Minnesota asks judge to compel federal evidence in two fatal shootings

Minnesota prosecutors say federal agencies retain clothing, phones and interview recordings

In October court filings, Minnesota officials said the federal government stopped sharing evidence needed to independently investigate the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot Good, and a Customs and Border Patrol agent shot Pretti. The officials said the transfer stopped soon after a July announcement that evidence had begun moving to the state, and they have asked a judge to order federal agencies to hand it over.

The pause leaves Minnesota investigators without materials they say they need to examine both shootings. The dispute also concerns jurisdiction: the Trump administration has suggested that state prosecutors lack authority to investigate federal officers, while Minnesota officials have said they do not trust the federal government to investigate itself.

Good, 37, was shot by an ICE officer as she drove her car away from a January protest, and her family sued earlier this month over her death. Pretti, also 37, was shot in the street by a Border Patrol agent as he went to the assistance of a fellow protester on icy Minneapolis streets during demonstrations against federal immigration enforcement in Minneapolis. Good and Pretti were both U.S. citizens. Customs and Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement are under the Department of Homeland Security.

A card bearing images of Good and Pretti was placed at a makeshift memorial in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 28, 2026, in a photograph credited to Seth Herald/Reuters.

The Guardian wrote: “The shootings of the two protesters, both US citizens, was a turning point in the government’s approach after weeks of violent action by ranks of militarized, masked federal immigration enforcement in Minneapolis, which local leaders called a siege, after months of similar mass operations in major cities.”

Minnesota and federal authorities have disagreed over who should investigate. The Trump administration has suggested that state prosecutors lack jurisdiction to investigate federal officers, while Minnesota officials have said they do not trust the federal government to investigate itself. The state is still seeking the cell phones of the officers involved in both shootings and recordings of key interviews.

State prosecutors announced in July that the federal government had begun turning over evidence, including police body-camera video and hard drives containing statements. Mary Moriarty said at the time that the state expected to receive “all the evidence.”

October filings say the transfer stopped soon after that announcement. Moriarty said the U.S. attorney’s office for Minnesota told her on September 10 that sharing would be paused indefinitely “in light of challenges with DC,” according to the documents. The reference was to Washington and federal authorities.

Minnesota prosecutors have again asked a judge to order federal agencies to hand over the evidence. They argue that federal authorities “have identified no legal authority or rational basis justifying their obstruction of state criminal investigations.” Attorneys for the U.S. Justice Department argued in a reply filed Tuesday that it was within their discretion to decline to share information with state authorities.

In a legal declaration, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension superintendent Drew Evans said federal authorities still have Good’s clothing, the cell phone of the officer who killed her and interview recordings that state authorities have never been able to view. Evans said federal authorities also have not shared a recorded statement from the officer who shot Pretti, the firearms used by the officers, their phones, projectiles and casings.

Bystanders captured footage of Good’s shooting in her car and Pretti’s shooting in the street. The report said the footage contradicted key parts of the administration’s account of what prompted the shootings. No criminal charges have been filed.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.

In March, Minnesota officials sued the Trump administration over federal shooting deaths to obtain evidence for independent investigations. The current filings show the access dispute continuing: Minnesota prosecutors say the transfer stopped, while Justice Department attorneys say they have discretion to decline to disclose information to state authorities.