Social media erupted on Tuesday after the family of Alex Pretti broke their silence over his killing by federal immigration officers, revealing that they learned of his death by watching television.

“The Trump regime murdered Alex Pretti and his family only learned about it by watching it on TV,” prominent X commentator JoJoFromJerz told her followers.

“Are you okay? Those were Alex Pretti’s last words before ICE agents beat him, shot him 10 times, and killed him,” former federal prosecutor Kristy Greenberg wrote on X.

“The Trump administration’s response? Demonize the victim. Deny wrongdoing. Derail the state investigation,” she added. “No, we are not okay.”

Her reference to “the state investigation” pointed to a state-level review of the Jan. 24 shooting that, seven months on, has yet to result in anyone being held accountable — a point other critics went on to make directly.

Former Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-VA) called the family’s interview “just crushing.”

“The death of Alex Pretti is something you would expect to see in China or North Korea — and nobody has yet been held accountable,” Comstock wrote in a social media post, adding that the officers involved “all should be in front of Congress or in a court.”

Joe Walsh, another former GOP member of Congress, declared: “Alex Pretti was MURDERED. And no one will be held accountable.”

“Just so d**m terrible,” Walsh added.

The condemnation crossed party lines: Comstock and Walsh are both former Republican members of Congress, and their criticism was aimed at the response of a Republican administration to the shooting.

Author Don Winslow similarly asked his social media followers: “When did it become acceptable for federal law enforcement to execute an unarmed American in the streets of the United States of America?”

Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse, was shot and killed by two federal immigration officers in Minneapolis on Jan. 24 — a city where law enforcement conduct has faced sustained national scrutiny since the 2020 killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. During their first television interview on Tuesday, his family stressed that he had been observing immigration activity, not protesting, when he was shot.

“We want justice. We want accountability,” his father, Michael Pretti, said.

Whether accountability comes through the state investigation, Congress, or the courts is now the open question the family’s interview has placed at the center of the case.

“Are you okay?” Those were Alex Pretti’s last words before ICE agents beat him, shot him 10 times, and killed him. The Trump administration’s response? Demonize the victim. Deny wrongdoing. Derail the state investigation. No. We are not okay. — Kristy Greenberg (@KGreenberg_) August 25, 2026