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Alex Pretti broke a rib in a previous altercation with feds a week before he died: CNN
The man who was shot and killed during a scuffle with federal agents last weekend had suffered a broken rib in a previous altercation with federal agents, sources claim.
Alex Pretti tried to intervene in another federal immigration operation and got tackled by federal agents about a week before his death, according to the CNN report.
‘That day, he thought he was going to die.’
The report was based on a person who spoke to Pretti about the previous incident but asked to remain anonymous to avoid retribution.
That source said the incident began when Pretti saw federal agents chasing a family, and he reacted by blowing his whistle and shouting at them. The agents tackled Pretti, and one leaned on his back, which led to a rib being broken, according to Pretti’s alleged comments to the source.
Pretti was released at the scene.
“That day, he thought he was going to die,” the source said to CNN.
Records reviewed by CNN showed that Pretti was given medication consistent with treatment for a broken rib.
It was unclear whether federal agents recognized Pretti in the second and lethal encounter, CNN reported.
RELATED: Ilhan Omar accuses Trump of ulterior motive for ICE raids — and JD Vance shuts her down
The CNN report suggested that Pretti could have been known to federal agents because of efforts to collect information about protesters.
“One thing I’m pushing for right now … we’re going to create a database where those people that are arrested for interference, impeding, and assault — we’re going to make them famous,” said Tom Homan, Trump’s border czar, earlier in the month. “We’re going to put their face on TV. We’re going to let their employers, in their neighborhoods, in their schools, know who these people are.”
President Donald Trump sent Homan to oversee the operation in Minneapolis, and Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino is reportedly set to leave the city. Homan will report directly to Trump and is meeting with Tim Walz, the state’s governor, and Jacob Frey, the Minneapolis mayor, to negotiate their cooperation with the federal government.
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Anti-ICE brewer’s death wish: Leftist promises free beer when Trump dies ‘in a few months’ — and the Secret Service takes notice
Kirk Bangstad, the Wisconsin owner of Minocqua Brewing Company and the treasurer of a federal super PAC of the same name, has made no secret of his hatred for President Donald Trump, conservatives, and virtually anyone who doesn’t share his leftist worldview.
For instance, Bangstad — who was ordered to pay a six-figure sum for defamation in 2023 and was charged with harassment last year — stated, “F**k Charlie Kirk,” in a diatribe the day after the Turning Point USA founder’s assassination and wrote weeks later, “May his soul never find peace.”
‘Free beer, all day long, the day he dies. Show us this post when it happens in a few months and we’ll make good on that promise.’
Although the leftist brewer has long engaged in this variety of incendiary commentary, which dovetails with his Ben & Jerry-styled progressive marketing, Bangstad recently raised eyebrows and a potential red flag with a post insinuating the president’s death was forthcoming.
Days after circulating a wanted poster for a federal agent, calling for a “regime change” in the U.S., and stating that “it’s just a matter of time” before “every ICE agent will face justice,” Bangstad said in a Jan. 22 post on the brewery’s Facebook page, “Free beer, all day long, the day he dies. Show us this post when it happens in a few months and we’ll make good on that promise.”
When asked by Fox News for comment, Bangstad appeared to confirm that he was referring to Trump and indicated the brewery would be throwing a “party celebrating the impending death of a twice-impeached convicted felon.”
Bangstad, who unsuccessfully attempted to block President Trump from the 2024 presidential ballot in Wisconsin, did not respond directly to Blaze News’ questions. Instead he accused Blaze News of engaging in “‘gotcha’ state-sponsored propaganda” and shared the contact information of a Blaze News reporter, inviting his followers to email the reporter with their own comments.
Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images
The U.S. Secret Service told Blaze News, “The U.S. Secret Service is aware of the social media post by the Minocqua Brewing Company. Out of concern for operational security, we do not discuss matters of protective intelligence.”
Bangstad’s post also caught the attention of various critics, including Libs of TikTok, who noted, “How are we supposed to share a country with these people? Democrats want us dead.”
The American left appears to have a strong appetite for political violence.
‘That’s kind of shady.’
A survey conducted by the Network Contagion Research Institute and Rutgers University’s Social Perception Lab revealed in April 2025 that 55% of respondents who identified as left of center said that assassinating Trump would be at least somewhat justified.
When asked by pollsters about the September 2024 attempt on the president’s life at his golf course in Florida, 28% of Democrats told RMG Research it would have been better if Trump had been gunned down.
While the brewer’s apparent eagerness to see the president die has attracted attention, his super PAC’s expenditures have also prompted scrutiny in recent months.
Some of Bangstad’s former employees alleged to WISC-TV that some of the over $2 million raised by the brewer’s super PAC has gone toward paying regular brewery staff rather than political activities.
“At first, I was paid by a regular direct deposit, and then he said he’s going to pay me from the Super PAC and from the business. And I started to do some research,” said one former employee who spoke to WISC on the condition of anonymity. “I spoke with a couple attorneys and an accountant, and they said, that’s kind of shady, not a good idea.”
The former employee showed the outlet documentation apparently indicating that he received checks from the Minocqua Brewing Super PAC with “organizing” written in the memo line — something he had reportedly not done for the PAC.
Bangstad admitted that some employees receive PAC funds and suggested to WISC that the payments were aboveboard. A civil lawsuit filed in early 2025 suggested otherwise, accusing the leftist of fraud and misuse of donated funds, reported Wisconsin Public Radio.
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