Alex Pretti's father learned of death on TV

Thank you all for being here today. I'm Michael Peretti, Alex's father. Our son Alex was shot and killed by the government federal immigration agents on January 24th, 2026. Alex was our first born child and only son. He was raised in Wisconsin in a tight-knit Midwestern family, the type of family many of you would recognize. Last Saturday marked nine months since our son's murder. We learned about his death from the media as we saw him being shot repeatedly in the back after helping a woman from his community, a fellow Minnesotan who had been shoved to the ground viciously. He was peaceful. He was observing. He was not protesting. This was not a protest that Alex was at. His hands were in the air before he was tackled to the ground. He was face down on the ground when he was executed by ICE agents. Everyone in this room has seen that video. Millions of people in this country and around the world have seen that video. We know exactly what our eyes saw. Alex was murdered and he should be here today with us. No one from the federal government called us on that horrible day, but they did go on TV to tell lies about Alex. No one from the federal government has called us since. The lies told about Alex immediately after his murder have been shown to be just that, lies. No one has recanted those lies, nor has anyone reached out to Susan, Michaela, our daughter, and myself to apologize. That video haunts our family every day. It runs through our minds. I think it haunts many Americans to see a U.S. citizen who was peaceful and in his community shot multiple times on the back, in the back, while on the ground. It simply should not have happened. It is not right. Imagine that your child was killed because of the actions of the government, federal government. Imagine learning that your child had been murdered by watching it on TV. No one from the government called you, called us that day. They didn't call us the next day, nor the next, nor the next 275 days. We have not heard anything from the federal government. We're heartbroken to be here today. We wish we didn't have to be here. We wish Alex was alive. We wish we were simply in Minneapolis to visit with Alex, for he and I to chat about cars, hiking, biking, or anything that came to our mind. This administration has taken that away from us forever. We will no longer stay silent about the actions of the Department of Justice in the 275 days since Alex's murder. Even in our grief, we understand that investigations need to be done carefully and thoroughly. We know that the wheels of justice move slowly, but even then there is cooperation and communication. But what we have been treated to is cruelty. Cruelty from Dan Rosen in the U.S. Attorney's Office, who has stonewalled us for nine months, refusing to share a single update of any kind. His only words have been, I can't tell you. Cruelty from the Attorney General, Todd Blanche, who told Congress that this investigation would be handled normally and then has ignored our letter we sent him begging for basic information the law affords us. At every turn, they have ignored us, misled us, and shielded Alex's killers. We are a family who love this country. We trust in the institutions of this country. We believe in the rule of law and that people should be held accountable through that law. However, our experience with the Department of Justice has left us wondering how Alex will ever get justice. We hear the federal government is not sharing information. Then we hear that they are sharing information. Then last week, we learned again that they said in court documents they are not sharing evidence. This is not normal. This is not justice. It is morally wrong. My message to Dan Rosen and Attorney Todd Blanche, look in your heart and do what is right. Share the evidence now so prosecutors can follow the facts and hold these men accountable. Do your job and stop shielding Alex's killers. Justice demands individual accountability for criminal wrongdoing. This is what we seek for Alex. As an American citizen, he deserves it. Thank you very much.