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Man Shot & Killed By Fed. Agents in Minneapolis; DHS Says Man Was Armed; Senate Dems Threaten Partial Government Shutdown Over DHS Funding. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired January 25, 2026 - 00:00   ET

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

JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Jessica Dean here in New York City. Stay with us though. We've got more news for you when we come back.

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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

DEAN: Hi, and welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and all around the world. I'm Jessica Dean here in New York. And we begin in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where federal agents shot and killed a 37 year old man during a protest today. Alex Pretti was an intensive care nurse at a Minneapolis veteran affairs hospital. His family says that in the moments with before he was killed, he was trying to protect a woman that federal agents had pushed down while he was being pepper sprayed.

CNN has examined video of the deadly encounter. We do want to warn you as we play it for you to see that it is graphic. It is disturbing to watch. You will see that it shows several federal agents wrestling him to the ground. At least one of those agents appear to be kicking him. Later in the video, you hear federal agents firing at least 10 gunshots.

Now the Department of Homeland Security say officers took this handgun from Pretti and fired in self-defense. However, at no point in any of the videos reviewed by CNN can Pretti be seen wielding a weapon. Minneapolis police say he was a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry. Still, Trump Administration officials are calling Pretty a domestic terrorist. This is DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTI NOEM, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: When you perpetuate violence against a government because of ideological reasons and for reasons to resist and perpetuate violence, that is the definition of domestic terrorism. This individual who came with weapons and ammunition to stop a law enforcement operation of federal law enforcement officers committed an act of domestic terrorism. That's the facts.

(END VIDEO CLIP) DEAN: Minnesota officials are suing the Trump Administration to

prevent alleged tampering and destruction of evidence for related to this shooting. That suit also says federal defendants have already removed evidence from the scene, preventing state authorities from inspecting it.

Governor Tim Walz says video disproves the Trump Administration's quote, "nonsense and lies" about how the shooting unfolded. And the Minneapolis mayor has sent this message to President Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR JACOB FREY, MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: To President Trump, this is a moment to act like a leader. Put Minneapolis, put America first in this moment. Let's achieve peace. Let's end this operation and I'm telling you our city will come back, safety will be restored. We're asking for you to take action now to remove these federal agents.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Let's turn now to Julia Vargas Jones who has been tracking this. She's joining us now from Los Angeles. Julia, what is the latest as we stand here? It is now midnight East Coast time. What is the latest?

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Look, Jessica, we're learning so much more about the 37 year old who was shot there in that video. That very difficult to watch video. I want to walk you through some of the background that some of his family and friends have shared with CNN.

Alex Pretti, as we know, worked as a nurse, an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center. He had been there for about five years. And his parents, Michael and Susan Pretti said in a statement that was shared with CNN that he was a kind hearted soul who cared deeply for his family and friends and also the American veterans that he cared for as an ICU nurse. He wanted to make a difference in this world, his parents said. And heartbreakingly, they added, unfortunately, he will not be with us to see this impact.

We also heard from Dr. Dimitri Drekonja, Chief of Infectious Diseases Section at the Minneapolis VA, who spoke about his colleague. He said that he was a good, kind person who lived to help. And his parents later told the Associated Press, Jessica, that that narrative that we have been hearing from DHS about their son is sickening, these are lies that are reprehensible and disgusting.

They said that he began participating in these protests after the death of Renee Good, that he wanted to participate, he wanted to be part of his community. That he cared deeply about people and he was very upset about the presence of ICE in his community. And so far that he actually had a discussion with their son, Jessica, about being careful and the steps that he should take while being out there protesting or being a witness, serving as a witness to those ICE DHS operations taking place in Minneapolis.

[00:05:00] Now this, what exactly Pretti was doing at that scene is unclear. We have seen now video from multiple angles at this point that show the moments leading up to that altercation. But what we did see on the ground over the past few weeks, the CNN has been there is a massive, massive presence of citizens. As they see ICE there's a very well organized network on digital platforms, on Signal, on Zoom, where these groups activate each other as soon as they see ICE. There will be people blowing whistles, coming to the block where ICE is and then following them around.

