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Outrage In Minneapolis After Man Killed By Federal Agent; Private Jet Crashes On Takeoff In Maine Amid Winter Storm; New York Battling Freezing Temps Amid Winter Storm. Aired 10-11p ET

Aired January 25, 2026 - 22:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[22:00:06]

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN HOST: Yeah. All right. Well, that's good news at least. Ed Lavandera, thank you for being out there. Please stay warm, my friend.

And thank you all for joining Anderson and I here tonight. I'm Kaitlan Collins. I'll see you tomorrow night, 9:00 p.m. Eastern on "THE SOURCE".

And stay with CNN though, because Pamela Brown is going to pick up our coverage not just of this winter storm, but also what's happening on the ground in Minneapolis.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Pamela Brown.

And we are tracking two major stories this hour. The first, a massive winter storm now pushing across the U.S. East Coast. After dropping heavy snow and ice across a large part of the U.S., brutal cold is pushing in with nearly one million customers without power. Travel snarled on the road and in the air, Sunday is marking the worst day for flight cancellations since the pandemic.

Also, outrage is growing in Minnesota after a federal immigration agent shot and killed Alex Pretti, a U.S. citizen. The death of the 37-year-old ICU nurse at the V.A. and the false narrative from top Homeland Security officials and others in the administration that is directly contradicted by video evidence, is fueling no new protests and calls for ICE to get out of the state. Pretti is the second U.S. citizen to be killed in Minneapolis just in the past month by ICE agents.

Crowds of anti-ICE protesters are braving the frigid temperatures in Minneapolis, marching through the city with signs reading, quote, it was murder and stop killing our neighbor. They're outraged by Alex Pretti's death and by the way federal officials are labeling him a domestic terrorist, just like they did with Renee Good, the Department of Homeland Security claims federal agents fired out of self-defense.

They allege, without providing the evidence, that Pretti, quote, "brandished" a firearm and attacked officers. Minneapolis officials say Pretti was a registered and lawful gun owner and, crucially, his death was captured on cell phone video by several witnesses.

At no point in any video reviewed by CNN is Pretti seen, well, Pretti seen wielding a weapon. And we've asked administration officials whether there's other evidence out there, and they have not shown us that or commented on that.

This next video shows one angle of the deadly encounter. A warning, it is graphic and it is disturbing. It shows Pretti in a baseball hat, moving between an agent and a woman. Federal officers had shoved into the ground. Pretti is sprayed with a chemical irritant and dragged to his knees. Officers later opened fire, at least ten times.

Minnesota's governor says Pretti's killing and the federal government, quote, "sullying" his name is an inflection point in history.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. TIM WALZ (D), MINNESOTA: I've got a question for all of you. What side do you want to be on? The side of an all-powerful federal government that can kill, injure, menace and kidnap its citizens off the streets. Or on the side of a nurse at the V.A. hospital who died bearing witness to such government.

We have got children in Minnesota hiding in their houses, afraid to go outside. Many of us grew up reading that story of Anne Frank. Somebody's going to write that children's story about Minnesota. And there's one person who can end this now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: CNN's senior crime and justice correspondent Shimon Prokupecz joins us now from Minneapolis.

Shimon, bring us there.

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: So, we are here. This is the area. This is the site of where Alex Pretti was sadly killed. And what we've been seeing through this day and now evening, I mean, its negative four degrees at this point. And we're still seeing people out here. Some people are now have brought over fire pits and they're lighting fires to stay warm.

This is where the makeshift memorial is, Pam, over here. I'm going to show you. David, let's walk this way.

I'm going to show you. This is the memorial. This is where many of the community members have set up this memorial. And you can see there are just flowers. David, we can come close. I want her to see the flowers and all of the candles that are out here.

And many of the community members that have been here through the day and now into the night, you could see are holding hands and singing. This has been a place for them to gather, to express themselves. It's been a very peaceful day here. We've certainly not seen any

escalation, and part of it is because people have been able to come here and be together and talk to each other and spend the time raising concerns over what they're hearing from the federal government and just how different, how different what the federal government is telling us versus what the local, the local police chief who has really been outspoken about the behavior by federal authorities here, at times calling it unconstitutional, raising questions over the tactics that these federal officials are using, saying that they seem disorganized.

[22:05:13]

They all don't seem like they're on the same page the way they're conducting arrests and detaining people. It's just not how you do it.

