Attorney General Ellison, Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and Hennepin County Attorney win order preventing DHS from destroying evidence related to fatal shooting of Alex Pretti
Court issues emergency order barring DHS and other agencies from destroying evidence
January 25, 2026 (SAINT PAUL) — Yesterday evening, Attorney General Ellison won a temporary restraining order in the lawsuit he filed earlier in the day on behalf of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and alongside the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office against the Department of Homeland Security and other government agencies. The order prevents them from altering or destroying evidence related to the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by DHS agents.
The order states, in part:
“Defendants, together with their employees, agents, and anyone acting in concert with them, are ENJOINED from destroying or altering evidence related to the fatal shooting involving federal officers that took place in or around 26th Street and Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis on January 24, 2026, including but not limited to evidence that Defendants and those working on their behalf removed from the scene and/or evidence that Defendants have taken into their exclusive custody.”
The memorandum in support of the motion for a temporary order that the Attorney General’s Office and Hennepin County Attorney’s Office filed yesterday evening argued, “... Plaintiffs’ irreparable harm is so weighty that any harm to the federal government does not even budge the scales."
The lawsuit and motion for a temporary restraining order were originally filed yesterday evening in U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. The filing names the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), the U.S. Border Control, their respective leadership, as well as United States Attorney General Pam Bondi as defendants.
“As long as I have the honor of serving as your Attorney General, I will fight defend the rule of law in Minnesota,” said Attorney General Ellison. “Alex Pretti was killed by DHS agents in broad daylight in front of all of our eyes. Both the rule of law and the sense of justice we all carry within us demand a full, fair, and transparent investigation into his death. We will not settle for less. Tonight's ruling protects that investigation by barring federal agents from altering or destroying any evidence they captured involving the fatal shooting of Alex. Justice will be done.”