Now, it's unclear if that is what Alex Pretti was doing in that moment there, but that is something that we have seen time and again of people trying to be there to serve as witnesses as legal observers to those encounters with DHS, Jessica.

DEAN: All right, Julia, thank you for that. And for more analysis, we're joined now from Los Angeles by Steve Moore, a CNN Law Enforcement Contributor. He's a retired FBI supervisory special agent who spent 25 years with the FBI. Steve, just making sure you're here with us. All right. Unfortunately, we don't have Steve right now, so we're going to try to get back to him when we can.

In the meantime, we're going to take a quick break. When we come back, we're going to track a monster winter storm in the U.S. it is intensifying as it makes its way east. We'll show you where the heaviest snow and ice are hitting right now.

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DEAN: All right, let's go back to our breaking news out of Minneapolis. The family of the man shot and killed by federal officials is denying the official account of that incident. They say Alex Pretti, seen here in a baseball hat, was clearly holding a phone, not a gun, before that shooting Saturday morning. And they say he was trying to protect a woman who you see is pushed down by federal agents while he was being pepper sprayed.

The Homeland Security Department says that the agent fired defensive shots after an armed resisted -- an armed person resisted attempts to take his weapon away from him. A top Border Patrol official later criticized state and city leaders.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GREGORY BOVINO, BORDER PATROL COMMANDER-AT-LARGE: We will not allow violence against our law enforcement officers. And we need state and local help. State and local law enforcement to help us coordinate to get violent criminals off the street. Mayor Frey and Chief O'Hara just a few minutes ago did the opposite of that by omitting the fact that the suspect had a gun and magazines full of ammunition.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Now, Gregory Bovina, who you saw there, did not say if Pretti pulled a gun before he was shot. So far, no video has shown him brandishing that weapon. Minneapolis police say he had a legal gun permit and they believe he was a U.S. citizen. And for more analysis, we're joined now from Los Angeles by Steve Moore, who is a CNN Law Enforcement Contributor. He's also a retired FBI supervisory special agent who spent 25 years with the FBI.

Steve, thanks for being here with us. We appreciate it. You have a lot of experience, 25 years with the FBI. As someone who worked with the FBI for all that time, what are you thinking tonight?

STEVE MOORE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I'm looking over and over at that video, and obviously the ICE officers, if they feel that their life is in imminent danger, then they are allowed to use deadly force. I'm trying to figure out where the imminent danger occurred. I'm not saying that it's didn't. I don't -- I wasn't in that scrum, and I've been in scrum, so I know that you don't know what the people underneath are seeing.

But I don't see, from what I -- from what I can see so far, the imminent danger that the officer apparently saw. And so this is why we have to take this forward and do a complete investigation on it. But I'm not seeing what they saw that made them shoot.

DEAN: And in terms of how quickly this escalated and how severely it escalated, you know, we see him on the ground. We see these agents around him. We see at one point, at least one of them kicking him. He, you know, best we can see, he's, you know, crouching like this. What does it say to you that this continued to be turned up, this whole situation, that it kept escalating quite quickly over the span of that video?

MOORE: Well, one of the problems we have here is that ICE, regardless of whether they're trained for immigration law enforcement, or whether they're trained for apprehension or even apprehending people who are interfering or obstructing in their job, they're not trained for crowd control. And so what's happened here over the course of this entire series of episodes is that they've been thrust into crowd control because the Minneapolis police have not done crowd control.

So as much as Frey and Walz are talking about actions that -- you know, you can all look and see how this can be done better. But getting politics out of the thing completely, there is a huge absence of Minneapolis police as a buffer between the protesters and ICE. You know, if you don't want protesters getting involved or pepper sprayed or anything like that, then have your own officers out there and create a buffer. And so we're not seeing that. That stands out to me.