And, of course, you know, the federal government trying to tell us that what we see with our own eyes, with the people here have seen with their own eyes, is not what happened. And this is raising a lot of concern.

For today, though it has been about peace, it has been about the gathering, about the unity and about the community. This site has really been the focal point here where people have been gathering. And one last thing. It's been incredible, incredible to watch the business owners and the restaurants here, the donut shop that I'm standing in front of, just opened their doors to everybody to say, hey, come in here, you can, well give you free coffee, free tea, a place to stay warm.

And that's what we're seeing in this community right now. Everyone getting together, opening their doors and uniting. And the one message I spoke to a mom who came here tonight, she brought her ten-year-old, her eight-year-old and five-year-old. And I said, you know, what was the reason you brought your kids here?

She said, because I want them to see the good. We are dealing with so much pain right now. But this, this is the good and it's important for them to see. And of course, the questions are going to remain here. They want an investigation. And that's where the state is coming and the state is doing their own investigation. The federal authorities are not cooperating with them.

So, we'll see what happens. But certainly, on the state side, on the Minnesota state side, that investigation is going to continue.

BROWN: Have they been allowed on the scene at all? Because I know the latest I saw was that they were blocked from going to the scene where Pretti was killed. Is there any update on whether state officials have had access?

PROKUPECZ: I mean, isn't that remarkable? Pam? The idea that the state, the local authorities that are responsible for this neighborhood had to go to a court to get a search warrant to try and get into their own neighborhoods, to do their investigation. Today, we learned that some of the BCA, which is the state investigators, they were here on scene. They were actually looking for surveillance video, talking to witnesses.

So, their investigation is continuing. But the problem is key pieces of evidence, like the shell casings from the gun and other evidence that they may have been able to gather, like you would see at a crime scene that has all been lost. And a lot of the evidence from this is in the hands of the federal authorities. And there are going to be a lot of questions if the federal authorities at this point are not cooperating with the state, and will they eventually be able to share that evidence so that we could figure out exactly what happened?

And then the question is going to be, will the federal authorities, who are doing an internal investigation on the Customs and Border Protection side, will they be transparent in their investigation? And will we get answers from them? And honestly, though, you know, quite frankly, I should say honest answers for them because up to this point, no one is believing, as you know, Pam, no one is believing what they're saying.

BROWN: Yeah. I mean, Noem came out once again, just like she did after the Renee Good shooting. And blame the victim, demonize the victim without a full investigation.

And what is notable here for our viewers to understand -- I know you know this covering DOJ, that DHS, the home agency of ICE, led by Kristi Noem, is the one doing this investigation, not the FBI. Typically, it would be the FBI and independent agency. So that's another layer here that raises some serious questions about whether we can trust any outcome of this investigation.

Shimon Prokupecz in Minneapolis -- go ahead. Do you want to say something?

PROKUPECZ: No, no, I was just going to say no, I'm okay. I was just going to say the CBP, they have the Office of Professional Responsibility, OPR. They're involved in this investigation. I mean, I spoke to someone yesterday who was raising some concerns, and this is going to be a real test for that group of investigators on whether or not they're going to be allowed to remain independent and not be influenced by the politics of this and the political side of what is happening here. So it's going to be a big test. You're absolutely right.

BROWN: It really will.

All right. Shimon Prokupecz, I know it's freezing out there, but thank you for bringing us the latest on the ground.

PROKUPECZ: Yeah.

BROWN: And the Border Patrol's commander at large, as we were just talking about, continues to cast blame for the deadly shooting on to Alex Pretti, faulting him for approaching the federal agents.

During an interview with CNN, Gregory Bovino insisted that the officers who shot Pretti were the actual victims, but repeatedly declined to provide any evidence to back his claims about the encounter.

[22:10:12]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GREGORY BOVINO, U.S. BORDER PATROL COMMANDER-AT-LARGE: The victim -- the victims are the Border Patrol agents. I'm not blaming the Border Patrol agents. The victim are the border patrol agents. The suspect put himself in that situation. The victims are the Border Patrol agents there.

Follow directions of law enforcement. Follow directions of law enforcement in an active crime scene. A very evident -- he didn't want to do that. Very evident that the other individuals didn't want to do that.

