In Minneapolis, federal agents have been collecting personal information about protesters and had documented details about Alex Pretti before his fatal encounter with ICE on Saturday.
Sources told CNN that Pretti suffered a broken rib the week before his death when a group of federal agents tackled him to the ground as he was protesting their attempt to detain a family.
Pretti stopped his car and got out, shouting and blowing a whistle, as he observed agents chasing on foot what he described as a family on the run. According to the anonymous source, Pretti later said that he suffered a broken rib when agents tackled him and leaned on his back. Agents immediately released him, but according to the source, “That day, he thought he was going to die.”
Records show that Pretti was given medication for the incident.
An official says DHS has no record of the incident.
Earlier this month a memo requested federal agents “capture all images, license plates, identifications, and general information on hotels, agitators, protestors, etc., so we can capture it all in one consolidated form,” according to correspondence reviewed by CNN.
“When our law enforcement encounter a violent agitator who is breaking the law, obstructing law enforcement or assaulting them, our law enforcement make records to advance prosecution. This is not ground breaking, it is standard protocol,” said DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin in a statement.
A memo from DHS asked ICE investigators in Minneapolis to use a form titled “intel collection non-arrests.”
Pretti’s name was known to federal agents, but it’s unclear whether they recognized him on Saturday when he was attacked and killed.
The Trump administration has spoken publicly of creating a database of protesters.
“One thing I’m pushing for right now … we’re going to create a database where those people that are arrested for interference, impeding and assault, we’re going to make them famous,” Tom Homan, Trump’s border czar, told Fox News earlier this month. “We’re going to put their face on TV. We’re going to let their employers, in their neighborhoods, in their schools, know who these people are.”