Beshear, other Kentucky politicians react to Minneapolis shooting Saturday

Karla Ward and Austin Horn, Lexington Herald-Leader on Jan 24, 2026

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LEXINGTON, Ky. — Gov. Andy Beshear and some other Kentucky Democrats had strong reactions Saturday to news of another fatal shooting by federal agents in Minneapolis.

“What happened today in Minneapolis is gut-wrenching and unacceptable and has no place in America,” Beshear, who chairs the Democratic Governors Association, said in a joint statement with DGA vice chair and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. “The Trump administration is creating chaos and division, and making us all less safe. We need complete transparency and accountability into this federal agent-involved shooting, and these dangerous and reckless actions must come to an end.”

Beshear's comments were made hours after federal law enforcement agents shot and killed 37-year-old Alex Jeffrey Pretti Saturday morning in an incident caught on video. Pretti was being wrestled to the ground as he was shot multiple times and killed.

Pretti’s death comes as Minneapolis residents and Minnesotans have taken to the streets en masse protesting the presence of federal Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officers in their city and state. Pretti is the second Minnesotan to die after being shot by federal officers in the city. In a separate incident also caught on camera Jan. 7, an ICE agent shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good as she attempted to drive away from officers on a residential street.

U.S. Rep. Morgan McGarvey also expressed outrage and said citizens should demand the Senate stop funding ICE.

“ICE has murdered another American. Again,” he said in a post on the social media platform X. “Don’t let it be normal. Trump’s personal police force is kidnapping children, gassing neighborhoods, terrorizing families, murdering our fellow citizens with impunity.

“Our own government is doing this to us. It is sickening.

“ICE is hiding behind armor and masks and machine guns, menacing families who want nothing more than to go about their lives in peace. They are killing and terrorizing us. ENOUGH.

“We must stand up like Minnesotans are in -10 degree temps in the streets of Minneapolis. Stand up to this administration. Stand up for our neighbors. Demand the Senate stand up and stop funding ICE. Let them know we won’t back down.”

State Rep. Nima Kulkarni, an immigration attorney who represents part of Jefferson County in the Kentucky House of Representatives, called on Beshear, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg and other officials to take stronger action against “the Trump regime’s state sanctioned violence.”

She said the administration has been “brutalizing” citizens and non-citizens alike, not only in Minnesota, but also in Kentucky and Louisville. “People are being shot in the street. Children are being kidnapped. Families are being terrorized,” Kulkarni said in a statement. “I again call on our Mayor to change course and stop his complicity with ICE.”

And she called on Beshear to be prepared to activate the National Guard “to protect Kentuckians.”

“I call on our university leaders to stop aiding and abetting ICE. I call on all our public officials to stop empowering the brutality of this administration,” Kulkarni wrote. “This is not about a political talking point. This is about people’s lives. Now is not the time to stay silent.”

In the next few days, she said she planned to organize “a call to action for our electeds and advocates to address how we stop this violence and destruction from tearing apart our communities. Stay tuned.”