[00:15:00]

And this could turn out as it, as many have said so far, to be just a tragic, unnecessary taking of life. But I think it wouldn't have happened had there been trained -- people trained in crowd control as a buffer between the protesters and ICE.

DEAN: Right. And we did see, I remember earlier today, after the shooting, Sara Sidner, our colleague, who I know, you know as well, was there on the scene, and at that point they had moved the federal agents out, whoever had made that decision. But there were state troopers there and police officers. And that they, again, noting, as you say, that they are better trained to deal with this.

It is certainly clear that the ICE agents being in the middle of cities with protesters is not working. Would you agree with that?

MOORE: No, I don't think it is at all. I would agree with that. One thing that -- I mean, I'm not one who agrees that they're poorly trained necessarily. I mean, you'd have to show me specific instances. But on the whole, I don't think they're a poorly trained agency, but they certainly aren't trained for crowd control.

And the fact that for political reasons is all I can think of, because there's no tactical or strategic reason, the City of Minneapolis has not provided a buffer of law enforcement who are crowd controlled trained as a buffer between ICE operations and protesters. And we all agree that peaceful protest is allowed, and it's what's part of what's made this country great.

But as we've seen, the two fatal shootings that have occurred have happened not while ICE was actually enforcing immigration laws, but while they were trying to deal with people that they felt rightly or wrongly were interfering or obstruct -- interfering with or obstructing their operations. And I think you can hang a lot of this on the city of Minneapolis for not appropriate, appropriately supporting other law enforcement.

DEAN: And so what do you say, though, to the fact that local law enforcement was not allowed at the crime scene, that they've now had to sue the federal government to -- because they believe they're tampering with evidence? It does seem to run both ways, that they're not -- it's not like they're getting a ton of cooperation from the federal agents either.

MOORE: And I'm not alleging they are. I am saying that as. As human beings, as the Mayor of Minneapolis, as the Chief of the Minneapolis Police, I will be looking in the mirror tonight and saying two people have died, likely because we didn't have our officers out on the street. I mean, is this such an issue that their feelings are so hurt that they are willing to put people from Minneapolis in danger?

Because if you listen to Governor Walz, if you listen to Mayor Frey, they believe that the ICE agents are a danger. Well, then why aren't you out there protecting your people from them by simply putting a buffer in there?

And I think what's happened is -- and I'm -- listen, you're hearing me talk about one side. There's enough of this to go around. I mean, I don't think there's enough information out there for the Homeland Security to be making pronouncements about guilt or innocence at this point. I get that.

But let's take politics out of this for a second and say we've got to put a buffer here because people have now died twice because there's nobody there to keep protesters -- and you know, protesters are not going to be assaulting officers or trying to impede them. Protesters don't do that. But there needs to be somebody in between to keep people from trying to interfere with armed federal agents.

DEAN: All right, Steve Moore, thanks for your time tonight. We really do appreciate it.

MOORE: Thank you.

DEAN: And top Senate Democrats are now threatening a partial government shutdown following this fatal shooting. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer posting on X, criticizing ICE's actions. He also said Democrats would not provide the votes to push through government appropriations of DHS's funding bill if that or if that was included.

[00:20:00]

It comes as the Senate now faces a Friday deadline to pass the spending measure. It's going to need at least 60 votes to get out of the Senate. Let's bring in CNN Senior Political Analyst Ron Brownstein for more on this.

Ron, it is interesting to look there is what happened today from a human perspective. There is the politics now that are all around this. And Democrats now have before them -- they were already kind of, let's call it squishy on if they were going to support this funding. And now they have something to really hang this on, which is they don't want to -- a lot of them do not want to support DHS funding. And so where do you think this goes from here? Do you think this government will get shut down?

RONALD BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Can I just say, first of all, that was astonishing analysis from Steve Moore to blame this on the City of Minneapolis. Two people are dead because ICE agents chose to shoot them or federal agents chose to shoot them, not because the mayor did not choose to provide accompanying police support for everything ICE wants to do in their city, which I do not believe based on what's happened in other cities, that ICE is even telling them what they are doing in their city to provide such police support. Just talk about blaming the victim. I mean, it was just an astonishing analysis.

