Community members hold signs in front of the Crow Wing County Historic Courthouse on Laurel Street during a public vigil in Brainerd on Jan. 24, 2026.
About 300 people attended the vigil Jan. 24, 2026, a few hours after the shooting death of U.S. citizen Alex Pretti at the hands of federal agents in Minneapolis.
BRAINERD — Tears rolled down Ava Cappelle’s cheeks as emotion overcame her at a vigil Saturday, Jan. 24, outside the Crow Wing County Jail.
“I just never thought this was something I would see,” she said, voice cracking. “It’s awful.”
The 18-year-old Brainerd High School student and her mother Tessa Cappelle drove from Nisswa to participate in the Saturday afternoon event, standing for more than a half-hour in temperatures that felt like 21 below zero with wind chill. Tessa Cappelle said after the deadly shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti by a federal agent that morning, she learned of the vigil and felt compelled to take part.
Lorie Shaull
/
KAXE
Ava and Tessa Cappelle leave the First Congregational United Church of Christ in Brainerd on Jan. 24, 2026, after participating in a vigil a few blocks away at the Crow Wing County Jail.
“I am out here for my community, my kids, my future grandkids, my state,” Tessa Cappelle said. “I just feel that it’s such a huge violation of our rights as human beings, and it’s time for us to stand up and speak out. It doesn’t have to be political, it has to be about human rights.
“ ... I was very inspired by the protests yesterday and the showing of Minnesota and Minneapolis and the support all over the country. And then after what happened this morning, my response was anger. Just sheer anger.”
Lorie Shaull
/
KAXE
Community members hold signs along Laurel Street during a public vigil outside the Crow Wing County Jail in Brainerd on Jan. 24, 2026.
About 300 people lined both sides of Laurel Street in downtown Brainerd for the vigil organized by Brainerd Lakes Area Indivisible. The original intent was to draw attention to what’s going on inside the Crow Wing County Jail, where dozens of immigrants are being detained on behalf of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Coming soon: A deeper look at Crow Wing County's arrangement to detain people for ICE
Organizer Hallie Pond handed out candles and song lyrics the group later sang together, facing the jail: “Hold on, hold on /My dear ones /Here comes the dawn.”
Although the jail remained the focus, on many attendees’ minds was the second fatal shooting of a U.S. citizen by a federal immigration officer in less than three weeks in Minneapolis, as thousands of agents participate in the so-called Operation Metro Surge. Details of Pretti’s death were unfolding in real time as the early afternoon vigil commenced.
Lorie Shaull
/
KAXE
Ed Eyestone of Crosby holds a sign along Laurel Street during a public vigil outside the Crow Wing County Jail in Brainerd on Jan. 24, 2026.
A married couple from Crosby, who asked not to be identified, said they’d already planned to attend the vigil before Saturday morning’s shooting. But the sign they carried reflected the latest tragedy to befall Minnesota.
“Our sign says, ‘I was about to make a sign this morning, but it was interrupted with more murder,’” the woman said.
“I think every person in town is so privileged to live in an area like this, and you know, there’s not diversity,” her husband said. “And when the people of diversity can’t stand up by themselves, you have to come out and make a statement for them.”
He continued, “All these people grew up together around here, everybody knows everybody. And the people that are silent will be remembered, and the people that spoke will be remembered.”
Lorie Shaull
/
KAXE
A woman with a sign taped to her car drives down Laurel Street during a vigil in Brainerd on Jan. 24, 2026, outside the Crow Wing County Jail. The sign references Alex Pretti, who was killed by federal agents earlier in the day in Minneapolis.
For Ava Cappelle, this year will mark the first time she can vote. She said she has hope her generation can make change, and that her vote will make a difference. Saturday was also the first protest action she’s participated in. As for how it feels to be in a group of hundreds of people making their voices heard?
“I think it gives me so much faith in my community, to see this many people show up,” she said. “It’s like a light in the darkness.”
After the vigil concluded, some participants went to the First Congregational United Church of Christ a few blocks away to learn more about taking action on Crow Wing County’s participation with ICE. Indivisible organizer Pond shared resources, like templates for letters to write to Sheriff Eric Klang and county commissioners.
Lorie Shaull
/
KAXE
Hallie Pond summarizes current ICE-related events occurring in Crow Wing County during an information session at First Congregational Church in Brainerd on Jan. 24, 2026.
Pond explained a recent legal opinion from Attorney General Keith Ellison, which concluded that state law bars Minnesota sheriffs from unilaterally entering into agreements with federal immigration officials. Instead, those contracts can only be approved by county boards of commissioners, according to Ellison.
“So that gives us an opening for resistance, and to ensure that that is followed here in our neighborhood,” Pond said.
In an interview after the event, Pond, a Pine River-Backus High School graduate, explained how she felt when she learned of Pretti’s shooting that morning.
