A bloc of Minnesota’s biggest companies and professional sports teams demanded an “immediate de-escalation” of tensions Sunday after the fatal shooting of Alex Jeffrey Pretti by federal agents rocked Minneapolis and plunged the state into crisis.
More than 60 chief executives — including leaders of Target, Best Buy, 3M, General Mills, Medtronic, UnitedHealth Group and every major Minnesota sports franchise — signed an open letter released by the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce hours after Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, was killed during immigration enforcement operations.
The business leaders said the state has suffered “widespread disruption and tragic loss of life” and warned that the ongoing turmoil is threatening communities, workers and the broader economy.
“With yesterday’s tragic news, we are calling for an immediate de-escalation of tensions and for state, local and federal officials to work together to find real solutions,” the letter said.
The Chamber of Commerce letter acknowledged weeks of behind-the-scenes engagement with top officials, including Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the White House, the vice president and local mayors, but signaled that private diplomacy was no longer enough.
“For the past several weeks, representatives of Minnesota’s business community have been working every day behind the scenes with federal, state and local officials to advance real solutions,” the letter said.
“There are ways for us to come together to foster progress.”
The signatories urged peace and cooperation to allow “families, businesses, our employees, and communities across Minnesota to resume our work to build a bright and prosperous future.”
President Trump said his administration is “reviewing everything” about the fatal shooting of Pretti but stopped short of saying whether the federal agent who fired the shots acted appropriately.
In a brief phone interview with the Wall Street Journal on Sunday, Trump declined twice to say if the shooting was justified, saying instead that officials would “come out with a determination” after reviewing the incident.
Trump criticized Pretti for bringing a firearm to a protest, calling it a “very powerful, fully loaded gun with two magazines,” and said that fact weighed heavily in how the situation unfolded.
“I don’t like any shooting. I don’t like it,” Trump said, adding, “But I don’t like it when somebody goes into a protest and he’s got a very powerful, fully loaded gun … That doesn’t play good either.” He also described the weapon as “dangerous and unpredictable.”
The president also signaled that federal immigration agents will eventually leave Minneapolis, though he offered no timetable.
“At some point we will leave. We’ve done, they’ve done a phenomenal job,” Trump said, adding that the administration could leave a different group of federal officials behind to focus on financial fraud investigations in the state, which he described as massive and expanding beyond Minnesota.
The unusually broad coalition of Minnesota business leaders included CEOs from health care giants like Mayo Clinic and Medtronic, financial firms such as US Bancorp and Piper Sandler, retailers including Best Buy and Target, and food and agriculture powerhouses like Cargill, Hormel and Land O’Lakes.
Minnesota is home to 17 Fortune 500 companies, according to official government data.
Protesters have also zeroed in on retail giant Target, demanding the Minnesota-based company refuse cooperation with federal immigration agents after two Target employees — both US citizens — were arrested during recent ICE operations in Minneapolis.
Activists have accused the company of staying silent while workers were detained, staging demonstrations outside stores and at Target’s downtown headquarters and calling on executives to bar federal agents from company property without a warrant.
Target has not publicly commented on the arrests but has faced mounting pressure from employees and community groups to take a clearer stand as tensions over the immigration crackdown continue to rise.
Pretti was shot and killed Saturday during an anti-ICE protest tied to the Trump administration’s sweeping “Operation Metro Surge” crackdown in Minneapolis. Federal officials said agents acted in self-defense after Pretti, who was armed, “violently resisted” officers, a claim disputed by critics and bystander video footage.
His death sparked protests across the Twin Cities, shut down public events and intensified a political firestorm already burning after another fatal shooting earlier this month.
Pretti’s killing marked the second fatal shooting of a US citizen by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis in recent weeks. On Jan. 7, Renée Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother, was shot and killed by an ICE officer during a traffic stop.
Federal authorities repeatedly described Good’s actions as “domestic terrorism,” with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem saying she “attempted to run a law enforcement officer over” and had “weaponized her vehicle.”
Trump, Vice President JD Vance and border czar Tom Homan echoed that characterization.
Both shootings have become flashpoints in the administration’s aggressive immigration push, which has brought an influx of ICE and Border Patrol agents into Minneapolis, thousands of arrests and repeated clashes with residents, protesters and local officials.
The fallout has rippled through Minnesota’s economy.
Just days before Pretti was killed, a statewide general strike dubbed the “Day of Truth & Freedom” shuttered hundreds of businesses, closed schools and halted shopping in protest of federal immigration operations and the killing of Good.
Organizers billed the action as an “economic blackout” highlighting the role immigrant communities play in the state’s economy.
Major public events were also disrupted over the weekend.
An NBA game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Golden State Warriors was postponed, the St. Paul Winter Carnival parade was canceled and concerts at the iconic First Avenue venue were called off “out of an abundance of caution.”
The Post has sought comment from the White House, Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey.
