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Outrage in Minneapolis After Man Killed by Federal Agent; Videos Contradict DHS Account of Fatal Minneapolis Shooting; Massive U.S. Winter Storm Brings ICE, Snow and Bitter Cold; Growing Unrest in Minneapolis; Officials Worried About Homeland Security's Reputation. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired January 26, 2026 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning and welcome to our viewers joining us from the United States and all around the world. I'm Ben Hunte. It is Monday January 26th, 4:00 am here in Atlanta.

Let's get right to our two big stories this hour. Much of the United States getting pounded by a massive and dangerous winter storm. But first, Minnesotans are demanding federal immigration agents leave the state right now. There's anger and outrage among them after Alex Pretti's death at the hands of federal agents. And the way Trump administration officials are trying to label him a, quote, "domestic terrorist."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GREGORY BOVINO, U.S. BORDER PATROL COMMANDER-AT-LARGE: When someone makes the choice to come into an active law enforcement scene, interfere, obstruct, delay, or assault law enforcement officers, and they bring a weapon to do that, that is a choice that that individual made.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: Minneapolis officials say Alex Pretti was a registered and lawful gun owner. At no point in any videos of the incident reviewed by CNN is Pretti seen holding a weapon. And in one of those videos, a federal agent is believed to have removed Pretti's weapon before agents fired at him.

This next video we're going to show you shows one angle of the deadly encounter. And a quick warning, it is graphic and it is disturbing. This shows Pretti in a baseball hat moving between an agent and a woman that federal officers had shoved into the ground. Pretti is sprayed with a chemical irritant and dragged down. Officers later opened fire multiple times.

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

GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN): 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 VA 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)

HUNTE: The spot where Pretti was killed is now a makeshift memorial with people laying flowers and lighting candles, too. Earlier, hundreds protested on the plaza across from City Hall in single-digit weather. Their outrage only continues to grow after the second fatal ice shooting of a U.S. citizen in Minneapolis in just over two weeks. CNN's Shimon Prokupecz shows us how Minnesotans are now paying tribute to Alex Pretti.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: People continue to gather here through the night despite the really frigid temperatures, a lot of candles being lit and flowers, people leaving notes in remembrance of Alex Pretti. Many of the people who have been coming here to this makeshift memorial, this is the site where it all happened. This is where he was killed. And the community members have been gathering here because they want to have some unity. They want to get together and talk about what happened and how unhappy, obviously, they are about what's been happening here, the fear that they face.

Of course, there's a lot of questions that still remain and need to be answered by federal officials as to exactly what happened here. You have a local law enforcement which is completely unhappy with the federal authorities. The police chief here in Minneapolis speaking out, saying that some of what they're doing, their tactics, some of the other things that they're doing are unconstitutional. Many of the people here are just tired and they want to see this come to an end.

And in the days ahead, there's going to be legal battles and other, certainly, political battles. Everyone here right now is saying that the federal authorities need to go and things truly just need to deescalate and calm down. People here just want to move on and get going with their lives and get back to the way things were.

Shimon Prokupecz, CNN, Minneapolis.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: CNN's Betsy Klein is at the White House with the 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.

[04:05:00]

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's 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 endgame 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 Pamela 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)

HUNTE: Snow is still falling at this hour across parts of New England as a massive winter storm pushes across the U.S. East Coast. The system dropped ice and snow from the southern Rockies to the northeast and even in the south. Weather forecasters say more than a dozen states so far have seen snow pile up over a foot or higher. The conditions are making travel difficult on the roads and in the air, too. Sunday marked the worst day for flight cancellations since the pandemic. Brutal cold is now pushing in with more than 800,000 customers still without power. At least 11 people have died as temperatures dropped to their coldest so far this winter.

CNN's Derek Van Dam has been tracking the winter storm for us and has more on the forecast from Louisville.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, the wintry precipitation has largely come to an end across the state of Kentucky, including here where I'm located in Louisville. But, of course, this massive winter storm has left its mark. You can see the snow-covered roads here. These businesses were closed on account of the weather.

Now, the real agony sets in because the mercury in the thermometer is going to drop like a rock behind this cold front that is responsible for the precipitation. That's still going to be ongoing overnight across parts of the northeast, including New England. Boston could easily see a foot to a foot and a half of snow. But the point being is that this precipitation that it left in its wake is going to be encased in very, very cold temperatures.

In fact, over 50 percent of the U.S. population will experience wind chill values below zero in the next couple of days. Let that sink in. We're feeling it here. You can see the breath coming out of my mouth. It is absolutely frigid. So, when we talk about people who lost power, they're going to not have the ability perhaps to warm their homes. So, you need to look after elderly. You need to look after the vulnerable, especially in this situation because it is brutally cold, but also dangerously cold as well.

