Were there verified instances of lethal force by federal immigration agents against protesters in U.S. history?
Executive summary
Yes: in recent months there have been verified instances in which federal immigration agents shot and killed people who were participating in or adjacent to protest activity, incidents captured on video and reported by multiple outlets that have sparked national outrage, court orders, and demands for investigations [1] [2] [3].
1. Evidence of fatal shootings: what reporting shows
Multiple news organizations documented at least two deadly shootings by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis in January 2026: the killing of Renee Good, shot Jan. 7 while participating in neighborhood protest-watch activity, which prompted widespread protests and legal scrutiny [2] [4], and a later Jan. 24 incident in which Reuters reported a U.S. citizen, Alex Pretti, was shot and killed and bystander video verified by Reuters shows him holding a phone and attempting to help other protesters before he was forced to the ground and shot [1] [5].
2. Visual record and corroboration
Reporting emphasizes that video evidence underpins these accounts: Reuters reviewed bystander footage showing Pretti holding a phone, and other outlets and watchdogs have published multiple camera angles and citizen videos related to the Good shooting that raised questions about the federal description of events [1] [3]. Those visual records have been central to officials and local leaders disputing federal statements and to calls for independent probes [3] [4].
3. Federal claims, legal pushback, and inconsistent narratives
Federal agencies have defended the use of force as necessary or consistent with training in some statements, but those claims have been contested by local leaders and judges; a federal judge in Minnesota found a pattern of misconduct and ordered limits on agents’ interactions with protesters, though an appeals court later paused parts of that injunction [6] [7] [8]. Media reporting also records federal officials’ initial characterizations that were later disputed by governors and mayors after they reviewed video evidence [3] [2].
4. Broader pattern: nonlethal and potentially unlawful crowd-control tactics
Beyond fatal shootings, court filings, human-rights groups, and investigative outlets documented repeated uses of tear gas, rubber bullets, pepper balls, flash-bang devices, and other crowd-control measures against protesters and journalists during immigration enforcement operations — conduct that has drawn litigation, amicus briefs, and allegations of misuse inconsistent with international standards [9] [10] [11].
5. Criminal and civil accountability pathways — and limits of current reporting
Legal analysts note that federal criminal prosecution of agents for misuse of force would proceed under statutes like 18 U.S.C. § 242 and Supreme Court “objectively reasonable” standards, but proving willful violations is challenging and investigations are ongoing; several outlets call for DOJ inquiries while local lawsuits have already produced injunctions and factual findings about excessive force [9] [12] [4]. The sources provided document recent verified lethal incidents and a pattern of aggressive tactics, but do not offer a comprehensive historical database of every past instance; reporting to date concentrates on the recent 2025–2026 surge of federal immigration enforcement and its clashes with protesters [3] [13].
6. Assessment and competing interpretations
The verified footage and multi-outlet reporting establish that federal immigration agents have used lethal force in protests and protest-adjacent confrontations in the current enforcement campaign, yet federal officials insist some shootings were defensive and within policy while local leaders, courts, and civil-rights groups characterize the same actions as excessive and unlawful; that clash of interpretations is driving litigation, injunctions, and calls for independent criminal investigations [1] [6] [9].