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) following the fatal shooting of Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37‑year‑old American ICU nurse in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Saturday. Pretti appeared to be attempting to help another person who had been pushed by an ICE officer before he was shot.
The shooting unfolded the same day the White House hosted a preview screening of Melania, an upcoming documentary following first lady Melania Trump in the 20 days leading up to her husband’s second presidential inauguration.
According to The Hollywood Reporter (THR), the private East Room screening—scheduled months before the incident—brought together 70 VIP guests, including a number of high‑profile tech CEOs such as Apple’s Tim Cook, Zoom’s Eric Yuan, New York Stock Exchange CEO Lynn Martin, and AMD (Advanced Micro Devices) CEO Lisa Su.
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Other notable attendees included Queen Rania of Jordan, Amazon Studios chief Mike Hopkins, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, Mike Tyson, and self‑help guru Tony Robbins. Major Trump administration officials and cabinet members were not present, THR added.
As these industry leaders gathered at the White House, figures from across the tech sector—including employees at Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic—were speaking out online, calling the shooting "absolutely shameful" and labeling the agents involved as "murderers."
In response to a request for comment, the White House directed Newsweek to a lengthy statement by press secretary Karoline Leavitt during a press briefing on January 26, in which she said: "This tragedy occurred as a result of a deliberate and hostile resistance by Democrat leaders in Minnesota."
In a further statement to Newsweek, Leavitt added: “Nobody, including President Trump, wants to see people get shot or hurt. That’s exactly why Governor Walz and Mayor Frey need to allow local police to work with federal law enforcement to remove illegal alien criminals, murderers, and pedophiles from Minnesota.”
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Why It Matters
Pretti’s killing comes just weeks after the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good—who was also a 37-year-old Minneapolis resident—further raising tensions in a city that has been under heightened federal attention amid allegations of widespread fraud and abuse, alongside an ongoing deportation operation being carried out by the Trump administration.
What To Know
A video shared on social media shows several federal agents struggling with a person later identified as Pretti. Multiple agents attempt to pull him to the ground before gunshots ring out. In the background, the person filming can be heard shouting, "They killed that guy! Did they f****** kill that guy?"
In a Saturday statement, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said a suspect had approached U.S. Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun. According to DHS, officers attempted to disarm the suspect, who "violently resisted," prompting an agent to fire defensive shots.
State officials argue against the federal account, pointing to additional video footage. One recording shows Pretti holding a phone in one hand and raising his other hand—empty—above his head moments before agents moved in.
President Donald Trump has told reporters that the administration is "reviewing everything" tied to Pretti’s death.
What People Are Saying
The shooting prompted backlash from prominent leaders in tech, many of whom shared their reactions on X.
Jeff Dean, chief scientist at Google DeepMind and Google Research, wrote: "This is absolutely shameful. Agents of a federal agency unnecessarily escalating, and then executing a defenseless citizen whose offense appears to be using his cellphone camera. Every person regardless of political affiliation should be denouncing this."
Kath Korevec, director of product at Google Labs, said she feared the escalation might spread beyond Minneapolis: "I can’t go to Minneapolis. And it’s only a matter of time before they show up in force here in the Bay Area…I’m researching local organizations that support immigrants…I’m calling my congressmen and women and asking them not to approve ICE funding without major reform to how the organization is run…"
Yann LeCun, Meta’s former chief AI scientist and now executive chairman at AMI Labs, reposted a video of the shooting published by Drop Site News and wrote: "Murderers."
Chris Olah, co‑founder of Anthropic and former researcher at OpenAI and Google Brain, wrote: "I try to not talk about politics…But recent events—a federal agent killing an ICU nurse for seemingly no reason and with no provocation—shock the conscience…I immigrated to the United States—and eventually cofounded Anthropic here—believing it was a pillar of these principles."
Joe Lonsdale, co‑founder of PalantirTech, reacted to a post alleging infiltration of Minneapolis communication groups to track federal agents: "This is an organized illegal insurgency, and should be treated as such…Echoes of whiskey rebellion…the GOP right does not know how to use power and discipline."
Paul Graham, co‑founder of Y Combinator, wrote: "If someone had predicted before the last election that if Trump won, federal officers would be shooting Americans in the streets, he'd have been dismissed as an alarmist."
Others in tech echoed the criticism. James Dyett of OpenAI wrote: "There is far more outrage from tech leaders over a wealth tax than masked ICE agents terrorizing communities and executing civilians in the streets. Tells you what you need to know about the values of our industry."
Y Combinator group partner David Lieb, sharing an analysis of the footage, wrote: "Each side is going to see what they want to see…I know what I see, which is another citizen killed for no good reason…our government is deliberately choosing to put citizens in this situation. It needs to stop. They work for us."
John O’Farrell, partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), wrote: "Wondering how the eager tech enablers of this regime…are rationalizing this atrocity…Is all the crypto and AI money in the world really worth this?"
What Happens Next
U.S. District Court Judge Eric Tostrud issued a temporary restraining order on Saturday night at the request of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office. The order restricts the DHS from tampering with or removing materials collected at the scene.
A federal judge in Minneapolis is expected to hear arguments later today on whether to extend the order preventing the Trump administration from destroying or altering evidence tied to the shooting of Pretti. The judge’s decision will determine whether the restrictions will remain in place as investigators continue probing the circumstances of Pretti’s death.
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