There's something called a flash freeze that we're also concerned about. This is when we get a brief spike in the temperatures. There was a period when we had snow transition to freezing rain, then rain in some parts of the southeast. Then the cold front swept through and these cold Arctic air temperatures are dropping behind it. And that freezes that precipitation that's left over on the ground almost instantaneously. That can create black ice. That can create very treacherous travel conditions, and that is really what we're concerned about.

So, as the cold front moves through, the winds pick up, the freezing precipitation or the freezing rain that's encased on power lines and trees could still come down because of the added weight. But also, the stress from the wind that is sitting in behind it. And with no relief in the temperatures, we're not going to get that thawing that we so desperately need to get out of this cold winter cycle that we are in.

[04:10:00]

So, really, an impactful, very dynamic winter storm. We are ready to say goodbye and good riddance to this, but we still have another couple of days. to go over the eastern half of the U.S. Back to you. (END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: Amid the storm, federal investigators are looking into what caused a private jet carrying eight people to crash right after takeoff on Sunday night in Maine. 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 de-icing. But it isn't immediately clear who is talking to who.

OK. Icy roads across the southern U.S. are causing hazardous driving conditions. Ahead, we'll take you to North Carolina, where freezing rain is coating highways and creating travel chaos. And in the face of dangerous conditions, people are stepping up to help. When we come back, the people helping their neighbors to survive the deep freeze. See you in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:15:00]

HUNTE: Welcome back. The winter storm is disrupting travel across the U.S., causing thousands of flight cancellations and road closures over the weekend. Snow is battering the Northeast, where New York City picked up 11.4 inches in Central Park on Sunday. That shatters a 121- year-old record of 10 inches back in 1905.

In the South, freezing rain is coating everything in ice, toppling trees and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of customers. Officials from Texas to the Carolinas are urging people to stay home and off the roads to avoid the hazardous conditions. In Tennessee, officials have confirmed three weather-related deaths, bringing the storm's toll nationwide to at least 11 fatalities. In North Carolina, Highway 51 near Charlotte briefly closed after a water main break added additional ice to already frozen roads. CNN's Dianne Gallagher has more for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The big concern in the Carolinas right now is whether this late band of freezing rain is going to cause the same kind of catastrophic damage that we've seen in other states like Mississippi and Tennessee. Earlier in the day, all of this was kind of a slushy mess mixed with sleet and other snow.

Now, since the freezing rain began in the late evening on Sunday, I can't even make footprints anymore. It's frozen over. And you can see an example here of that where it melted and it's refrozen over this drain. Now, there are people out in Charlotte right now sort of trying to get ahead of things by doing some shoveling because they do want to avoid this freezing rain sort of creating an icy glaze and sealing all of this in. That is what we've seen in other southern states like Mississippi and Tennessee. There -- in some places, they have seen catastrophic ice totals that have brought down power poles and trees. In Nashville alone, they were looking at more than 200,000 power outages. In Mississippi, the images don't look anything like the Deep South. The governor's saying they haven't seen anything like this in 30-plus years where entire communities appear to just be coated in ice.

Now, the governor of North Carolina telling people here that they are not out of the woods yet. And the major concern is this late freezing rain in addition with these prolonged cold temperatures and winds and what the effect might be on travel and power outages because it's going to be very cold for the coming days.

Duke Energy says that they have 18,000 workers in the Carolinas on standby ready to roll once it is safe to try and get power back on if there are widespread outages. They warn that if your power goes out, you might be without it for days on end.

Now, even though it is freezing here today, that did not stop people from showing up in North Carolina to give support to the Buddhist monks and their furry companion, Aloka the peace dog, on day 92 of their walk for peace. They left Raleigh on an icy morning and still had plenty of support along their route before stopping for the night and they intend to continue their walk spreading compassion and peace even throughout this winter storm.

Dianne Gallagher, CNN, back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: Well, the Arctic weather is making roads treacherous across Arkansas. Snow and ice have led to multiple car accidents, snarling traffic and forcing drivers to slow to a crawl. Parts of the state have seen up to a foot of snow. The National Weather Service says extremely cold temperatures there are set to continue into Tuesday.

In the last hour I spoke to Aaron Reddin. His organization, The Van & The One, Inc., is helping people living on the streets of Arkansas to find shelter in the cold. I asked him how conditions there have been changing over the course of the storm. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AARON REDDIN, FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, THE VAN & THE ONE, INC.: Things are probably a little bit worse, but a little bit better in some aspects. So, we had a little -- you know, another system that moved through yesterday, put a little bit more snow on top of what was a mixed of ice and snow here in Little Rock. And so, we had that to contend with.

