The Jim Acosta Show – Special Live Edition

Episode: Federal Agents Kill Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Our live coverage with Maritza Georgiou, Nick Valencia, Maria Cardona and Olivia Troye
Date: January 25, 2026
Host: Jim Acosta
Guests: Maritza Georgiou, Nick Valencia, Maria Cardona, Olivia Troye

Episode Overview

This special live edition of The Jim Acosta Show delivers on-the-ground, real-time coverage of the killing of Alex Preddy, a 37-year-old ICU nurse and Minneapolis resident, by federal agents (ICE) during an immigration enforcement action. The discussion features live reporting from Maritza Georgiou and Nick Valencia at the scene, as well as in-depth analysis and passionate responses from Maria Cardona and Olivia Troye. The panel examines the shooting, the broader pattern of escalating abuses by federal immigration authorities, the community’s reaction, political implications, and urgent calls for accountability and collective action.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Scene Report: What Happened in Minneapolis (00:00–18:23)

• Maritza Georgiou, onsite reporter, describes the aftermath of the shooting at 26th and Nicollet — a diverse, vibrant area known as Eat Street.

  • Large crowds of protesters despite frigid temperatures (−3°F/−4°F).
  • Heavy police and federal presence; tear gas in the air; press and bystanders affected by crowd control measures.
  • Protesters are united, carrying signs like “six versus one and they still used a gun”.
  • “My nose is going to be running because it’s four below zero action right now and these streets are packed.” (Maritza, 01:25)

• Acosta notes a press conference with strong remarks from city leaders:

  • Mayor Jacob Frey: “‘How many more Americans need to die?’” (Acosta quoting Frey, 02:36)

• New videos surface suggesting Preddy was pepper-sprayed, subdued, and on the ground with weapon already taken before he was shot by multiple agents.

  • “It was like target practice on somebody lying on the ground.” (Acosta, 05:14)
  • Community already traumatized from prior incidents, including the killing of Renee Goode two weeks earlier.

2. Patterns of Aggressive Policing & Community Trauma (18:47–29:23)

• ICE and other federal agents have doubled down on heavy-handed tactics.

  • Physical attacks on press (e.g., journalist Jana Shortle gassed while clearly wearing press credentials).
  • Clashes reminiscent of George Floyd protests, but more widespread and persistent.

• Community Unrest:

  • “This is just another period of grief that the city is going through. And we don’t know what comes tomorrow.” (Maritza, 04:59)
  • Immigrant communities elsewhere in Minnesota (e.g., Romer) also facing repeated ICE raids.

• Outpouring of local solidarity:

  • People sharing food, whistles, warm gear; clergy and entire families turning out to protest.

3. Firsthand Accounts of the Shooting & Aftermath (29:23–42:34)

• Nick Valencia, on-scene journalist, describes arriving minutes after the shooting:

  • Detained for questioning by FBI who mistook him for a witness.
  • “At one point while I was out there reporting, I was the only journalist behind police lines.” (Valencia, 29:51)
  • Notes law enforcement aggression and use of chemical irritants on crowds and journalists.

• Descriptions from Video Evidence:

  • Preddy was observed trying to help a woman on the ground.
  • An officer appears to remove a firearm from Preddy’s waistband; Preddy is then shot while subdued.
  • “Beg the question what kind of threat he was. Even if he was resisting, they had removed, it appears, his firearm.” (Valencia, 32:32)

• Federal pushback against citizen documentation; streams going offline, possible interference.

  • “It’s like they’re effectively gaslighting us...telling us what we’re seeing is not the reality.” (Valencia, 33:21)

4. Escalating Fear & Trauma in Affected Communities (35:48–42:37)

• Ongoing general strikes and mass protests — over 700 businesses participated; tens of thousands on the streets.

• Teachers and families in shock after the arrest of a 5-year-old boy, Liam Conejo Ramos.

  • “You have teachers now walking students to the class and they are at a loss themselves.” (Valencia, 36:22)
  • Children fear they may be taken next; massive trauma reported throughout schools and neighborhoods.

• Valencia connects his own fear as a journalist of color reporting in this environment:

  • “I was fucking terrified coming out here...not because of the tense environment, but because of the color of my skin.” (Valencia, 38:05)

5. Government Response & Political Accountability (42:37–60:13)

• Acosta calls for political action; critiques Congressional Democrats who continue to vote for DHS funding.

  • “How in God’s name can you vote to continue to fund ICE and these murders? At what point does it stop?” (Acosta, 18:47)

• Calls for collective, strategic, peaceful protest to counter possible federal escalation (reference to potential Insurrection Act invocation).

• Maria Cardona delivers emotional condemnation:

  • “ICE has become a killing squad that they have let loose in American cities to go after US citizens and anyone else.” (Cardona, 44:33)
  • Clarifies law enforcement’s need for community trust; debunks GOP spin about local police ‘refusing to cooperate’.
  • “There have been sheriffs around the country...looking at what ICE is doing right now and saying these guys are goons, these guys are thugs, these guys are amateurs.” (Acosta, 48:58)

• Cardona stresses that Democrats — and any pro-democracy Republicans — must withhold further funding for the current DHS/ICE apparatus.