And, you know, it's too bad the consequences had to be paid because he injected himself into that crime scene.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Consequences being the loss of life. Alex Pretti, U.S. citizen, nurse, ICU nurse at the V.A.

Joining us now is Minnesota's Democratic Secretary of state, Steve Simon.

Mr. Secretary, thank you so much for coming on. I first just want to get your reaction from what we just heard from the Border Patrol's Greg Bovino basically saying Alex Pretti is responsible for his own death because he put himself in that situation.

STEVE SIMON, MINNESOTA SECRETARY OF STATE: That's a disgusting mischaracterization. You know, people are using their eyes, their ears and their common sense. They know what they see and hear and detect. And it isn't that.

I would add he called the people around who have cell phones and whistles rioters as well, repeatedly, he can say it. He can think he's getting away with something. But time after time after time, as to this Minneapolis surge, we have seen just outright mischaracterization and lying by those at the very top. And I just think at some point, the American people are going to trust their eyes and their ears and their common sense.

BROWN: We've also heard Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, immediately after the shooting saying Alex Pretti was brandishing a weapon at officers. None of the videos that we have seen from the incident show that there have been multiple angles captured, Bovino refused to answer if Pretti was in fact brandishing a gun every time he was asked today by my colleague dana bash, though he did continue to support Kristi Noem, DHS secretary's characterization of what happened.

Do you have any more insight? What would you like to see the administration do to back up their claims here? SIMON: Well, one is to let state and local folks from Minnesota and

the city of Minneapolis in on the investigation. That's what typically happens. And there's been a long and successful history of that kind of collaboration between our U.S. attorney's office and local law enforcement. For whatever reason, during this ICE surge that has been severed, completely severed when it comes to investigations of this kind.

So, reinstate the kind of cooperation that we've always enjoyed where there can be joint investigations. That's one thing.

Another thing is on the federal level, to make sure that it really is on the up and up, it really is an independent investigation where all the facts can come in and people can assess wrongdoing and we can get a straight answer out of the federal government. And, and something that the public deserves. I think those are two things that we can start with.

BROWN: The Trump administration, as you know, is blaming Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey with not doing enough to support the federal law enforcement operations. And those state officials, you know, are pointing the finger back at the administration, saying that they're responsible for raising the temperature.

Do you think the state is correct in its message to the federal government? Is there anything else the state could be doing to lower the temperature here in your view?

SIMON: What I am seeing is public officials in Minnesota, on all sides, many Democrats, many Republicans trying to take the temperature down, urging people to be peaceful, urging people to be law abiding, urging people to, yes, express outrage, but not give those who want conflict more conflict. That's what I'm hearing from Minnesota on all sides.

What I'm hearing from the federal government and seeing from the federal government is they never miss an opportunity to escalate. They never miss an opportunity to poke a stick. They never miss an opportunity to mischaracterize, to rile up, to amp up.

And so, when it comes to de-escalating I'm seeing folks in Minnesota put political party aside. I'm seeing folks in Minnesota from all sides wanting to de-escalate. And I'm seeing the federal government time and time again, needlessly going out of its way to escalate, amp up and make things hotter and bring the temperature up.

BROWN: Why do you think that is?

SIMON: I don't know. It sure looks like given the tactics of all too many of the ice officers in our state right now, that the tactics seem designed more to instill fear than to protect the public. More to get people scared. More to exact revenge, more to carry out the retribution that the president himself explicitly talked about than to actually make us safer.

[22:15:09]

How does it make us safer -- how does it get after the so-called worst of the worst, to have ICE agents, as was captured on video just a couple days ago? Chasing, tackling and handcuffing a child in a cold snowbank in below zero temperature that was captured, that's gone viral. That's one of many, many examples of the kinds of tactics that seem unnecessarily forceful and cruel and seemingly designed to instill fear, not protect the public.

If this was about getting the worst of the worst, if this was about ICE operating from some sort of list of the worst of the worst, I think we've been in a very different situation. But that's not what we're in.

They're in Costco. They're in Target. They're at gas stations. They're at churches. They're in schools. This seems like an aimless dragnet that is designed to instill fear rather than to apprehend the worst of the worst.

BROWN: I just really want to clarify. I know that there was the case of Liam Ramos who federal authorities say that, the father ran away and Liam was left in the car and that ultimately the father wanted Liam to come with him into the facility. What were you talking about specifically when you said a child was tackled in the snowbank? I just want to be clear.

