We are heartbroken by the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis—the second fatal shooting arising out of the current federal immigration enforcement operation in our state after the similarly heartbreaking loss of Renee Good on January 7. Any loss of life from the use of deadly force by government agents is tragic and must be analyzed for legitimacy and necessity. As officers of the courts of this state, we insist that our local, state, and federal officials ensure a fair and impartial investigation. Only through that process can there be meaningful accountability, which the people of Minnesota deserve and demand.
Compounding our grief, we are deeply disturbed by reports that local law enforcement officials and investigators were denied access to the site of the shooting. This reportedly led state and local officials to take the unprecedented step of obtaining a search warrant for a public sidewalk, and then asking a federal judge for an injunction barring the federal government from destroying evidence of a shooting death. Fair and thorough investigations cannot occur when federal and state officials are adverse to each other.
Further upsetting the normal constitutional order, the Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota received a notice of a sealed request from the Department of Justice requiring him to take an action the details of which he was initially not allowed to review. This led to the astonishing situation in which a federal judge had to send a letter to the Chief Judge of the Circuit Court responding to a DOJ request by guessing the contents of the request, and then offering his recommendations based on those assumptions.
These tactics—seemingly designed to circumvent long established procedures developed over centuries to ensure justice is fair and impartial—are not how the American legal system is supposed to work. They are instead recognizable from much older playbooks that America’s founders sought to leave behind by establishing our Constitutional republic. Far from being a political sentiment, opposing this kind of behavior is simply a recognition that a core American value is belief in, and adherence to, the rule of law.
We call on all lawyers to recognize this as a moment for integrity, transparency, independent investigation and, most crucially, defending the essence of what this country was formed on—a Constitution based on the power of the people it serves, not the government it elects.
The MSBA, HCBA, and RCBA will be providing this statement to relevant officials and requesting time to discuss these concerns and make plain the expectations of the legal community. Your voices will be heard.
Tom Pack, 2025-2026 MSBA President
Jessica Klander, 2025-2026 HCBA President
Maya Missaghi, 2025-2026 RCBA President