It's all, you know, melting a little and refreezing a little. And we're looking at probably another 24 to 36 hours before we get a little freezing. So, yes, we've been open since Friday afternoon and 24/7 as an emergency center here across the greater Little Rock area, getting folks into any shelter that we can.

[04:20:00]

Last number that I received was that the emergency shelters in total in the metro had over 500 people that had sought shelter by yesterday morning, so it's been a wild few days and we've got quite a few more to go.

HUNTE: Yes, absolutely, sounds it, but thank you so much for your work. It's just even just giving me shivers just hearing you talk about those numbers of people, crazy. You have spent two decades working directly with people experiencing homelessness. When temperatures drop like this and the city essentially shuts down, what are the biggest dangers that people can face?

REDDIN: Loss of limb and life becomes very, very serious. You know, tonight -- you know, here in the next few hours actually, we're expected to break the low temperature record here. We're looking at about four degrees by the time we get the sun up with the windchill below zero. And for Arkansas, that's extremely cold and it's very, very rare.

So, you know, we are up against trying to make sure people do not end up with frostbite. So, far I've seen one case and luckily, we have an ER doctor that's going to give sometime today to come into our emergency shelter, do any wellness assessments and checks that he needs to do, but definitely address at least one case of frostbite that we've got here. So, yes, it can be very deadly and it can be very costly as far as losing those extremities. We want to mitigate that as much as possible.

HUNTE: Your organization has been transporting people to emergency shelters overnight. Can you walk us through what that operation looks like in real time and how quickly demand actually surged as this storm set in?

REDDIN: Well, you know, we've got a couple of shuttle buses. I had to park the main one the other night because the back tires had gotten just unsafe. And I just didn't want to risk any more life. So, we've got an army of volunteers and personal vehicles that have been out. They basically just scour the streets, scour anywhere that, you know, might be reported that there could be somebody. We always want to do every check that we can.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: We will continue our breaking news coverage of the fallout of the deadly shooting in Minneapolis. Still ahead, the latest response from the governor of Minnesota.

Plus, why officials in the Homeland Security Department are now speaking out and raising concerns about the agency's reputation. See you in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:25:00] HUNTE: Welcome back. I'm Ben Hunte. Here are some stories that we're watching today. A growing number of Republican lawmakers are calling for an investigation into the deadly shooting of Alex Pretti. Minnesota state investigators say they were initially refused access to the shooting scene, despite securing an appropriate warrant. They also say agents with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension are still collecting evidence and canvassing neighborhoods as part of the investigation.

More than 800,000 customers are still without power after a massive winter storm. The system brought snow and ice to much of the U.S., including the South. Now, frigid temperatures are moving in overnight, as roads remain dangerous in many areas. At least 11 people have died.

Major airports from New York to Washington, D.C. shut down operations for hours because of the storm. Boston Logan International Airport closed on Sunday night, saying their flights may be impacted through Tuesday. The tracking site FlightAware says on Sunday alone, more than 11,500 flights were canceled and more than 5,000 were delayed.

Let's get some more now on our breaking coverage on the growing unrest in Minnesota after the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti and Renee Good by Border Patrol agents. Governor Tim Walz is describing the presence of federal agents in Minneapolis as, quote, "an occupation. And he says voters can decide at any point, but they're not with this anymore.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WALZ: 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 VA hospital who died bearing witness to such government, or the side of a mother whose last words were, I'm not mad at you?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: Meanwhile, the Trump administration is doubling down on its aggressive immigration enforcement tactics. And Border Patrol official Greg Bovino claims Border Patrol agents are, quote, "the victims. And blames Alex Pretti for his own shooting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOVINO: We respect that Second Amendment right, but those rights don't count when you riot and assault, delay, obstruct and impede law enforcement officers. And most especially when you mean to do that beforehand.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: As Americans grapple with the events that took place in Minnesota and whether DHS is actually to blame, some within the Trump administration are worried about the harm that the agency is facing. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez has the story for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Multiple Homeland Security officials are furious over Saturday's fatal shooting incident and over the public response by the Trump administration. These officials keenly aware of the reputational harm that they risk and the long-term consequences they may have to grapple with after this incident and the response thus far. These are officials who have been viewing the videos that have been circulating, and they are also trying to square how the Homeland Security secretary describes the incident and with what they are seeing in these videos.

[04:30:00]