The illegal immigrant being sought during the operation that resulted in the death of a 37-year-old U.S. citizen had a violent rap sheet that included domestic assault involving intentional bodily harm, according to federal officials.
Jose Huerta-Chuma ultimately escaped capture during the chaos, Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino told reporters Sunday, as he condemned characterizations of his agents as « Gestapo » — referencing the Nazi Geheime Staatspolizei — in the media and in public discourse.
Huerta-Chuma, reportedly an Ecuadorian national, also had other convictions, including driving without a valid license and disorderly conduct, when agents attempted to take him into custody at a Minneapolis donut shop.
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« This individual walks the streets today because of those choices made by politicians and those, perhaps, weaker-minded constituents that chose to follow directions of those politicians, » Bovino said.
The Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC) later criticized Bovino in a statement, claiming « federal statements have repeatedly included inaccurate information about Minnesota custody and criminal records. »
« The DOC reviewed available records to determine whether [Huerta-Chuma] had any connection to Minnesota state prison custody, » the department said in a statement.
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The Minnesota DOC went on to say Huerta-Chuma had « never been » in state prison custody and that his state court records did not show any « felony commitments. »
The agency said Huerta-Chuma’s name matched misdemeanor traffic offenses and said he had been in federal custody in a local Minnesota jail in 2018.
« Any decisions regarding release from federal custody at that time would have been made by federal authorities. DOC has no information explaining why this individual was released, » the agency said, while also claiming it works with ICE to facilitate custody transfers in conflict with public statements by federal officials.
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During the ultimately unsuccessful capture of Huerta-Chuma, Pretti approached agents in the midst of their mission while armed with a 9 mm handgun and was killed when agents later fired « defensive shots, » according to Bovino.
In the aftermath of Pretti’s death, further chaos erupted, and a federal agent was critically injured when an agitator bit off the end of his finger, according to DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, said a « log of evidence » is being created for potential future prosecutions of agents involved in the situation.
In response to the Minnesota DOC’s accounting of Huerta-Chuma’s record, a DHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital that his criminal history indeed includes the crimes mentioned by Bovino and others.
« On January 24, in Minneapolis Border Patrol were obstructed by agitators as they tried to arrest Jose Huerta-Chuma, whose criminal history includes domestic assault to intentionally inflict bodily harm, disorderly conduct, and driving without a valid license, » the spokesperson said.
« This criminal illegal alien remains at large. We are calling on the public to report any sighting of this violent criminal illegal alien to 866-DHS-2-ICE. »
Fox News Digital reached out to DHS for comment on the Minnesota DOC’s statements.
Source link : https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dhs-says-illegal-immigrant-sought-amid-pretti-shooting-had-violent-domestic-history
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Publish date : 2026-01-26 17:26:00
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