Local Veterans Affairs officials in Minneapolis claimed that national leadership tried to shut down a planned memorial for slain VA ICU nurse Alex Pretti. Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, fatally shot by United States Customs and Border Protection agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Jan. 24, 2026. The two unnamed Border Patrol officers were placed on a three-day administrative leave following Pretti’s death, after which they will return to “desk duty,” MS NOW reported. VA employees also reportedly have yet to receive agency-wide acknowledgment of Pretti’s death, The Washington Post reported. The Trump-appointed VA secretary politicized Pretti's death, blaming Democratic officials in Minneapolis and Minnesota for federal agents shooting and killing a U.S. citizen.