What did federal investigators conclude about the Jan. 13 incident involving Alex Pretti?
Executive summary
Federal investigators have not issued a final finding that resolves what happened on Jan. 13; instead, newly surfaced video from that day has become part of a broader federal civil‑rights and criminal review launched after Alex Pretti was fatally shot on Jan. 24, and the FBI has been designated to lead that probe [1] [2] [3]. Reporting to date describes the Jan. 13 footage as showing a confrontation in which Pretti shouted at federal vehicles, appeared to spit, and kicked out a taillight before being wrestled to the ground and later escaping—facts documented in multiple outlets but not treated as a standalone federal conclusion [4] [1] [5].
1. What the Jan. 13 footage actually shows, according to published reporting
Two minutes of video published by The News Movement and widely reported by outlets show an encounter on Jan. 13 in which a man identified as Pretti appears to yell at federal vehicles, at one point seems to spit toward officers, and delivers a forceful kick that breaks a federal SUV taillight; the footage ends with officers bringing him to the ground and Pretti later walking away from the scene [1] [4] [5].
2. How federal authorities have treated that Jan. 13 incident in their post‑shooting inquiry
Federal authorities have folded the Jan. 13 footage into a larger review of the Jan. 24 killing: Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced a Justice Department civil‑rights investigation that will examine the shooting and “events of that day as well as the days and weeks that preceded” it, and DHS has said the FBI will lead the federal probe—moving the investigation from DHS’s Homeland Security Investigations to the FBI for leadership [2] [3] [6].
3. What investigators or officials have said — and what they haven’t said — about Jan. 13
Officials have described the Jan. 13 videos publicly and acknowledged they exist, but neither DOJ nor DHS has issued a finding that the Jan. 13 interaction legally justified or directly precipitated the Jan. 24 shooting; Blanche declined to give a timetable or a final judgment about causation while announcing the civil‑rights review, and DHS statements focused on investigative logistics and agency leadership rather than substantive conclusions about Jan. 13 [7] [6] [2].
4. Competing narratives and political framing around the Jan. 13 footage
The footage has been used by multiple parties to support contrasting narratives: supporters of Pretti’s family and his attorney say the earlier encounter shows he was assaulted and injured and that it cannot justify his subsequent killing [1] [8], while political figures including President Trump have seized the clip to portray Pretti as an “agitator” whose prior behavior undercuts portrayals of him as a peaceful protester [9] [4]. Those competing uses show how partial video clips can be replayed as political evidence before a legal determination is reached [9] [1].
5. Transparency, jurisdictional friction and what remains unanswered
Key procedural questions remain unresolved in public reporting: Minnesota state investigators have been largely excluded from the federal probe so far, prompting legal friction over access to evidence; DOJ has not committed to releasing body‑worn camera footage or a timetable for conclusions; and the FBI‑led civil‑rights review is ongoing, meaning no federal investigative body has yet published a definitive conclusion about culpability, use of force, or the legal significance of the Jan. 13 events [6] [10] [2].
6. Bottom line — what federal investigators have concluded about Jan. 13
As of the latest reporting, federal investigators have not concluded anything dispositive about the Jan. 13 incident itself: the footage is being treated as relevant evidence within an active federal civil‑rights investigation of the later Jan. 24 shooting, the FBI now leads that probe, and investigators have acknowledged the Jan. 13 footage without issuing a formal finding that it justifies or explains subsequent events [2] [3] [1].