“If I stop to hold those feelings for too long, it’s debilitating,” she said. “And so, I’m learning how to alchemize my anger and outrage at the system, and outrage at the behavior that is undermining due process and undermining the values that I hold near and dear and really cherish as Minnesotan – like values of kindness and taking care of our neighbors and mutual aid. ... [That’s] what keeps me going.”
1 of 14 — Community members attend an information session about recent events in Crow Wing County and the state at First Congregational Church in Brainerd on Jan. 24, 2026.jpg
Community members attend an information session about recent events in Crow Wing County and the state at First Congregational Church in Brainerd on Jan. 24, 2026.
Lorie Shaull / KAXE
2 of 14 — Dawn Espe hands out flyers at First Congregational Church in Brainerd on Jan. 24, 2026.jpg
Dawn Espe hands out flyers at First Congregational Church in Brainerd on Jan. 24, 2026.
Lorie Shaull / KAXE
3 of 14 — Alex Schwartz and Meghan Schwob of Crosby attend an information session at First Congregational Church in Brainerd on Jan. 24, 2026.jpg
Alex Schwartz and Meghan Schwob of Crosby attend an information session at First Congregational Church in Brainerd on Jan. 24, 2026.
Lorie Shaull / KAXE
4 of 14 — Community members attend an information session at First Congregational Church in Brainerd on Jan. 24, 2026.jpg
Community members attend an information session at First Congregational Church in Brainerd on Jan. 24, 2026.
Lorie Shaull / KAXE
5 of 14 — Community stand along Laurel St during a public vigil in Brainerd on Jan. 24, 2026.jpg
Community members stand along Laurel St. during a public vigil in Brainerd on Jan. 24, 2026.
Lorie Shaull / KAXE
6 of 14 — 04 Community members hold signs along Laurel St during a public vigil in Brainerd on Jan. 24, 2026.jpg
Community members hold signs along Laurel St. during a public vigil in Brainerd on Jan. 24, 2026.
Lorie Shaull / KAXE
7 of 14 — Debra Mullins of Brainerd holds a printed photo of Alex Pretti minutes before he was shot and killed.jpg
Debra Mullins of Brainerd holds a printed photo of Alex Pretti minutes before he was shot and killed. Mullins was attending a public vigil in Brainerd on Jan. 24, 2026.
Lorie Shaull / KAXE
8 of 14 — Hallie Pond summarizes events in Crow Wing County during an information session at First Congregational Church in Brainerd on Jan. 24, 2026.jpg
Hallie Pond summarizes current ICE-related events occurring in Crow Wing County during an information session at First Congregational Church in Brainerd on Jan. 24, 2026.
Lorie Shaull / KAXE
9 of 14 — 02 Community members stand along Laurel St for a public vigil in Brainerd on Jan. 24, 2026.jpg
Community members stand along Laurel St. during a public vigil in Brainerd on Jan. 24, 2026. The sign references Alex Pretti, who was killed by federal agents earlier in the day in Minneapolis.
Lorie Shaull / KAXE
10 of 14 — Community membersstand in front of th Crow Wing County Courthouse on Laurel St during a public vigil in Brainerd on Jan. 24, 2026.jpg
Community members stand in front of the Crow Wing County Courthouse on Laurel St. during a public vigil in Brainerd on Jan. 24, 2026.
Lorie Shaull / KAXE
11 of 14 — 02 Community members hold signs along Laurel St for a public vigil in Brainerd on Jan. 24, 2026.jpg
Community members hold signs along Laurel St. during a public vigil in Brainerd on Jan. 24, 2026. The sign in the middle references Alex Pretti, who was killed by federal agents earlier in the day in Minneapolis.
Lorie Shaull / KAXE
12 of 14 — 03 Community members hold signs along Laurel St during a public vigil in Brainerd on Jan. 24, 2026.jpg
Community members hold signs along Laurel St. during a public vigil in Brainerd on Jan. 24, 2026.
Lorie Shaull / KAXE
13 of 14 — 03 Community members stand along Laurel St for a public vigil in Brainerd on Jan. 24, 2026.jpg
Community members stand along Laurel St. during a public vigil in Brainerd on Jan. 24, 2026.
Lorie Shaull / KAXE
14 of 14 — 01 Community members holds signs along Laurel St for a public vigil in Brainerd on Jan. 24, 2026.jpg
Community members holds signs in front of the Crow Wing County Judicial Center on Laurel St. for a public vigil in Brainerd on Jan. 24, 2026.
Chelsey Perkins became the News Director in early 2023 and was tasked with building a new local newsroom at the station. She is based in Brainerd and leads a team of two reporters covering communities across Northern Minnesota from the KAXE studio in Grand Rapids and the KBXE studio in Bemidji.
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