SIMON: Yeah, I actually, I found this video on, on social media, and I reposted it. There was a video, it's gone viral, not just for me, but from others of a boy, I don't know how old, older than five, but -- and maybe older than 10. It's hard to tell. Being chased, tackled and handcuffed in a snowbank on the side of the street.

BROWN: He was an older boy, right? He was older, right?

SIMON: Yeah, yeah. Probably 10, maybe 15. It's hard to say but a child for sure.

BROWN: I just wanted to clarify.

I just want to ask you, too, about this letter from Pam Bondi, the head of DOJ, asking for voter data at the same time that this is happening in Minnesota and Alex Pretti was killed. I mean, what's going on here?

SIMON: I'd call it bizarre and disturbing. Bizarre because it has nothing to do with the facts on the ground. You know, we've been through a lot of anguish and heartache here in Minnesota because of what's happening, because of this ICE surge and siege.

And on the very day that a second person was killed by ICE agents, the attorney general floats the idea, at least implies the idea that one of the three things she and the administration is asking for, as the price of peace and security and order in Minnesota is that we in our office hand over the voter rolls, the private personal information like drivers licenses and social security numbers of millions of Minnesotans. And what's particularly galling is were already in litigation on this.

She well knows that were literally in court right now over that very issue. They've asked from the same for the same information from 42 states. Ten have said yes, 32 like Minnesota have said no. And there's litigation all over the country on the request for this voter data.

The department of justice so far is zero and three. There are three states that have outright dismissed that. And in Minnesota, were in similar proceedings right now with a hearing coming up in a few weeks.

So, this is teed up right now in litigation. It's where it belongs. We have a difference of interpretation of the law. We say that they're not entitled under federal or state law to obtain this information. They say they are. So, in a civilized country we go to court. That's what courts are for.

We don't battle it out in the streets. The point is, though, this battle is happening in the courts where it should be. And she knows that. So she's asking us to, I don't know, violate state and federal law in order to give her data that we maintain that they can't obtain under state and federal law. So, it's a little bit puzzling. It's disturbing that this would be part of the offer or the term sheet. Given that it has nothing to do with immigration or public safety

BROWN: Steve Simon, thank you so much for your time.

SIMON: Thank you.

BROWN: A winter storm is still lashing parts of the northeast at this hour. Ahead, a look at the impact from the powerful system and how many people are now without power. As brutal cold settles in.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[22:23:01]

BROWN: A private jet carrying eight people crashed on takeoff just a few hours ago in Bangor, Maine. And this comes amid the major winter storm thrashing the region. A source tells CNN the extent of injuries to those on board isn't known at this time. Federal records show the plane is registered to a business in Houston.

Minutes before the crash, controllers and pilots can be heard talking about low visibility and deicing, and it's not immediately clear who was talking to whom. So, still a lot more to learn here.

Joining us now is CNN transportation analyst Mary Schiavo. She is also the former inspector general of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

So early, early stages here in this investigation, Mary. We don't yet know if weather played a role in this crash, but what are the potential dangers of flying in this kind of weather?

MARY SCHIAVO, CNN TRANSPORTATION ANALYST: Well, in this kind of weather, you've got your plane and attack. This was a Challenger 650. It's a workhorse business jet. There were supposedly eight people on board, which is pretty close to a full load. So you've got a loaded up plane, and then you add on top of that snow and ice.

And of course, the biggest worry for that is that you -- what's called foul, your lifting surface, your wings. When snow or ice builds up on the wings, then it destroys some of the lift that you need to get that plane off the end of the runway. And of course, that's why you go through the deicing.

But if you wait on the runway or you have delays before takeoff, et cetera., that deicing effect is reduced literally by the minute or by the second in a heavy snow.

The other problem you have, among others, you have visibility problem. You can have whiteout conditions and it can blow up very quickly. You might. You have to have the limited visibility required in airport for takeoff. But if you get gusting winds and it can shift, you know, second by second, you might have whiteout conditions just as you're trying to lift off and judge your, you know, the ends of the runway, et cetera.

And then finally, if the runway is at all icy or you've got crosswinds, you literally could exit the runway off the sides, which has happened before.

