Minnesota prosecutors announced Monday that they have obtained crucial evidence, including hard drives and physical items, in their investigations into the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti during protests against a federal immigration enforcement crackdown earlier this year.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty stated that through cooperation with federal partners, they have secured hard drives containing statements and video evidence, as well as physical evidence like Renee Good's car. "The wonderful thing now is we have all the evidence," Moriarty said.
Good, a 37-year-old mother, was killed on Jan. 7 while leaving an anti-immigration protest in Minneapolis. Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse, was shot and killed by federal officers during a protest on Jan. 24. Both deaths sparked national outrage and calls to restrict immigration enforcement tactics.
Statements, police body camera footage, and other evidence had previously been withheld by federal officials. Moriarty emphasized the need for transparency and cooperation, stating, "Our community needs it. Our democracy requires it."
In late June, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and Moriarty had requested a federal judge to postpone deadlines in their lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice, citing ongoing discussions with the FBI regarding information sharing. The federal government's attorneys agreed to this motion. Ellison expressed concern that the federal government withheld evidence for over six months, stating, "It should never have taken this long for Minnesota law enforcement to gain access to the federal government’s evidence."
At least eight deaths have been linked to the current administration's immigration enforcement campaign, with no charges filed in connection with most of them. Separately, Minneapolis resident Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis was injured in his home during an ICE pursuit. ICE agent Christian Castro was arrested in May and charged with assault and falsely reporting a crime in connection with that nonfatal shooting. Another ICE agent, Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr., was charged in April with pointing his gun at motorists on a Minneapolis highway.
Recent incidents involving ICE include a fatal shooting in Maine on Monday and the fatal shooting of a Mexican national in Houston last week. In the Houston incident, the Department of Homeland Security acknowledged agents were pursuing another individual when the shooting occurred, maintaining that the deceased rammed an ICE vehicle, prompting an officer to fire in self-defense.