Look, I think it is inconceivable at this point that Democrats would vote to fund ICE with no overview or conditions based on what's been happening. And sort of inexplicable that Republicans would as well. I mean, what we are witnessing is the most pervasive application of violence by any governmental entity in the U.S. against its own citizens since the days of George Wallace and Lester Maddox and Bill Connor using fire hoses and dogs and nightsticks against the civil rights protesters in the South.

And the idea that someone can be summarily killed by government forces for carrying a weapon in public in a state where that is legal was once the greatest boogeyman raised by the right. I mean, I remember in the 90s when the NRA talked about jackbooted government thugs who were threatening the Second Amendment rights of law abiding Americans. Tonight, the NRA basically blamed the killing on Minnesota officials. So what we are watching is -- as we've said before, you don't get an on/off switch tells you when you've entered a different kind of America than the one you grew up in. But this is pretty close to that. And the idea that the funding would go forward without at least some serious debate about what we are watching unfold on the streets of Minneapolis and in other cities, it just seems to me implausible.

So I know there are Democrats who feel that immigration is an issue in which they have gotten burned in the past, but it's hard to imagine that they can go forward and after this second killing and not raise serious objections to what ICE is doing.

DEAN: Yeah. And also tonight we hear from the, the head of the House Committee who has now asked all of these -- a number of DHS agency heads to come testify. We have just not seen a lot of oversight, frankly, from the Republican House or Senate. But to see that movement -- again, not that that's going to change anything that happened today, but for that -- for that -- for Republicans to come forward and start asking them to come in this way, what is -- did that mean anything to you? Did you read anything into that beyond how they're reacting to this?

BROWNSTEIN: Yeah. We don't know what exactly their posture is going to be at this hearing, whether to defend and deflect for ICE and CPB or whether to ask serious questions. But Jessica, as I wrote in my column last week, ultimately and we talked about, this is an unsustainable course unless you are willing to kind of follow it all the way into full scale rupture of the country.

I mean, they have arrested something like 350,000 or 360,000 undocumented immigrants. There are 14 million in the country. If you envision the level of force that is required to take what they are doing to scale, just think about how much disruption you're going to cause in American cities and how many American citizens at this current pace are going to be affected by that?

And, you know, what I wrote last week, I believe even more strongly today that the number of middle aged, middle class white Americans that the American public and even Republican members of Congress are willing to see killed as part of this effort is of probably a lot lower than Stephen Miller would prefer or predict.

And I think the fact that they feel it necessary to hold this hearing after multiple polls like the New York Times Siena poll this week showed 61 percent of Americans, 71 percent of Independents said ICE tactics are going too far is an indication that there is not infinite tolerance for this level of violence, which as I said, is the greatest level of violence we have seen any government entity in the U.S. direct against its own citizens since the segregationist South tried to use this pervasive force against the civil rights demonstrations.

[00:25:00]

I think what they are demonstrating is you cannot address this problem with these tactics, even at the level that they are doing now, much less what they envision with the extra funding that the big -- One Big Beautiful Bill gave them last year for ICE for 10,000 more agents on the streets of American cities.

DEAN: All right, Ron Brownstein, good to have you. Thank you. We appreciate it.

BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.

DEAN: U.S. Officials meantime, urging Americans to stay at home as this massive winter storm sweeps through the country. It is bringing heavy snow and crippling ice. It's now stretching 1,300 miles and moving east. We're already getting reports of power outages increasing and impassable road conditions. Airlines have canceled more than 14,000 flights between today and Monday. That number keeps going up, according to FlightAware.

Video out of Arkansas showing just how intense the storm is with cars just sliding off roadways there. The State's Department of Transportation says all roads in Arkansas are showing winter weather impacts. Some people trying to make the best out of what's not a great situation. Video from Little Rock showing someone skiing through the snow while others sled down a hill.