  • “No Democrat...should be voting for this...bill which gives these, this now ICE killer squad more money...to go after US citizens.” (Cardona, 54:27)

6. Witnessing and Documentation as Resistance (61:43–68:44)

• Olivia Troye, ex-Trump administration DHS official, decries what she sees as a government turning on its own people.

  • Emphasizes importance of documenting abuses for eventual accountability.
  • “Just watching basically the federal government turn on its own people. That’s what this is.” (Troye, 62:50)
  • “We have the absolute right to document. We have the absolute right to film things.” (Troye, 64:50)
  • Suggests real power is in the hands of operatives like Stephen Miller, not Trump himself.

• Warns that current ICE/federal agents are not properly trained, are operating outside norms, and the situation is “uncharted territory.”

7. Closing Reflections & Calls to Action (68:44–73:00)

• Acosta expresses moral outrage and a sense of national betrayal:

  • “What we’re seeing right now in the street should boil the blood of every good American.” (Acosta, 69:07)
  • Recounts his family’s immigrant history as a frame for the current crisis.

• Grief turns to resolve — repeated calls to “say their names” (Renee Goode, Alex Preddy, Liam Conejo Ramos), keep bearing witness, and demand change.

  • “This is a spark. This is a turning point in this country. What we’re seeing right now, folks — we’re in the middle of it.” (Acosta, 71:45)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Maritza Georgiou

  • “Everybody here...they feel like, how much more can they go through? What comes next? What comes tomorrow?...It’s heartbreaking.” (03:51)
  • “It took so much to recover from what we saw during George Floyd and the riots after that. And...this is just another period of grief that the city is going through.” (04:59)
  • “This city is not going to [stop documenting].” (11:01)

• Jim Acosta

  • “It looked like by multiple agents. It was like target practice on somebody lying on the ground...this just looks like he was shot dead in the street.” (05:14)
  • “We need to say their names. We need to say Renee Good’s name. We need to say Alex Preddy’s name.” (18:46)
  • “If you’re a Democrat in Congress...how in God’s name can you vote to continue to fund ICE and these murders?” (18:47, 54:24)
  • “They are trying to gaslight us. They’re tear gassing us and they’re gaslighting us.” (34:01)

• Nick Valencia

  • “Part of what they were frustrated at was ... local and state police protecting the feds from yet another fatal shooting.” (30:24)
  • “It’s as if they don’t want any recording or evidence of this at all.” (33:21)
  • “When people get a taste of [fascism], they want more. And it is a sickness in the head.” (40:12)
  • “[I was afraid] not because of the tense environment, but because of the color of my skin. How weird is that to say?” (38:05)
  • “Sol pueblo, salva pueblo. Only the people will help each other. And that is the spirit we’re seeing out here.” (35:14)

• Maria Cardona

  • “ICE has become a killing squad that they have let loose in American cities to go after US citizens and anyone else.” (44:33)
  • “No Democrat...should be voting for this...bill which gives this...ICE killer squad more money.” (54:27)
  • “This is not the country that my parents brought my family to. This is not the country that your father brought you to. This is not the country that promises everyone can have a better life if you live and play by the rules.” (44:40)

• Olivia Troye

  • “Just watching basically the federal government turn on its own people. That’s what this is.” (62:50)
  • “We have the absolute right to document. We have the absolute right to film things.” (64:50)
  • “[These agents] have not produced at scale the kinds of operations they are doing right now in the streets. We are in uncharted territory here.” (67:14)

Important Segment Timestamps

• 00:00–11:30 — Live scene report with Maritza Georgiou: events, crowd reactions, police presence, community grief.
• 12:54–18:47 — Breaking developments: AP identification of Alex Preddy, press conference snippets, calls for answers and accountability.
• 29:23–34:06 — Nick Valencia joins: on-the-ground observations, being detained by FBI, clashes, crowd reactions.
• 35:48–42:34 — Trauma in schools and families, the striking ripple effects of violent enforcement.
• 44:33–60:13 — Maria Cardona: History, law enforcement analysis, debunking political spin, urgent calls for Congressional action.
• 61:43–68:44 — Olivia Troye: Federal government “turning on its own people,” importance of documentation, concerns over federal overreach and accountability.
• 68:44–73:00 — Closing rally: Acosta’s personal appeals, final calls to action, emotional summary of the national moment.

Final Reflections

The episode is a searing, immediate account of another fatal instance of federal overreach in Minneapolis, coupled with personal testimony and deep analysis of the systemic collapse of civil rights protections. Repeated themes: the necessity of truth-telling and documentation, solidarity across communities, the bipartisan imperative to halt wanton state violence, and the need for urgent, peaceful, strategic mobilization.

“This is a spark. This is a turning point in this country. What we’re seeing right now, folks — we’re in the middle of it...It is time for the people of this country to rise up. It is time for the people of this country to say, no more.”
– Jim Acosta, 71:45