AFL CIO Day of Democracy March

On February 16, 2026, the Minnesota AFL-CIO organized a "Day of Democracy" rally and march through Minneapolis, drawing protesters who demanded accountability for killings carried out by federal agents during the preceding two months. The march began at Stewart Park and ended at the memorial for Alex Pretti on Nicollet Avenue.

Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System, was shot and killed by border patrol agents on January 24, 2026, during Operation Metro Surge, a large-scale federal immigration enforcement action across the Twin Cities. Bystander video circulated widely after the shooting and contradicted portions of the initial federal account: it showed agents removing a weapon from Pretti before the shots were fired, meaning he was unarmed at the moment he was killed. No one had been charged or held responsible for his death by the time this march took place.

The February 16 march was part of a sustained period of protest that began in the days immediately following Pretti's death. Earlier demonstrations had included direct confrontations with law enforcement and nightly gatherings near the site of the shooting. The AFL-CIO's involvement marked a shift in the organizing structure, bringing labor institutions formally into a movement that had until then been driven largely by community groups and immigration advocates.

Operation Metro Surge and the question of federal enforcement authority in Minneapolis remained unresolved at the time of the march, with protesters calling for ICE to leave the city and for the release of further evidence related to the Pretti shooting.