[22:25:03]

So weather can challenge even a jumbo jet. And on this plane with a heavy load, it would be challenging if you had any buildup of ice or snow on the wings. So there's a lot to look at here, but the investigators will have this figured out probably by looking at the weather and checking the conditions. And any eyewitnesses on the scenes. And we don't know the condition of the people on board either yet.

BROWN: Yeah. I mean, with the plane crash. This reminded me of the Colgan Air Flight 3407. Remember that the plane that was going to Buffalo and they talked about ICE being a potential issue, I believe on the wings. And I don't know if this aligns perfectly, but it just reminds me that weather really can play a critical role in these plane crashes.

SCHIAVO: Oh, absolutely. And planes vary from one model to another. How good their two icing systems are. You have anti-ice and you have de-ice on some planes, and here they would have had their anti-ice on before ever taking off.

But you know, even on, as I mentioned, even on a jumbo jet weather can overcome that equipment. You literally can't. Every plane is rated for what kind of conditions they can fly in. Some can fly into known icing, some can't. But literally the systems on board can only do so much. It depends on how heavy that snow is coming down.

But in Colgan, obviously they did not pay attention to all the warnings. They got icing warnings. They were flying, though they weren't taking off. It's especially problematic taking off, because you've got to get that lift. But if you don't, even if you're flying on straight and level, if you

don't pay attention to the warnings that ice can build up. And I've been on a plane that had a small business jet that had some ice build up on the wings, and it looks like lace on the wings. It's very lacy and it's kind of pretty, but of course it destroys the flow of the air across the wing, which is what you have to have to fly. So ice and snow is tough on any aircraft.

BROWN: Yeah, that must have been unnerving to be on the plane and to see that I imagine knowing everything you know. What will investigators be looking for as they try to determine the cause of this crash?

SCHIAVO: Well, you know, first and foremost, they're going to be looking at all the decision making. You know, what weather was checked, what weather advisories did they have? Did they get all the proper weather advisories? Were they given the proper weather advisories? Because obviously the, you know, the air traffic controller also plays a role here. You know, what was the decision making in going to take off in these particular conditions? Did it change just at the very last minute?

Now there's probably not a cockpit voice recording on this, but there's some rudimentary equipment that that is -- that does record. But I think that the NTSB will be looking at the decision making. Why were they taking off in such bad conditions? Was there any way they could have waited it out, or what was the real thinking in doing this? Because the best advice is always to wait it out not to go in conditions like this, because weather can do awful things to aircraft.

BROWN: All right. Mary Schiavo, thank you so much for all of your insights.

We'll be right back.

SCHIAVO: Thanks.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[22:31:35]

BROWN: That brutal winter weather is making its way across the U.S. East Coast after dropping ice and snow from the Southern Rockies to the Northeast, and even in the South. At least seven people have died as temperatures dropped to their coldest so far this winter. These images from Ohio right here show the hazardous conditions for many on the roads, and conditions are forecast to worsen overnight amid the frigid temperatures.

And it isn't just the snow. Layers of ice remain on the ground across several southern states. Ice, too, on power lines, as you see right here.

In Mississippi, the governor said there has been catastrophic damage to at least one power distribution line. More than one million customers across the mid-Atlantic and south are now without power. And New York City is shutting down bit by bit as a result of the winter storm.

Here's a live look at the city now. Mayor Zohran Mamdani activated a code blue, requiring all social service programs to give shelter to the homeless. And even after that alert, NYPD says they found at least three people dead in the freezing temperatures who appear to be homeless. The new mayor was on the street Sunday, where he helped clear roadways and dig out a stuck car. New York city schools will be remote on Monday due to the weather and the city's bike share system and public libraries will continue to be shut down.

So, a lot going on in the Big Apple.

Joining us now is Christina Farrell, first deputy commissioner of New York City Emergency Management.

First of all, just bring us up to speed. What are the conditions like on the ground right now?

CHRISTINA FARRELL, FIRST DEPUTY COMMISSIONER, NEW YORK CITY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: Yeah, so we've gotten about 10, 11 inches of snow, which, you know, that hasn't happened in several years here. We do have a little bit of ice, some freezing rain, although the temperatures are a little colder than we thought.

So it's kind of staying snow, but the roads are treacherous. They're slippery. We're continuing to ask people to stay off the roads while sanitation, transportation. They go out there and clear the roads to get us back to where we want to be.

