28 JAN 26 SITREP

1. New Footage Shows Alex Pretti Violently Attack Law Enforcement 11 Days Before Fatal Shooting

• Newly released bystander footage from January 13 shows Alex Pretti approaching Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minneapolis while agents were blocking a street, shouting at agents, and kicking their vehicle.
• In the footage, a federal agent exits the vehicle, grabs Pretti, and pushes him to the ground, after which other agents fire tear gas and pepper balls into the nearby crowd to disperse agitators and prevent interference.
• The footage shows Pretti getting free from the initial hold with a firearm visible in his waistband, and the Department of Homeland Security confirmed to Fox News it is aware of the new video footage and Homeland Security Investigations is looking into it.
• Pretti was among roughly 50 anti-ICE agitators who confronted Border Patrol agents on January 24 when he was shot and killed. The shooting sparked debate after Border Patrol head Greg Bovino claimed Pretti sought to inflict “maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.” That claim has been disputed since bystander footage showed Pretti did not initially have his firearm in his hand, leading to calls for an investigation into whether the shooting was justified. It's also been reported the two agents who fired their weapons were placed on administrative leave.

• Surge Media arrived at City Hall in Philadelphia to cover a rally and then a march, got two interviews, and was immediately doxxed, followed, and targeted by leftist demonstrators who tracked them throughout the event.
• Organizers wearing orange armbands and yellow armbands formed human walls to block access to the rally and prevent additional on-camera interviews and documentation at City Hall.
• During the Center City march, organizers continued forming human walls to block access, including pushing the Surge Media crew into the snow while they continued walking alongside the march.
• After the crew reached the front of the march and attempted to photograph protest signs, demonstrators stopped directly in front of them to block the shot, and the man who had followed them grabbed one of them, threw him to the ground, then fled after the camera kept recording.

• China’s Ministry of National Defense announced Saturday that Gen. Zhang Youxia, the highest-ranking uniformed deputy under President Xi Jinping, is under investigation for alleged misconduct, extending a purge that has sidelined dozens of top officers and defense executives.
• Since mid-2023, at least 60 senior military officers and defense-industry figures have been removed from public roles, replaced, or placed under investigation, affecting the army, navy, air force, rocket force, paramilitary police, and major theater commands including the command responsible for Taiwan.
• More than 1 in 5 officers promoted by Xi Jinping to the elite 3-star rank have been dismissed or investigated for serious misconduct, with multiple senior commanders replaced within months, leaving parts of the People’s Liberation Army leadership in flux.
• The shake-up reduced the number of senior officers serving alongside Xi Jinping on the Communist Party’s top military decision-making body, leaving Xi with 1 uniformed officer on the panel he chairs, down from 6, while the PLA continues operations including frequent drills near Taiwan amid warnings that leadership turnover could affect readiness and morale.