A Fox News Digital review finds that anti‑ICE mobilization after Alex Pretti's death in Minneapolis employed tactics commonly associated with insurgencies, including encrypted Signal networks, local embedding, rapid alerts and coordinated media production. A retired CIA operations officer cited in the piece suggests possible overseas support, and the analysis links several Marxist‑aligned groups and a media outlet to organized narrative efforts. The report presents a timeline of Signal alerts, license‑plate tracking and whistle‑based rapid responses leading up to and following the fatal encounter.
Fox Analysis: Minneapolis Anti‑ICE Networks Employed Insurgency‑Style Tactics, Timeline Shows
As unrest escalates in Minneapolis, investigators are uncovering a network of far-left activist groups allegedly bankrolled by a wealthy U.S. expat in China with reported ties to Chinese Communist Party–aligned propaganda efforts.(Getty Images)
A Fox News Digital review concludes that the anti‑ICE mobilization surrounding the death of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis used coordinated methods often associated with insurgencies: encrypted messaging, neighborhood embedding, rapid alerts, role-based command-and-control and fast-turnaround media production. The analysis combines a minute-by-minute timeline, field guides circulated among activists, public social posts and the assessment of a retired CIA operations officer.
Key Findings
- Encrypted communications and rapid alerts: Signal groups and live dispatch channels were used to report vehicle sightings and coordinate on-the-ground responses.
- Local embedding and logistics: Guides recommend hyper-local outreach, contact trees, mutual-aid support, staged supplies and designated roles such as dispatch, medic and perimeter teams.
- Narrative and media operations: Rapid filming, shared footage and coordinated posting were used to frame the incident and mobilize broader protest activity.
- Parallels to counterinsurgency doctrine: Fox cites U.S. manuals describing how decentralized movements rely on pattern-of-life surveillance, communications discipline and information operations to sustain campaigns.
Expert Perspective
“The violence and rebellion that we’re seeing on the streets of Minneapolis is like an insurgency,” said Rick de la Torre, a retired CIA senior operations officer and former chief of station, who told Fox News Digital he sees signs of overseas coordination and funding.
The analysis points to organizations that describe themselves as Marxist‑Leninist and names groups such as the ANSWER Coalition, the People’s Forum and the Party for Socialism and Liberation. It also identifies BreakThrough News as a media node linked to those groups and cites reporting that Neville Roy Singham, an American‑born tech executive based in Shanghai, has provided financial support to parts of that ecosystem.
How The Tactics Allegedly Played Out
Fox reconstructed events using Signal alerts, public videos and internal guides. Examples cited in the review include:
Border Patrol was reportedly involved in a shooting in South Minneapolis on Saturday, January 24, 2026. The suspect was allegedly armed with a gun and two magazines.
- License-plate tracking: A shared database was used to log suspected ICE vehicles and to maintain persistent surveillance across days.
- Whistles and audible alerts: Low-tech signaling (whistles/horns) was employed to rapidly mobilize nearby participants when federal agents were identified.
- Role-based coordination: Guides formalized patrol roles (foot patrol, dispatch, mobile patrol) and assigned tasks such as documentation, medic support and perimeter control.
- Rapid narrative amplification: Video and social posts were disseminated quickly to frame the encounter and to trigger protests and wider organizing, including calls for strikes and demonstrations in other cities.
Timeline Highlights
Fox outlines a sequence of actions in the days around Pretti's death: a Jan. 13 confrontation captured on video, ongoing Signal alerts and license‑plate entries into a regional database, live reporting from inside a local shop (Glam Doll Donuts), coordinated perimeter and medic calls after a fatal shooting, and rapid dissemination of footage and protest calls by sympathetic media and activist groups.
Caveats And Sources
The analysis relies on a mix of primary material (video, Signal posts, field guides), public statements and expert interpretation. It cites U.S. counterinsurgency manuals to highlight doctrinal parallels but does not present legal findings about guilt or criminal responsibility. Some claims, such as foreign funding and direction, are based on the assessment of a retired intelligence officer and reporting about financial links rather than on adjudicated evidence.
This report aims to summarize Fox News Digital's analysis and related materials while noting that investigations and independent verification may continue to clarify specific allegations.
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