BROWN: Yeah. A lot of the roads here in Washington, D.C. are tricky, too. On my way into work, there were a lot of abandoned cars. I wonder in your city, what are the biggest challenges right now?

FARRELL: So, the slippery roads. Definitely. You know, it's like you said, it's cold. It's going to stay cold. So, this snow isn't going anywhere.

So, you know, we -- there's a lot of buildings, a lot of people here. So, we have to figure out where the snow can stay while it's here for several days. And like you said, it's going to be -- it is cold. It's going to continue to be very cold. We have a code blue, which means outreach teams are out talking to unhoused New Yorkers, encouraging them to come in out of the cold.

New Yorkers can call our local 311 and report if they see New Yorkers that need help. And we've opened warming centers across the city to encourage people to come in during this cold time.

BROWN: Yeah. I was sad to learn that several homeless people were found dead, despite the fact that there are these warming facilities. It's very sad. This, of course, is Mayor Zohran Mamdani's first big test as mayor. I wonder what more you can tell us about how he's been running the city through this big storm.

FARRELL: Yeah, it's been great to work with the mayor, to work with his team. They've been here at the command center a lot. They've been out. Part of our interagency calls flagging issues for us. And so, you know, he's been across the five boroughs like you saw shoveling some people out talking to sanitation workers.

[22:35:01]

So, so far, things are going really well in New York City.

BROWN: All right, Christina Farrell, thank you. And best of luck to you.

FARRELL: Thank you. You, too. Stay safe.

BROWN: We'll continue our breaking news coverage of the fallout from the deadly shooting in Minneapolis after the break. And still ahead, the latest reactions from Trump officials and U.S. lawmakers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Welcome back to our breaking coverage of the growing unrest in Minneapolis following the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by border patrol agents. Despite the city's frigid temperatures, large crowds were out on the streets calling for the removal of federal agents from their communities. And this comes as the Trump administration doubles down on its aggressive immigration enforcement tactics. Top White House officials are still defending the officers' actions during the deadly encounter, and they're blaming Minnesota officials for escalating the crisis.

The Senate minority leader says his party will block a government spending bill if the Department of Homeland Security funding bill is included. The House passed its own DHS funding bill on Thursday, but blocked Democrats request for the measure to require agents to wear body cameras and other guardrails. Here's more from a Democratic lawmaker from Minnesota.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANGIE CRAIG, U.S. HOUSE DEMOCRAT: Are we okay that an authoritarian administration is taking over American cities? Are we okay that our First Amendment, our Second Amendment and our Fourth Amendment rights under the Constitution are being violated? Hell no, we're not okay.

But if we don't take a stand now, at this moment in time, America, look at what is happening in Minnesota. This is coming to a city near you if we don't take a stand now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: The department is also coming under fire from some Republicans. GOP Senator Bill Cassidy posted this on Saturday, quote, the events in Minneapolis are incredibly disturbing. There must be a full joint federal and state investigation. We can trust the American people with the truth.

[22:40:03]

CNN's Betsy Klein is at the White House with the very latest on the Trump administration's response.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: President Trump and his team doubling down on their hardline immigration policies after federal officers killing of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Even as this incident is revealing, cracks in the president's own coalition, the white house deploying top officials to the airwaves on Sunday, where they defended ICE agents tactics as well as immigration policies more broadly. They also shifted blame to state and local officials, particularly Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, along with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who they say are not doing enough to support federal law enforcement on the ground.

President Trump, underscoring that message in a post to social media on Sunday evening, he wrote, quote, Democrats are putting illegal alien criminals over taxpaying, law-abiding citizens and they have created dangerous circumstances for everyone involved. Tragically, two American citizens have lost their lives as a result of this Democrat ensued chaos.

But privately, we are learning that Trump administration officials are concerned about the scenes playing out. And over at the Department of Homeland Security. We are reporting that officials are concerned that Secretary Kristi Noem handling of this situation is putting federal law enforcement at risk of long term reputational damage. Now, there are no plans at this time to change their policy posture. ICE, for now, will remain in Minnesota. The president's hope is that these protests can calm down and that he can go back to touting some of the success that he believes ICE is having in apprehending illegal immigrants.

Now they are getting some rare pushback on this, including from Governor Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma. He told our colleague Dana Bash over the weekend that Americans are asking, what is the end game? And that, in his view, President Trump is not getting good advice on this.

