Viral Alex Pretti 'crossdresser' claim sparks backlash as Minneapolis mourns nurse; ‘foolish attempt to add gasoline’

Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse, was fatally shot by a Border Patrol agent in Minneapolis amid outrage over Renee Good's killing at the hands of an ICE agent.

Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse, was fatally shot by a Border Patrol agent in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The incident came after Renee Nicole Good was shot by ICE agent Jonathan Ross and compounded anger at the action of federal agents in the state.

Alex Pretti was shot dead by a Border Patrol agent amid ongoing operations in Minneapolis. (X/@C_3C_3)

Even while the Donald Trump administration has rushed to contain the situation, and some of the statements officials made triggering backlash from the gun lobby, viral allegations have been made about Pretti. One claim was that he was fired from his job as a nurse which happens to be untrue. Now, another claim about Alex Pretti being a crossdresser has begun to do rounds on social media, sparking a backlash.

Alex Pretti crossdresser claims spark backlash

Several social media handles, albeit unverified, began to amplify the claim that Pretti was a crossdresser. Posts were shared on X and Facebook allegedly showing Pretti's crossdressing photos.

However, these claims are false and have been slammed by those mourning Pretti's unfortunate demise. The picture allegedly showing Pretti with colored hair has been called out as false by another person on Facebook.

“This photo is being circulated as Veteran ICU nurse Alex Pretti. False. Kyle Wagner posted the picture of himself during Pride weekend July 12, 2022. It is a foolish attempt to add gasoline to the fire,” a person angrily wrote.

They added, “I don’t care, say this was true, if Alex cross-dressed. WHO CARES! It doesn’t make him LESS human, LESS deserving of human decency and LESS deserving of constitutional rights. He embraced a woman who was pushed to the ground and pepper sprayed, a nurse instinct to aide those in need. Seconds later he was pepper sprayed, monkey piled by a handful of agents…shot not once but roughly 10 times… A little overkill? ICE self-defense? Nah. In a court of law, these very things indicate malicious intent… not self defense. Since when is shielding a fallen woman interference with federal law enforcement??? But yeah. Quick. Someone bait em while the eating’s good so they’ll talk about something COMPLETELY IRRELEVANT. Smearing such as this it is a violation of the 14th amendment which includes the “Equal Protection Clause” by encouraging sex-based discrimination. Images like these are shallow attempts to rage bait and distract.”

Grok too fact-checked the picture, writing “The photo on the right is real, but it's not of Alex Pretti. It's actually Kyle Wagner, taken at a 2022 Pride event in Minneapolis. The meme misattributes it. Sources: Lead Stories fact-check and original Facebook post.”

Alex Pretti previous run-in with federal agents

Amid wild claims doing the rounds about Pretti, federal officials indicated to CNN that they had documented details about the nurse before he was shot to death.

Pretti reportedly suffered a broken rib a week before his shooting when a group of federal officers tackled him as he was protesting their attempt to detain others in Minneapolis. The Department of Homeland Security, however, issued a statement saying “DHS law enforcement has no record of this incident.”