And joining us now for more on the coming U.S. winter storm is A.J. Gary. He is live in Little Rock, Arkansas, where he's the Director of the State's Division of Emergency Management. A.J. good to see you. As a Little Rock native, I know what it can be like when there is winter weather in Arkansas and it can get a bit dicey down there. How are things going right now?

A.J. GARY, DIRECTOR. ARKANSAS DIVISION OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: Well, right now they're doing pretty good. You know, we started preparing for this event a few days ago, working with our county partners, all of our county emergency managers, our other state agencies, having coordination calls with the National Weather Service to make sure everybody in the state was aware of what was fixing to take place this weekend.

So we've -- you know, some of the things we've done, we have the Arkansas National Guard is out with our Arkansas State Police on the roadways and they've been helping stranded motorists and, and some of the accidents that we've had. We've encouraged people to stay off our roads. As you mentioned, all of the highways and roads in the State of Arkansas are impacted in some way.

And for the most part I think people have been heeding that warning. And you know, we have a few accidents, but everything is moving pretty good. And we're now waiting, we're just now starting the second round of the winter weather that's moving through. So we're really watching it close tonight to see what that impact will be.

DEAN: Yeah, and it sounds like a lot of those preparations are paying off. What are you worried about? As you do you mentioned now you're waiting for the second round. What are you concerned about next?

GARY: So our biggest concern is will be the power outages if we get a lot of freezing rain that can bring tree limbs down and power lines down, so we're really watching that really close. That's probably our biggest concern. Our electric utility companies have been doing a great job throughout the day. I think we're only sitting at about 3,000 in the entire state that's without power right now. And they're continuously out there fixing problems as they occur.

So they're doing a great job. We're just hoping that we can keep those numbers down. Next couple of days, temperatures are really going to drop. So we want to make sure that our citizens are taken care of.

DEAN: Yeah, certainly. And do you think people -- I know you said they're heeding the concerns, but you think they are really staying off the roads for the most part?

GARY: I think so. We've been watching IDrive Arkansas. It's a very good app that the Arkansas Department of Transportation has where citizens can actually go and see what the roads are. Watching some of the video around the state. There is some traffic, but accidents really haven't been that bad. I think National Guard, they did about 80 motorist assists throughout last night and today. So far it's been pretty good.

DEAN: All right. Well, that's all good. Good news. I remember I was in high school for the ice storm, I think it was like 2000 or 2001. But listen, you never forget that when the power is out for many days.

[00:30:00]

GARY: Yes.

DEAN: so we certainly hope Everybody stays safe. A.J. Gary, thank you for joining us. We really appreciate it.

GARY: Thank you.

DEAN: And still ahead, we're going to have more breaking news. Growing unrest in Minnesota following another deadly shooting involving federal agents and protesters. Stay with us.

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DEAN: All right. We continue to follow news out of Minneapolis where federal agents fatally shot a 37 year old man earlier today and that has been captured on video. There are multiple videos that have made their way all around the Internet. We've reviewed a number of them. We will show you one of them. We do want to warn you it is disturbing to watch.

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DEAN: Law enforcement sources telling CNN the man killed is Minneapolis resident Alex Pretti. He was an ICU nurse at a Veteran Affairs medical center. Since this all happened, we've been getting a lot of reaction from across the political spectrum. And now the Republican Chair of the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee has formally requested the heads of multiple DHS agencies testifying in a full panel hearing.

We also heard from the Homeland Security Secretary, Kristi Noem, who gave the Trump Administration's account of the shooting, which has since been contradicted by videos reviewed by CNN. Noem has blamed the shooting on the Democratic Governor of Minnesota and the Minneapolis Mayor. Here's Secretary Noem.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NOEM: An individual approached U.S. Border Patrol officers with a 9 millimeter semiautomatic handgun. The officers attempted to disarm this individual, but the armed suspect reacted violently. Fearing for his life and for the lives of his fellow officers around him, an agent fired defensive shots. Medics were on the scene immediately and attempted to deliver medical aid to the subject, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

The suspect also had two magazines with ammunition in them that held dozens of rounds. He also had no ID. This looks like a situation where an individual arrived at the scene to inflict maximum damage on individuals and to kill law enforcement. Our law enforcement are doing everything that they can to protect the public. We're praying for this deceased loved one's family and friends.

