Federal agents involved in fatal shooting of Alex Pretti placed on administrative leave

Meanwhile, federal agents have arrested 16 demonstrators in Minnesota after alleged assaults on federal law enforcement officers

A framed photograph of Alex Pretti sits at a memorial outside the Minneapolis VA hospital. Picture: Kerem Yücel/Minnesota Public Radio/AP

The federal agents involved in the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in Minnesota over the weekend have been placed on administrative leave.

A spokesperson for customs and border Protection said in a statement to the Guardian: “The two officers involved are on administrative leave. This is standard protocol.”

It is currently unclear exactly when they were placed on leave. As others have pointed out, federal law enforcement officers who have been involved in a shooting are typically placed on administrative leave for the course of the investigation.

This would directly contradict what border patrol commander Greg Bovino said in the aftermath of the shooting. On Sunday, he told a press conference that “all agents that were involved in that scene are working, not in Minneapolis, but in other locations, that’s for their safety.”

Meanwhile, US attorney general Pam Bondi has said she is “on the ground in Minneapolis” and that federal agents have arrested 16 demonstrators in Minnesota after alleged assaults on federal law enforcement officers.

Those arrested are allegedly “people who have been resisting and impeding our federal law enforcement agents”, she said in a post on X. 

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: NOTHING will stop President Trump and this Department of Justice from enforcing the law.” She added that she expects there will be more arrests.

• The Guardian