Now, something that was missed Saturday, as this story developed, is the possibility of a potential off ramp for federal officials here. We heard this in a letter from Attorney General Pam Bondi to Governor Tim Walz.

She wrote, saying that if he repeals sanctuary policies and shares Medicaid, food assistance and voter data, they could, quote, bring an end to this chaos in Minnesota. Democratic national committee officials saying that is extortion.

Betsy Klein, CNN at the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Our thanks to Betsy.

Well, a pediatrician who was among the first to assess Alex Pretti described what happened before and after the shooting. The detailed account is included in a new filing, which was given under penalty of perjury in a lawsuit against the Trump administration that protesters brought last month or recently.

I want to read you some from the full statement, quote, "I am a licensed pediatrician, and I have been practicing pediatric medicine in the city since I moved here. On January 24th, 2026, at approximately 9:00 a.m., I was awoken by the sound of cars honking and whistles blowing. Shortly after I awoke, I heard screaming from outside my window. I saw several ICE agents and civilians yelling at each other. One civilian was standing in front of a parked car on the side of the road. I saw him yelling at the ICE agents, but I did not see him attack the agents or brandish a weapon of any kind.

Suddenly, an ICE agent shoved him to the ground. My view of the altercation was partially obstructed, but after a few seconds I saw at least four ICE agents point guns at the man. I then saw the agents shoot the man at least six or seven times. Initially, I was stunned.

From what I could see from my apartment, there was absolutely no need for any violence, let alone lethal force by multiple officers. I immediately put on my boots and coat, ran outside, and approached ICE agents who were near the victim. The scene was chaotic. Many civilians were screaming and honking.

Over the noise, I informed the ICE agents that I am a physician, and I asked to assess the victim. At first, the ICE agents wouldn't let me through. They repeatedly asked me for my physician's license, which I obviously didn't have. But none of the ICE agents who were near the victim were performing CPR, and I could tell that the victim was in critical condition. I insisted that the agents let me assess him. Normally, I would not have been so persistent, but as a physician, I felt a professional and moral obligation to help this man, especially since none of the agents were helping him.

Finally, one agent agreed to let me assess the victim. He patted me down to make sure I didn't have a weapon, and then let me approach the victim.

As I approached, I saw that the victim was lying on his side and was surrounded by several ice agents. I was confused as to why the victim was on his side, because that is not standard practice. When a victim has been shot. Checking for a pulse and administering CPR is standard practice.

[22:45:02]

Instead of doing either of those things, the ICE agents appeared to be counting his bullet wounds. I asked the ICE agents if the victim had a pulse, and they said they did not know. I then asked the agents to make space so I could assess the victim. The victim had at least three bullet wounds in his back. I asked the ICE agents to turn the victim from his side to his back. From that position, I saw an additional gunshot wound on the victims upper left chest. And another possible gunshot wound on his neck. I checked for a pulse, but I did not feel one.

I immediately began CPR. Shortly after, I started compressions, EMS personnel arrived and took over. I remained at the scene for about five more minutes, but protesters began to gather and the situation seemed to be escalating. So I left and returned to my apartment.

I am devastated by the killing of a Minnesotan by multiple federal immigration agents. From what I could tell, the victim was not actively threatening ICE agents or the public. He was just yelling at the agents because he objected to ICE's presence in our city. A person should not be shot and killed for lawfully expressing their opinions."

Joining us now for more on all of this is Sarah Saldana, the former director of ICE under President Obama.

I want to get your reaction to what that physician had to say. Talking about what happened on the scene when he finally approached Alex Pretti that there hadn't been any CPR done, that instead they were counting his bullet wounds. He said that wasn't standard practice.

Just what is your reaction as a former head of ICE?

SARAH SALDANA, FORMER DIRECTOR OF ICE UNDER PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, it's heartbreaking. Personal account like that from someone who was just by the victim's side as he was taking his last breaths. I am a -- I am beyond words now that -- this is an agency that I led, that I took great pride in. Our mission was and continues to be important overall.

But I believe that while the focus has often been on ICE, this is an administration policy that is directing these actions. It is not just ICE. It's the entire Department of Homeland Security. The people they have brought in who don't do interior enforcement as their mission, which is what ICE is, and yet continue to double down with statements that are just so clearly false.