But we also recognize that the Minnesota governor and the Minneapolis mayor need to take a long, hard look in the mirror. They need to evaluate their rhetoric, their conversations and their inclusion, encouragement of such violence against our citizens and our law enforcement officers. We don't have this problem in Texas or in Florida because those individuals in those states work with us and they make sure that they keep peace and calm while they bring criminals to justice.

In Minneapolis, Governor Walz and Mayor Frey, they instead choose violence. They instead choose to encourage the destruction of their city and the crime against their people. I don't know of any peaceful protester that shows up with a gun and ammunition rather than a sign. This is a violent riot when you have someone showing up with weapons and are using them to assault law enforcement officers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Meantime, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posting this on X. He has been supporting those ICE agents. He also condemned Minnesota officials, calling protesters, in his words, lunatics in the street. The governor of Minnesota is pushing back very, very hard against Kristi Noem and the administration's account of the events leading up to the fatal shooting, calling that timeline and that version of events nonsense and lies. The governor demanding President Trump withdraw ICE troops from Minnesota.

Here's Governor Tim Walz.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN): Donald Trump, I call on you once again, remove this force from Minnesota. They are sowing chaos and violence. We've seen deadly violence from federal agents again and again and again. But in contrast to that, on these frozen streets, what you witnessed yesterday was the best of Minnesotans peacefully exercising their First Amendment rights. And I attended in the church basement, hundreds of Minnesotans from all faith packing care packages for families that have been ripped apart.

Despite the horrific acts by this federal government, Minnesotans are standing up for the rule of law. They're protesting loudly and urgently but peacefully. It must stay that way. Minnesota. Minnesotans are witnessing and we're creating a log of evidence for the future prosecution of ICE agents and officials responsible for this. They're helping their neighbors. They're walking their kids to school. They're feeding families.

I salute their courage and their restraint. And I call on all Americans to see the decency that this state is exhibiting and the horrific cruelty, unprofessional, absolute abomination that is passing for what these ICE agents are doing on our streets.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: And for more on this, let's bring in Chris Klem, a retired Chief Patrol Agent for the U.S. Border Patrol. Chris, thanks for coming back. We appreciate it. Look, we're getting so many --

CHRIS CLEM, RETIRED CHIEF PATROL AGENT, U.S. BORDER PATROL: Thank you.

DEAN: Yeah, it's good to see you. We have so many videos that we're seeing that are taken by people on the streets. There should ICE agents, though, in your opinion, these federal agents, be required to wear body cameras because at this moment in time, they are not required to do that due to this 2025 Executive Order from President Trump that rescinded a Biden era policy. But do you think they should be wearing body cameras since we continue to see deadly interactions like this or violent interactions?

[00:40:00]

CLEM: Well, I can tell you that I'm a big fan of body cams because oftentimes the cell phone video is raw and from one angle or is, you know, can be edited nowadays. But having body cams on any law enforcement will show the entire situation leading up to it, the interaction, the reaction by any suspects, and ultimately the decisions that are made by both the suspect and, you know, the law enforcement officer. So, yes, I'm in favor of body cameras.

I know CBP, specifically Border Patrol, I think all of them are outfitted with, with body cams. I know that was the case when I was chief. That was the plan and that was rolling out. But I don't know where they actually are right now when it comes to some of the different ICE sections like Homeland Security Investigations or the ERO agents. But I'm encouraging it because it will capture so much of the facts that are oftentimes omitted or missing from raw cell phone video from the public. DEAN: Yeah. And then when it comes to putting together the whole picture, because again, as you're noting, we have videos, we have multiple angles TBD on if there's any body camera footage on this. But there is going to be an investigation. The question is, who will be doing that investigation? How critical do you think it is that it's both federal and local law enforcement participating in that together?

