Exclusive: The false claims, chaos and coverups behind the Trump administration’s killing of two American citizens

Exclusive: Minnesota Immigration Shootings: Inside the Chaos and Coverups A Warning Before the Violence Sandego.net – "Someone's going to get killed."

Minnesota Immigration Shootings: Inside the Chaos and Coverups

A Warning Before the Violence

Sandego.net – “Someone’s going to get killed.” This stark prediction, delivered by a federal Homeland Security Investigations agent, echoed through the room in early January 2026. The warning sent shivers among officials gathered to discuss the escalating situation in Minneapolis. As the Trump administration deployed Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel, Customs and Border Protection officers, Border Patrol agents, and the contentious Border Patrol commander-at-large Gregory Bovino to the city, tensions mounted. The administration branded this massive deployment Operation Metro Surge.

Homeland Security officials had been attempting to caution local prosecutors and other authorities about the incoming force. They emphasized that Border Patrol agents were not ideally suited for urban immigration raids. These officers were accustomed to solitary posts along the southern border, often without backup for fifty miles, viewing themselves as the final barrier against threats. They had grown accustomed to operating with considerable autonomy. “This is going to get ugly,” they warned. The HSI agent’s apprehensions about this unprecedented influx of Department of Homeland Security personnel would prove entirely justified.

The Fatal Days

The tragic deaths of Renee Good on Wednesday, January 7, and Alex Pretti on Saturday, January 24, occurred at the hands of federal immigration agents, following closely on each other. This narrative examines the eighteen days separating these two killings, the questionable methods employed by the Trump administration in handling both immigration enforcement and the subsequent shootings, and the persistent atmosphere of aggression and dishonesty characterizing their operations.

CNN interviewed over twelve former and current Trump administration members, most declining to speak on the record due to concerns about potential retaliation.

Bovino’s Confrontation with Prosecutors

Following Good’s death but before Pretti’s, Bovino requested a telephone conversation with Daniel Rosen, the US attorney for the District of Minnesota. The call was handled by prosecutors within the office, though Rosen himself did not participate. Bovino expressed frustration that prosecutors had not been filing cases against protesters whom he and his agents accused of committing AFOs—assaults on federal officers.

There was a compelling explanation for this reluctance. Prosecutors in the US attorney’s office, who had traditionally trusted law enforcement accounts when AFO complaints were presented, had witnessed numerous immigration agents’ allegations proven false once evidence emerged. The immigration agents, the prosecutors determined, were lying frequently.

“These people are wackos,” Bovino declared, referring to Minnesota protesters. “The shit is getting ready to come. We’re not putting up with anything in this city. It’s coming. We’re not going to calm it down, we’re going to put it down.”

The prosecutors were astonished by Bovino’s demeanor. Rather than becoming more cautious after Good’s shooting death, Bovino remained confrontational. He spoke of deploying 3,000 law enforcement agents to lock down the city, with plans to add 4,000 more if necessary. He dismissed waiting for local police involvement.

“You’ve got 3,000 law enforcement agents that are fixin’ to lock this city down,” he said. “If it doesn’t work, we’re gonna bring 4,000 more. It doesn’t matter to me. We’re going to pacify this place, we’re going to roll ’em up.”

Bovino also made a disparaging remark about Rosen, who is an observant Jew and unavailable during the Sabbath on Saturday, sneeringly referring to him as one of the “chosen people.”

Unanswered Questions

Prosecutors were stunned by Bovino’s boasting about quelling protests during a phone call with attorneys he barely knew. All the fears expressed by HSI members had been validated. Bovino appeared to be there for the wrong reasons, with a strategy deliberately designed to inflame tensions and justify federal government violence. Some wondered if Bovino had been dispatched to Minnesota specifically to spark a riot.

“They’re going to kill someone else,” a prosecutor on the call remarked later. Others agreed.

When asked by CNN about the conversation with prosecutors, Bovino stated he was focused on his mission of addressing the protests. “I wasn’t mad. I was simply trying to get something done,” he explained. “Maybe I was a little intense — I hope I was — and I don’t think they liked that too much.”

Though he claimed not to recall his exact words, Bovino insisted that the idea of putting down the protests was not something he would say. As for the “chosen people” comment, Bovino denied it was intentional.