The BBC says it used facial recognition to match a newly surfaced video to Alex Pretti at a 97% confidence level, and federal investigators are reportedly looking into the footage as fresh details reshape how some are framing the events around his death.
UPDATED [6:54 PM ET]: Mediaite is now reporting that BBC confirmed the authenticity of the video to “a 97% match” through its use of “facial recognition technology”: the outlet says the BBC verified the footage and that its team used facial recognition tools to analyze the clip. The report raises questions about earlier portrayals of Pretti as an innocent bystander and suggests there is evidence placing him directly in confrontational behavior before the fatal shooting. Republican readers should note the new information underscores concerns about how media narratives form before facts are fully vetted.
The BBC confirmed the authenticity of the video in their 10 p.m. GMT news broadcast. Reporter Ros Atkins said the man in the video “has the same coat, facial hair and gait as Alex Pretti and a facial recognition tool suggests a 97% match. We see him shouting abuse at the agents.” Separately, a spokesperson for the BBC confirmed to Mediaite that they reviewed the footage and verified its team did use facial recognition technology on the video.
UPDATED [6:19 PM ET]: Fox News’ Bill Melugin is reporting that “DHS confirms to Fox News that they are aware of this video & HSI [Homeland Security Investigations] is investigating it”:
The earlier narrative painting federal officers as the primary aggressors looks shakier if this footage is genuine and properly authenticated. Conservative readers who have pushed back on rushed media narratives will find confirmation that due process and careful verification matter, especially when public opinion and protests are inflamed. This is about facts first, not taking sides based on a viral clip that may be incomplete or taken out of context.
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Another leftist narrative about “Nazi” ICE agents killing innocent and gentle observers may have just been blown to bits. This intel from communications analyst Steve Guest is quite explosive and feeds the larger debate over how activist confrontations are portrayed by sympathetic outlets.
WATCH:
MUST WATCH: Footage of an a man who looks like AlexPretti with a gun in his waistband, spitting on and attacking federal law enforcement officers and kicking the tail light of their vehicle on January 13.
Bombshell report from the BBC.
Important context: Pretti was not a peaceful protester.
This clip appears similar to another incident covered earlier in which Pretti was involved the week before his death. Reports indicate he had physical run-ins with federal agents prior to the shooting, and those incidents matter when people try to reconstruct a sequence of events. Context changes how we think about responsibility and culpability in volatile encounters with law enforcement.
Alex Pretti reportedly suffered a broken rib about a week before his fatal shooting when federal agents tackled him after he tried to intervene in an immigration enforcement operation.
Sources tell CNN that Pretti stopped his car after spotting ICE agents chasing “a family on foot,” and began shouting and blowing a whistle to intervene. They say this action prompted several agents to take him down.
Pretti allegedly told one source that “five agents tackled him and one leaned on his back – an encounter that left him with a broken rib.”
If the BBC’s facial recognition analysis holds up and federal investigators confirm the video’s authenticity, the broader picture shifts away from the simplistic framing that many on the left pushed. Pretti was openly an anti-ICE activist who sought confrontation, not someone who passively witnessed an enforcement action. That reality is important to conservatives who value law and order and who worry about biased coverage that rushes to exonerate bad actors before all evidence is gathered.
As investigations proceed, questions remain about where and when the video was captured, who filmed it, and how its contents fit into the overall timeline. The Department of Homeland Security’s reported involvement means a federal probe could produce more definitive findings, and those findings should shape our judgments rather than emotional reactions to selective footage. Responsible reporting and careful official review are needed to avoid politicized misinformation driving public outrage.
This is a developing story and more verifiable details may emerge from investigators’ work. In the meantime, the reported BBC use of facial recognition and the HSI inquiry both underscore the need to privilege evidence over narrative. Readers should watch for official releases and authenticated documentation rather than relying solely on viral clips and partisan commentary.
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