Return to Transcripts main page
CNN This Morning
Videos Contradict DHS Account of Fatal Minneapolis Shooting; Parts of Philly See 9 Inches of Snow. Aired 6-6:30a ET
Aired January 26, 2026 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
[06:00:36]
AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. It is Monday, January 26. I'm Audie Cornish. Here is where we begin, with breaking news coverage in Minneapolis, where for the second time this month, a federal agent has shot a U.S. citizen to death.
Once again, the Trump administration accusing that citizen of being a domestic terrorist. But video evidence in the killing of 37-year-old Alex Pretti appears to contradict that narrative.
CNN's Gianna Toboni reviewed the videos. I'm going to warn you ahead of time, there is some footage here that is disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GIANNA TOBONI, CNN (voice-over): Around 9 a.m. Central, video captures two people approaching a federal immigration officer in front of an unidentified vehicle. The sound of whistles is blaring in the background.
Alex Pretti enters the frame here. He's filming an officer interacting with protesters and waving a car through. Fifteen seconds later, Pretti yells.
ALEX PRETTI, PROTESTOR: Hey, do not push them into the traffic!
TOBONI (voice-over): In their statement, DHS said that an individual approached officers with, quote, "a nine-millimeter semi-automatic handgun."
This video seems to show officers approaching Pretti instead of the other way around. We'll see later that Pretti does appear to have had a gun in his waistband, but this video shows he didn't have a gun in his hand, only a phone.
Video from this white car shows an up-close angle of a federal immigration officer pushing one protester. Then, three seconds later, he pushes Pretti.
And then, as the camera comes into focus, you see the same federal officer push a third protester with the orange backpack.
Pretti raises his hand and turns away just as the officer sprays him with a chemical irritant. You see Pretti and the other protester trying to help the person with the orange backpack.
You can see here an officer pulling Pretti off of this person. Three more officers join, and then two more. Pretti is on the ground under them.
One officer in a tan beanie can be seen repeatedly striking Pretti's head with a metal can.
You can see an officer in a gray jacket walk into the frame. There isn't a gun in his hand.
Seconds later, officers shout --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He has a gun! A gun!
TOBONI (voice-over): The officer removes the gun from Pretti's belt. The officer steps away from the scene, carrying a firearm, seen here in his right hand.
Then, gunfire.
(GUNFIRE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SCREAMING) What the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) did you just do?
TOBONI (voice-over): At least ten shots ring out.
We looked back at the scene from different angles and slowed down the footage. This officer, wearing a black beanie, can be seen drawing his firearm and pointing it in Pretti's direction.
We can't see his gun when the first shot is fired, but we can see that this officer fired the second shot. In this angle, you see, a second officer also had his gun drawn.
And here, he's pointing his weapon at Pretti as we hear gunshots, though it isn't clear if he's the one firing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What the (EXPLETIVE DELETED)? Did they (EXPLETIVE DELETED) kill that guy?
TOBONI (voice-over): Pretti collapses onto the ground as the officers scatter backwards from around him.
The same agent in the black beanie from earlier can be seen firing five final shots as Pretti lies there motionless.
Nobody approached his body for 24 seconds. When officers do return to Pretti, they appear to begin searching his body.
Video shows that about a minute after Pretti collapsed, immigration officers ask for medical support.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CORNISH: Joining me now is Juliette Kayyem, CNN national security analyst and former assistant secretary at DHS.
Thank you for being with me, Juliette. And I want to play for you, Greg Bovino, the Border Patrol commander at large, in just a moment.
But first, this video, as we saw the breakdown, is there something in particular that stood out to you about how officers at the scene handled the moment?
JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: I think we have to remember that they created it. I think every time I look at it, I am surprised how quickly it -- it does the opposite of deescalate.
So -- so, the situation that they find themselves in, even giving them the benefit of the doubt, or they didn't know what was going on.
[06:05:08]
They, in fact, created, by their approach to Pretti, this -- this -- this pile-on that I've seen. I can't -- I can't get over every time I see it. At that stage, then, you know, it's just chaos. It is -- it is -- absolutely no one seems to be in charge. They don't quite know what are they trying to do with him.
Then there's this, you know, scream of the gun.
The best-case scenario for -- for ICE is, it was a confused shot that then led to multiple other shots. That's not right.
But the problem was, is that then they came out immediately attacking the victim.
CORNISH: Yes.
KAYYEM: And saying -- they everything they did was -- was right, which we can see is not true.
CORNISH: Let me jump in here with that.
KAYYEM: It's just absolutely not true.