CLEM: Well, I can tell you that all my experience, and it goes back, you know, almost 30 years now. It was generally done with the state and the federal agencies combined. Now recognizing there's a lot of tension between the feds and the State of Minnesota, so I can see where there's some reluctancy there. However, you know, anytime we can get the facts out there and the facts stay true, then then I'm welcome to a joint investigation.

I think that this is a circumstance, given the volatility in Minnesota right now and maybe in other places around the country, that cooperation is key. But cooperation is going to have to start at the highest level of leadership, both the state level, our cabinet secretaries working together to make sure that not only an investigation is done properly, but the actual law enforcement operation is done together.

But we clearly have a difference in opinion in the State of Minnesota with the federal government. I'm hoping that circumstances like we've seen today and what we witnessed with Renee Good will actually bring some common ground, some common sense to solving this problem. Remember, ICE is there for law enforcement purposes and arresting those that are in violation of immigration laws.

DEAN: Right not to be there with American citizens who are protesting.

CLEM: Well, you know, again, the protest is a protected, you know, First Amendment peacefully assemble. But 18 USC, which is assault on a federal agency or agent, has nothing to do with your immigration status, whether you're a U.S. citizen or non-citizen. You interfere forcibly, impede, you know, get involved like that. It doesn't matter what your status is you're going to be subject to arrest.

But again, their priority mission, as we were talking about, is to go after and target these operations involving criminal and illegal noncitizens here in the United States.

DEAN: All right, Chris Clem, excuse me, thank you so much. We appreciate it.

CLEM: You got it. Thank you.

DEAN: Tens of millions of Americans are under winter weather alerts as heavy snow and dangerous ice begin to paralyze parts of the U.S. Stay with CNN we'll detail that next.

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[00:45:00] DEAN: A crippling winter storm moving across the U.S. could dump more than a foot of snow in some areas. Forecasters warn dangerous ice will continue to accumulate, bringing down trees and power lines. The snow and ice pushing east stretching 1,300 miles.

Now let's bring in retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent Jason Pack, who's also worked with FEMA. He's also an advanced EMT and active first responder as well. And he joins us now from Knoxville, Tennessee. Jason, good to see you. Thanks for being here with us.

So many states and Tennessee being one of them, I'm from Arkansas originally, that aren't used to this extreme winter weather are just getting hit so hard. How are you tracking them as they prepare for a storm of this magnitude? And how is that different than maybe, you know, here in New York City where we get winter storms a fair amount?

JASON PACK, FORMER FEMA EXTERNAL AFFAIRS OFFICER: Yeah. Ice and people in the south don't really mix sometimes, particularly on the roads --

DEAN: No.

PACK: -- when they are driving for sure. And I'll spend most of the day with the Tennessee Highway Patrol here in East Tennessee. We've gotten a lot of ice here. Not as much snow east. But as you travel toward Nashville and Memphis, the snow accumulations are there. And then you had A.J. on from the Arkansas Division of Emergency Management, they have snow there.

And something like 12 states have been awarded or President Trump has approved emergency disaster declarations through FEMA to bring direct federal assistance, if necessary, to those states. And so what that means, Jessica, is FEMA has stood up its national Response Coordination Center there and at its headquarters in Washington. And they've also acted something like 7 of their 10 regional response coordination centers throughout the country.

So emergency managers, if nothing else, are planners and they plan for exactly things like this. But what these emergency declarations mean, they can provide direct federal assistance. So they have generators and blankets and other types of assistance like that spread throughout the United States in strategic locations. And so should the state need that, they'd be able to request that up through FEMA.

One Another important thing, too, Jessica, is FEMA has placed individual liaisons in each of these emergency operations centers throughout the country who are affected by the storm. So they have direct access to the state emergency managers.

DEAN: I see. Yeah. And so there's what you're describing, which is what's happening right now during the storm. Then, you know, we're going to be -- they're going to these really cold temperatures that after the precipitation stops. And after the storm hits, what are we looking at in terms of FEMA response then once it's over, but you know, there's still implications and outcomes from that weather.

