FBI is investigating Signal groups tracking ICE movement in Minnesota, says Kash Patel
Trump administration is on the backfoot, and is facing criticism from even Republicans over the killing of Alex Jeffrey Pretti in Minneapolis by federal agents last week.
A protester blows a whistle during a noise demonstration in front of a hotel where they believe ICE agents are staying in response to federal immigration enforcement operations in the city Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
Director Kash Patel has said that the FBI has opened an investigation into the Signal group chats in which Minnesota residents are sharing information about federal immigration agents’ movements.
“This Signal chat is something that we, the FBI, are looking at,” Patel told Fox News on Monday.
Earlier, Cameron Higby, a conservative media personality, had claimed that he had ‘infiltrated’ Signal groups all around Minneapolis that were used to track down federal agents.
What Patel said
Patel said in an interview with conservative podcaster Benny Johnson that he wanted to know whether any Minnesota residents had put federal agents “in harm’s way” with activities such as sharing agents’ license plate numbers and locations.
“You cannot create a scenario that illegally entraps and puts law enforcement in harm’s way,” Patel said.
Killing of Alex Jeffrey Pretti
The new investigation comes at a time when the Trump administration is on the backfoot, and is facing criticism from even Republicans over the killing of Alex Jeffrey Pretti in Minneapolis by federal agents last week.
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The 37-year-old intensive care nurse was the second US citizen to be shot dead by federal agents in Minneapolis in recent weeks, the other being Renée Nicole Good, who was fatally shot on January 7.
How Trump officials responded
In typical Trump administration fashion, top officials, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, had defended the killing of Pretti.
Within hours of Pretti’s death on Saturday, Bovino suggested Pretti “wanted to … massacre law enforcement,” and Noem said Pretti was “brandishing” a weapon and acted “violently” toward officers.“I don’t know of any peaceful protester that shows up with a gun and ammunition rather than a sign,” Noem said.
Miller even went on to declare Pretti “an assassin.”
What videos showed
But the Trump administration’s hasty defence has been exposed by bystander videos which showed Pretti holding a cellphone and helping a woman who had been pepper-sprayed by a federal officer.
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Within seconds, Pretti was sprayed, too, and taken to the ground by multiple officers. No video disclosed thus far has shown him unholstering his concealed weapon -– which he had a Minnesota permit to carry.
It appeared that one officer took Pretti’s gun and walked away with it just before shots began.
Criticism from gun rights groups
The Trump administration’s assertion that Pretti posed a risk to federal officials as he was carrying a gun has been met with criticism by gun rights advocates and the National Rifle Association, which has backed Trump three times.
As the blowback continues, Trump has dispatched his border czar, Tom Homan, to Minnesota, while there are also reports that Bovino, the border patrol commander who has become the public face of the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, could leave the city on Tuesday.
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A protester blows a whistle during a noise demonstration in front of a hotel where they believe ICE agents are staying in response to federal immigration enforcement operations in the city Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray) 