Our own Dana Bash had a very striking discussion with the Border Patrol commander, Greg Bovino, and here is the moment where she is asking him some of these questions about what was happening.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GREG BOVINO, BORDER PATROL COMMANDER-AT-LARGE: You don't know he was unarmed. I don't know he was unarmed. That's freeze frame adjudication of a crime scene via a photo.
That's why we have investigators. That's why we have an investigation that is going to answer those questions. How many shots were fired? Who fired shots? Where was the guns? Where were the guns located?
All those questions are going to be answered in -- in -- in the investigation. Us, we're not going to adjudicate that here on TV in one freeze frame there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: It was interesting hearing this phrase "freeze frame adjudication." What do you make of how he tried to defend this? At one point, even saying that the sort of real victims were the ICE agents themselves?
KAYYEM: Yes. Well, it's not freeze frame; it's freeze frames.
This is the problem that the department finds itself in, is -- is the citizen journalists and citizen videos from multiple viewpoints are -- are unquestionable at this stage.
And what's interesting about what he did is, remember, just about 24 hours before, they were completely slandering Mr. Pretti about who he was and -- and the situation they, you know, that he brought -- essentially brought upon himself.
They've been trying to unwind that, recognizing that it's not a single freeze frame. It is multiple freeze frames from various perspectives that show a man who is -- who is, essentially detained and not aggressive, being shot multiple times in the back, as we've now learned.
They -- the department cannot have it both ways. It cannot slander the victim and then say, well, we don't actually know. Then, when asked questions, we don't actually know what happened. There's going to be this investigation.
The investigation, as we now know, does not involve state and locals, at least the federal investigation. And -- and is so, I would say, worrisome --
CORNISH: Yes.
KAYYEM: -- that even a court has stepped in to tell the federal government you cannot -- essentially, you cannot tamper with evidence.
CORNISH: OK, that's Juliette Kayyem, even talking about the court hearings that we're going to be hearing ahead today. Juliette, thanks so much.
KAYYEM: Thank you.
CORNISH: And in the meantime, our breaking news coverage continues next. The shooting in Minnesota, bringing up questions about the Second Amendment. Now, pro-gun groups speak out on how the Trump administration is framing it.
Plus, widespread winter storm: brutal temperatures, heavy snow, destructive ice. We're going to be live from Philly next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:13:19]
CORNISH: We are tracking more breaking news this morning. That massive winter storm hitting much of the U.S. claims the lives of at least 11 people.
In the South, ice is weighing down power lines and trees. More than 800,000 people are without power this morning, and in some places, that could last for days.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like, every ten minutes, it sounds like there's another big limb crashing to the ground.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: A staggering 15 states saw snow pile up a foot or higher. Some of the highest snow totals in Pennsylvania.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just trying to stay on top of it. I figure three or four inches a couple of times is easier than 15 at the end.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Parts of Philadelphia actually got nine inches of snow, and that is where we find CNN's Danny Freeman.
Danny, good morning. We just heard someone talk about trying to get ahead of it. Is that possible? Can you get ahead of this storm?
DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT; Listen, that's the million-dollar question. Here's what I would tell you: is that the good news here in places like Philadelphia is that it finally stopped snowing overnight.
Because I was out there on my block, not too far from city hall, where we are right now. I was helping my neighbors shovel. And it was wild. At one point, you kept shoveling. You finished, and then more snow would just replace all of that immediately. So, the good news is that the snow has stopped.
But the challenge coming ahead is that it's bitterly cold out here, and it's going to continue to be bitterly cold for several days coming up.
But as you said, Audie, Philadelphia here got over nine inches of snow. That's the most snow that the city has seen since 2016, according to the National Weather Service.
And I want you to take a look at the roads right here. So, this is one of the main stretches of road here. Again, coming around city hall, right in the smack dab center of Philadelphia. [06:15:06]
And honestly, it looks pretty good right here. You can actually see the black surface of the street for the first time in what feels like quite a long time, since we were getting pelted over and over again.
But again, this is one of the main streets right here. I walked from my home to this spot. Still, a lot of snow out on the roads, especially on some of the smaller roads. So, that's going to be the challenge moving forward for a lot of the city crews.
There were more than 1,000 city workers out yesterday, 600 or so pieces of equipment, including plows. And then we saw a lot of salting happening overnight to try and make sure that snow gets down.
The good news, it seems, was the city was really concerned about freezing rain coming overnight. Again, when I was out there again close to 9 p.m. last night, when the precipitation started to slow down, I did not see very much freezing rain.
So, hopefully, that will make the roads not as treacherous. But again, still a lot of cleanup to get done over here.
And the city and a lot of entities in the city are really taking that seriously. Villanova, limited activity. Temple University, Penn University and then all -- also, of course, the Philadelphia School District. No classes today.
So, people still being cautious out here after that massive snow yesterday -- Audie.
