Minnesota protesters bit off federal agent’s finger throughout protest, DHS claims | EUROtoday

A Minneapolis protester allegedly bit off a Homeland Security agent’s finger on Saturday, the identical day a Border Patrol officer fatally shot ICU nurse Alex Pretti, Department of Homeland Security officers stated.

DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin shared graphic pictures on X exhibiting the officer’s bleeding finger alongside the severed portion preserved in a jar.

“In Minneapolis, these rioters attacked our law enforcement officer and one of them bit off our HSI officer’s finger,” McLaughlin wrote. “He will lose his finger.”

She additionally posted photos of two people allegedly concerned within the assault, although their roles and identities stay unclear.

President Donald Trump reshared McLaughlin’s posts on Truth Social however didn’t remark immediately on the incident on the time of publication.

The incidents come amid escalating protests in Minneapolis following a sequence of violent encounters throughout federal immigration enforcement operations, which have already resulted within the deaths of two U.S. residents. Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse on the Minneapolis VA Health Care System, was shot and killed Saturday morning by federal brokers throughout an immigration operation.

Pretti, a U.S. citizen with no felony report past minor site visitors offenses, had been collaborating in protests in opposition to the federal crackdown when he turned concerned in a confrontation with a number of officers.

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara confirmed Pretti’s id and stated he was a lawful gun proprietor with a carry allow.

Federal authorities, together with DHS, claimed that Pretti approached Border Patrol brokers armed with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun and two magazines and “violently resisted” makes an attempt to disarm him, prompting an officer to fireside in what officers described as defensive motion. Border Patrol management characterised the encounter as one wherein the person appeared intent on inflicting most hurt.

However, native officers and bystander video current a extra nuanced image, exhibiting Pretti being wrestled to the bottom and combating a number of brokers earlier than he was shot. Questions stay concerning the exact circumstances of the taking pictures, together with the presence and use of his firearm on the time.

Pretti’s loss of life marks the second deadly taking pictures by federal immigration brokers in Minneapolis in lower than three weeks, following the killing of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good throughout a separate incident, and one other man being shot within the leg whereas fleeing immigration officers days later.