PACK: Yeah, I think, Jessica, we're still in the incident period of this. I don't think the storm is over by a long shot. I think as temperatures drop, the roads are going to refreeze. But after the storm passes, the states will do initial response to these things and then they'll conduct damage assessments. And each state will have individual needs and issues that will arise. And so based on the damage assessments that the states will pass up, they'll decide whether or not to go through their regional offices there to ask for a federal declaration if it rises to that level.

[00:50:00]

So if the state's overwhelmed and they don't have the resources to be able to meet those emergencies, then they'll go through their FEMA liaisons regionally and request that federal disaster declaration through the White House that way. So I don't think we're to quite that point yet. We don't really know what we need and we're still in the middle of the emergency.

I think the biggest issue is going to be power for folks, particularly in the places where the ice is, because the ice will melt those power lines. And that's not a good mix either, just like the drivers are here in Tennessee.

DEAN: No, indeed. I was going to say you mentioned ice is not a good combo. And that is really what can just do so much damage that ice.

PACK: It is. And you know, I'm pretty bad at math, but I was reading some stuff that said, you know, even a quarter of inch of ice cannot all this weight to the power lines and just take out the power throughout the areas. And I've seen power trucks coming through the interstate here on Interstate 40 over the past few days, just prestaging going out to all these states.

So those are some of the unsung heroes in this emergency management world, in these disasters are the linemen, the tow truck drivers, people we don't often talk about. People actually working in nursing homes and having to spend their entire weekends there. Just people you don't really think about that these emergencies affect like that. So hats off to those folks working out there tonight.

I know we ran on a couple of wrecks today and some stranded motorists ourselves. And so they were really appreciative that the state troopers and the emergency responders are out there. So again, I don't think we're quite through it yet. So hang tight and listen to your forecast.

And one of the other things, Jessica, is information, a lot of times that's overlooked. So information through the public information officers and these emergency management offices through the media is really important too. We don't want to panic anybody, but we want to give people the best information to make the best decisions.

DEAN: Yeah, stay informed. And you're right, those people that are keeping -- literally keeping the lights on, we are grateful to them. Jason Pack in Knoxville, Tennessee, thank you so much, we appreciate it.

PACK: Thanks Jessica. Have a good one.

DEAN: You too. We'll be right back.

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[00:55:00]

DEAN: And back to our top story tonight, which is the breaking news out of Minneapolis where tensions continue to escalate after federal agents shot and killed a protester named Alex Pretti there. He was an intensive care nurse who worked at a Veterans Affairs Hospital. We will show you this video. It is graphic and disturbing as you watch it.

The Homeland security department says that agents fired in self- defense, saying Pretti approached border patrol officers with a 9 millimeter semi-automatic handgun. But videos, including this one you're watching right now, suggest otherwise. You'll see it shows Pretti, who's in that baseball hat, moving between an agent and a woman federal officers had shoved to the ground. Pretti is then sprayed with a chemical irritant and then dragged to his knees by a number of officers there. Those officers later open fire on him at least 10 times while he's on the ground.

Another major story that we've also been following tonight is this massive winter storm that's sweeping through the U.S., bringing with it heavy snow and crippling ice that's now stretching 1,300 miles and moving east. By the time Washington D.C. wakes up tomorrow, that snow is going to be picking up. The first flakes will be going as far north as New York City. At that point, thousands of people in the southern U.S. including in Texas, have already lost power as freezing temperatures set in across that state and all across the South.

Stay warm and stay safe out there. Thanks so much for watching. I'm Jessica Dean. Our coverage of the shooting death in Minneapolis and that winter storm sweeping across the U.S. continues with Polo Sandoval after a quick break. Have a good night.

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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello and welcome to all of our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Paula Sandoval live in New York and we want to begin in Minneapolis, Minnesota. And that's where federal agents shot and killed a 37 year old man during a protest on Saturday.