And there's no way around it. This was a terrible situation on the heels of the Renee Good killing, and I really believe it's time for DHS just to say it is time to step away. Everyone has to take a deep breath here. We have lost the community. We have lost the state. Quite frankly, I think, they're beginning to lose the country as well.

And it is -- it is -- it has done nothing to make Minnesotans feel safer. If anything, listening to Minnesotans speak, it's just worse. So that -- I -- if you want to undermine the mission of ice, there's no better way to do it than how DHS and the administration is going about it. Again, I don't put the blame entirely on just ICE. I think I saw, the uniform of a Bureau of Prisons officer in this group and it is it is startling. It is startling. And I think it's time for all Americans, not just Minnesotans, to pay attention, sit up and state their views on this.

BROWN: I think you also raised an important point that, well, ICE agents do, our understanding may have been there. There were other agencies, including Customs and Border Protection, and Gregory Bovino was on with dana bash earlier today defending the agents saying that they were the real victims here. If you would help our viewers understand the training, because there is a difference between the training that would be for ice officers, that does targeted enforcement in the interior, right? They go -- I've done ride-alongs with them. It's based on

intelligence. It's usually targeted. They go to different places where they believe that there is an undocumented immigrant who has a criminal history, and then you have CBP, which is typically at the border, and that requires a totally different kind of training, right, in many ways?

[22:50:00]

SALDANA: Absolutely. Of course, there are some fundamentals constitutional law, search and seizure law, all of that. Everyone, whether you're at the border or whether you're in the interior, enforcing immigration laws must abide by those principles.

But you're absolutely right. CBP, and keep in mind that border patrol is agency within CBP, Customs and Border Patrol. They focus on ports of entry, airports, the border. ICE's specialty is interior enforcement and how you go about the obvious distinction, which is one is within the country where obviously there's communities that can be affected. American citizens, as opposed to being on the border, where many times all CBP has to do is turn those people around and send them back home.

There's not the challenge and the necessary preparation, which is extensive before you do an operation in the interior of the country, because it can affect so many people, not only the immigrants, their neighbors, but the entire community, as we've seen in Minneapolis.

BROWN: There are so many different angles now that that are on video. We've asked the administration if there's any other evidence that they have that we haven't seen. It has not released any of that. So perhaps there's something else out there, but it has not been released. But from what you have seen and all the different angles of the video, does it make any sense to you why Alex Pretti is dead right now?

SALDANA: If these were agents or officers that I was responsible for as director of ICE, there would be a reckoning here. Certainly, after investigation. But you've got six, seven, eight men on top of this -- the victim who has just tried to assist a woman who has been thrown down by an agent, and there is just nothing, even in the audio that gives away why anyone would be threatened by Mr. Pretti.

It's an extraordinary situation. And it does the agency and the important mission of ICE no good to come back and say. I think in their words, was that they had been approached by law enforcement -- this -- Mr. Pretti had approached law enforcement with this weapon. And people can see for themselves. That's just not the case.

That -- that is -- when you talked about earlier reputational damage, ICE has never been a favored agency of this country, but it has never gotten to this level where actually more damage has done -- has been done to the important mission of ICE, just by this reaction, the digging in and making false statements of fact in order to try to justify what cannot be.

BROWN: So bottom line, you see no reason why Alex Pretti should be dead?

SALDANA: None at all. And in fact, you know, I -- I think the entire country holds first responders, nurses, doctors in the highest regard. And to know now some of the facts regarding this gentleman, it is just even more, saddened and heartbreaking to hear of, of all this and, and yet this man is dead because of, of his presence that morning.

BROWN: Sarah Saldana, thank you so much for offering your perspective. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[22:57:54]

BROWN: The stage is now set for Super Bowl LX after Sunday's NFL Conference Championship Games. First in the AFC, the Patriots and Broncos battled in snowy, windy conditions in Denver. Both defenses were dominant, but New England came up big late in the game with this interception off Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham to close things out. Patriots win 10-7.

And in the NFC, it was a shootout between the L.A. Rams and the Seahawks -- and Seattle. Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold with three touchdown passes in Seattle, holds off the Rams 31-27.

So, it will be the Patriots taking on the Seahawks for the Lombardi trophy and Super Bowl LX February 8th in Santa Clara, California.

Thanks for watching. I'm Pamela Brown. Stay with CNN. The news continues after a quick break.