Warning: Graphic content below.
A Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) officer had part of his finger bitten off by rioters in Minneapolis after a Border Patrol agent fatally shot a man Saturday.
The man, Alex Pretti, 37, was killed during what a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) statement described as a “targeted” enforcement operation at 9:05 a.m. local time, triggering riots and property destruction. Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin posted photos showing the agent, the bitten-off finger, and the two alleged assailants on X.
“In Minneapolis, these rioters attacked our law enforcement officer and one of them bit off our HSI officer’s finger,” McLaughlin posted. “He will lose his finger.”
In Minneapolis, these rioters attacked our law enforcement officer and one of them bit off our HSI officer’s finger.
He will lose his finger.
— Tricia McLaughlin – @TriciaOhio (@TriciaOhio) January 24, 2026
Should ICE enforcement operations be stopped in light of recent violence?
McLaughlin confirmed to the Daily Caller News Foundation that a CBP agent also had a finger bitten, albeit not as severely, adding that no photo was available.
Severed finger of a Homeland Security Investigations officer. (X/TriciaOhio)
Democrats immediately condemned the shooting, with Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar claiming it was an “execution.” Democrats also demanded President Donald Trump end the enforcement operations being carried out by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Welfare fraud in Minnesota helped fund the Somalia-based radical Islamic terrorist group al-Shabaabby, City Journal reported in November 2025. Trump subsequently declared an end to Temporary Protected Status for Somalis in the state Nov. 22. Federal officials estimated in December the fraud cost at least $9 billion, describing the situation as involving “industrial-scale” fraud, according to CBS News Minnesota.
HSI officer after his finger was bitten off. (X/TriciaOhio)
ICE deployed hundreds of agents into the Minneapolis area to target illegal immigrants from Somalia following the initial reports. Democratic Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey declared during an interview which aired Dec. 7 on local TV station WCCO that Minneapolis police would not cooperate with federal immigration enforcement operations.
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