Patriot Brief

  • What Happened: A purported message circulating on Signal claims someone with human rights contacts at the UN is seeking to help the families of Alex Pretti and Renee Good file a complaint with the United Nations.
  • Why It Matters: While international rights bodies have urged independent probes into these deaths, there’s no verified evidence that a formal UN complaint has been filed on behalf of either family yet. 
  • Bottom Line: Activists are pushing global human rights pressure, but official UN engagement remains limited to calls for independent investigation, not a filed case. 

A new claim tied to the Minneapolis ICE controversies is circulating online, but it isn’t yet a confirmed legal action.

A message shared in Minnesota anti-ICE Signal channels suggests that a human rights contact working with the United Nations is trying to reach the families of Alex Pretti and Renee Good to file a human rights complaint on their behalf. The post says this contact “works in International Human Rights at the U.N.” and is seeking family permission to lodge a formal action. That claim has been reposted widely on social platforms amid ongoing outrage over the two fatal shootings by federal agents in Minneapolis. 

It is true that international rights bodies have spoken out about the incidents. The U.N. human rights office has publicly urged U.S. authorities to conduct a “prompt, independent and transparent” investigation into the fatal shooting of Renee Good, noting that lethal force must truly be a last resort under international standards. That statement came from a U.N. spokesperson in Geneva and shows global concern over the episode. 

What is not confirmed at this point is that a formal complaint has been submitted by the UN on behalf of the families. Independent human rights organizations have weighed in, but there is no verified public filing of an official UN human rights complaint tied to the deaths of Pretti and Good. The Snopes fact-check also found no evidence that the United Nations has initiated such a complaint. 

Domestically, the Department of Justice’s civil rights division is actively investigating the killing of Alex Pretti, and the Pretti family has retained prominent legal counsel to pursue accountability. That pursuit is happening within U.S. courts and agencies, not the United Nations. 

So while activists are hopeful that international pressure can be applied, the current situation remains that global human rights offices have urged independent U.S. investigations—not that an official UN complaint has been filed on behalf of the families.