Demands State Charges Against DHS Leadership for Reckless Endangerment and Second-Degree Murder
MINNEAPOLIS, MN — Civil rights advocate and author Donald Cleveland today issued an urgent call to and Governor Tim Walz to immediately convene a state grand jury to investigate and indict the U.S. Border and Customs Patrol officers involved in the killing of Alex Pretti, a Minnesota resident fatally shot during a federal immigration enforcement operation.
Cleveland is calling for second-degree murder indictments against the officers directly responsible for Pretti’s death and reckless endangerment, and second-degree murder indictments against senior federal officials whose policies and commands enabled the operation, including:
- Kristi Noem, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security
- Tom Homan, former ICE Director and current Border Czar
- Rodney Scott, Commissioner of the Department of Homeland Security
“This was not an accident. This was not unavoidable. This was the foreseeable result of reckless federal policy imposed on a sovereign state,” Cleveland said. “Alex Pretti is dead, and justice will not come from the same federal system that authorized the operation. Minnesota must act.”
State Police Powers and Constitutional Authority
Cleveland emphasized that under the Tenth Amendment of the United States Constitution, police powers — including the authority to prosecute homicide — are reserved to the states, not the federal government.
“Federal badges do not confer immunity from state murder laws,” Cleveland said. “When federal agents kill a resident inside Minnesota, Minnesota has the constitutional authority and the moral obligation to prosecute.” The CBP officers involved should not be allowed to leave the state or “flee the jurisdiction,” Cleveland added.
He further argued that command-level officials bear criminal liability under theories of reckless endangerment and command responsibility, asserting that federal leadership knowingly authorized enforcement tactics that endangered civilians and escalated violence in residential neighborhoods.
Demands
- Immediately convene a Minnesota grand jury
- Subpoena all body-camera footage, communications, and operational orders
- Indict the involved Border and Customs Patrol officers for first-degree murder
- Indict DHS leadership for reckless endangerment and second-degree murder
- Reject federal interference or preemption claims designed to block state prosecution
“This is a test of whether states still matter, whether lives still matter, and whether constitutional limits on federal power still mean anything at all,” Cleveland said.
Broader Context
Cleveland framed the killing of Alex Pretti as part of a long historical pattern of federal misconduct that has repeatedly escaped accountability, warning that failure to act now will further erode democratic governance and public trust.
“History shows us what happens when abuses of power are ignored,” Cleveland said. “This moment demands courage from state officials, not silence.”
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