The Border Patrol agent involved in the fatal shooting of Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti is not expected to face conviction, according to a leading prosecutor.

The incident involved federal officers who shot the 37-year-old ICU nurse, claiming he threatened them with a firearm during a confrontation on Saturday. However, video evidence reveals the agents fired after Pretti’s weapon had already been removed.

While Minnesota Democrats are calling for accountability in Pretti’s death, legal expert and former prosecutor Elie Honig notes that state prosecutors would encounter ‘significant legal challenges’ if they attempted to charge the officers involved.

Furthermore, should charges be pursued, the Border Patrol agent could likely petition for the case to be moved to federal court, potentially invoking qualified immunity to dismiss the charges, Honig explained to CNN.

Although bringing charges is not out of the question, Honig emphasized that it would be a ‘difficult legal battle’ to win.

Federal officials have not named the agent who shot Pretti, but did confirm the officer is an eight-year Border Patrol veteran. He also had extensive training as a range safety officer and in using less-lethal force.

President Donald Trump has seemingly distanced himself from the shooting and is now deploying his border czar Tom Homan to Minneapolis. Trump said Homan will ‘report directly to me’, in an apparent blow to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem after she lied about what happened on Saturday.

Alex Pretti, 37, was shot dead by a Border Patrol agent in broad daylight in Minneapolis on Saturday during a targeted immigration enforcement operation

Federal officers shot and killed the 37-year-old ICU nurse, claiming he brandished a gun and intended to harm them during a confrontation on Saturday

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem holds a news conference on the shooting death of Alex Pretti. The weapon she claimed he ‘brandished’ at agents is displayed on a screen

Trump announced Homan’s deployment on Monday as outrage grew over his administration’s militarized immigration raids and the shooting death of Pretti, whom DHS boss Kristi Noem rushed to decide was a ‘domestic terrorist.’

The high-profile assignment suggested that the 79-year-old Republican president is seeking to regain control over a rapidly deteriorating political and security situation.

Trump on Sunday somewhat denounced the shooting, telling the Wall Street Journal: ‘I don’t like any shooting. I don’t like it.  

‘But I don’t like it when somebody goes into a protest and he’s got a very powerful, fully loaded gun with two magazines loaded up with bullets also. That doesn’t play good either.’ 

Minneapolis police say Pretti had no serious criminal history and was a lawful gun owner with a valid concealed carry permit. 

Trump has remained skeptical to place blame on Pretti, vowing that his administration is ‘reviewing everything and will come out with a determination.’

The deadly shooting – the second civilian fatality this month – has ignited national outrage.

DHS published a statement just hours after the shooting, claiming the Border Patrol officer responsible was acting defensively as Pretti was armed when he was shot.

Former federal and state prosecutor Elie Honig (pictured) says the Border Patrol agent who shot Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti dead in broad daylight is unlikely to be convicted

Multiple bystander videos show a Border Patrol agent shooting and killing Alex Pretti after a roughly 30-second scuffle around 9am Saturday

Officers are seen kneeling next to Alex Pretti just moments after he was shot dead on Saturday

The agency released a photo showing a nine millimeter semi-automatic handgun officers said Pretti ‘approached’ with before a ‘violent’ struggle ensued.

However video from the scene led to officials, including Governor Tim Walz, to question the DHS narrative, as there did not appear to be any evidence of Pretti brandishing a gun.

But still Noem insisted that Pretti ‘brandished’ a legally-owned handgun at officers trying to detain an illegal migrant.

The DHS boss then dodged questions about the shooting on Sunday, noting it would be investigated, but still reiterated that her agents ‘clearly feared for their lives and took action to defend themselves and the people around them.’

Minneapolis has become ground zero in the clash between Trump and growing numbers of Americans over his nationwide immigration crackdown. 

A federal judge will hear arguments Monday on whether she should at least temporarily halt the immigration crackdown in Minnesota.

The state and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul sued the DHS earlier this month, five days after Renee Good was shot by an Immigration and Customs (ICE) officer. 

The shooting of Pretti on Saturday has only added urgency to the case.

Democrats in Congress have also threatened to hold up funding for the US government unless immigration enforcement agencies are reformed.

Minneapolis has become ground zero in the clash between Trump and growing numbers of Americans over his nationwide immigration crackdown. The shooting of Alex Pretti on Saturday has worsened tensions

Noem previously claimed that Pretti, an intensive care nurse who has protested Trump’s immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, showed up on Saturday to ‘impede a law enforcement operation.’ 

The DHS Secretary has questioned why Pretti was armed but did not offer details about whether he drew the weapon or brandished it at officers.

Noem also previously blamed two of Minnesota’s most senior Democrat lawmakers – Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey – for the shooting.

‘Our law enforcement are doing everything they can to protect the public. We’re praying for the deceased’s loved ones, family, and friends, but we also recognize that the Minnesota and the Minneapolis governor need to take a long hard look in the mirror,’ she said during a press conference on Saturday.

‘They need to evaluate their rhetoric, their conversations, and their encouragement of such violence against our citizens and law enforcement officers.’

Multiple bystander videos show a Border Patrol agent shooting and killing Pretti after a roughly 30-second scuffle around 9am Saturday. 

The videos appear to contradict statements by DHS, which said the shots were fired ‘defensively’ against Pretti as he ‘approached’ them with a gun.

Demonstrators participate in a rally and march during an ‘ICE Out’ day of protest on January 23

A federal agent points a weapon at a person outside a hotel during a noise demonstration protest in response to federal immigration enforcement operations in the city Sunday

Demonstrators participate in a rally and march during an ‘ICE Out’ day of protest on January 23

In the videos, Pretti is seen with only a phone in his hand. None of the footage appears to show him with a weapon. 

During the scuffle, agents discovered that he was carrying a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun, and they opened fire with several shots. 

A federal judge has issued a temporary restraining order banning the Trump administration from ‘destroying or altering evidence’ related to the death of Pretti. 

It has not been confirmed whether Pretti’s gun fired any shots.