CORNISH: OK, Danny, be careful out there. Thank you so much.
I want to turn to our breaking news coverage. Today, a judge will hear Minnesota's case to stop Operation Metro Surge.
Beyond that, is there anything lawmakers can do to get ICE out of their state?
And good morning, Hartford. Some spots got up to 18 inches of snow there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:20:59]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN): This isn't about how many people I can put on the street. It's about how many of these people, these ICE agents and whoever else was thrown into this unholy mess, how many Donald Trump can get out of here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: So, in the wake of the second deadly shooting by federal agents this month in the Twin Cities, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz deploys the National Guard. And the question now is what local officials can do to curb immigration and customs enforcement in their cities.
The answer? Well, not a lot.
A new "Wired" piece by journalist Garrett Graff titled "Why Minnesota Can't Do Much to Stop ICE" reads in part, "A state can't really resist federal authority or kick out federal law enforcement officials."
Leaders in Minnesota warn this is not just a problem for their state to worry about.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIN MAYE QUADE (D), MINNESOTA STATE SENATE: It is coming to other states. Minnesota is the test case. This is not like a place where it's just they're like, oh, just J.K. This will come to other states.
Organize your communities now. Get with your people now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: OK. Garrett Graff is here to talk more.
Garrett, I wanted to talk about your piece, because I think that, while we've seen people go to the courts, there is a cry, particularly among Democrats, to say, Why can't these lawmakers do more?
And then another argument that says everyone pump the brakes, because they're very nervous that the Trump officials will somehow use any response to trigger the Insurrection Act and crack down even further.
When you went into this debate, what did you learn?
GARRETT GRAFF, JOURNALIST: Yes, I think you're absolutely right there, Audie, which is all of the criticism that were seeing for Tim Walz and the Minneapolis mayor, Jacob Frey, is the idea that, you know, they should be doing more to help their residents in the streets. They should be doing more to help their constituents. You know, call out the National Guard, stop ICE.
And their options are really limited. And I think that they are being sort of, quote, unquote, "officially passive" in some respects to avoid giving Donald Trump the opportunity or the excuse to enact this Insurrection Act, which is -- he is openly threatening for and seems to be looking for a pretext to use.
And that would allow him to deploy federal troops on behalf of the -- the Trump administration into Minneapolis in a way that would be normally prohibited by law.
CORNISH: You've also talked about -- I want to play for you, actually, Kash Patel of the FBI, because he was asked about all of this on Sunday. And here is how he tried to paint the picture on the ground.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KASH PATEL, FBI DIRECTOR: It is a tough time right now, but I believe that our law enforcement officials on the ground -- DHS, FBI, local police force -- across the country are moving in the right direction, and we will quell these riots. And we will prevail.
But you have seen a trend here, not just in Minnesota, but across the country in these protests turning into violent scenarios and people attacking law enforcement. That's when you go over the line, and that's when law enforcement steps in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Can you talk about how they're trying to portray what's happening on the ground? It certainly "quell riots" struck [SIC] out -- stuck out to me.
GRAFF: Yes, absolutely. And I think what you're seeing is this narrative out of DHS, out of the White House, out of the Trump administration that says that these are cities that are out of control, and that that -- they're trying to provoke the types of language and incidents that would allow them to turn to the Insurrection Act.
And the thing that really strikes me is that, at virtually every scene that you can find online in these viral videos, the violence is being done only by the ICE and CBP officers.
So, they sort of show up in a peaceful situation and commit all of the violence. And I think that that's exactly what we saw with the shooting on Saturday, that this was a confrontation that federal officers began. And then in mere seconds, escalated into deadly force.
[06:25:16]
CORNISH: Looking forward, are citizens who are dissatisfied, upset with ICE tactics and how the administration is pushing forward its operations, are they on their own? Are the leaders of states kind of too fearful of the administration to find some other path to push back?
GRAFF: I think, actually, Audie, it's not right to say that they're on their own. Because what is so remarkable to me about Minnesota and so many of the other communities where this has happened, is how courageous the individual citizens have been.
That what you have actually seen is that people are not alone on the streets and that there are other neighbors willing to step forward at almost every single one of these incidents.
You know, you saw the mass protests in Minneapolis on Friday, unlike anything we have ever seen in a major American city in modern times. And I think many Americans are looking at this and saying that the courage of Minnesotans is contagious across the country.
CORNISH: OK. Garrett Graff, thank you. Appreciate it. And CNN THIS MORNING'S breaking news coverage continues next. A
licensed gun owner who takes care of veterans, now labeled a domestic terrorist. Why that could be a tough narrative for the Trump administration to sell.
Plus, a deadly winter storm, power outages, and treacherous roads. The recovery this morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
