Former Superman Supports ICE After the Alex Pretti Killing and Pins Blame on Democrats
Dean Cain is making headlines for his vocal support of the federal agents involved in the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, in Minneapolis. The Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman star, who announced his intention to join Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as an honorary agent in late 2025, has used his platform to defend the actions of the Border Patrol agents. Cain argued that the public is not seeing the full picture of the pressure law enforcement is under during the recent federal surge in Minnesota.
The actor suggested that the agents might have been responding to a felony in progress, specifically the obstruction of federal officers. I do know that law enforcement, certainly ICE and Border Patrol, have been under a tremendous amount of pressure and attacks, and they’re getting tremendous abuse from what I completely believe is 100 percent organized opposition, Cain stated during a recent media appearance. He further speculated that Pretti’s choice to be armed, despite holding a legal permit, was a critical factor in the escalation.
Cain expressed the belief that Pretti’s presence at the scene was a strategic mistake that invited conflict. The actor claimed that Pretti certainly wasn’t there just being a peaceful protester, and it was a very bad idea to engage physically with federal law enforcement while armed, he noted. He went on to suggest that even standing between agents and another individual could be construed as impeding a federal operation.
The Superman alum also directed blame toward local Democratic leadership, specifically Governor Tim Walz and Mayor Jacob Frey. He accused them of inciting the public against federal agents by using inflammatory rhetoric. The actor accused the Democratic politicians of not cooperating, calling them Gestapo and calling them modern-day N***, and they’re telling them to fight them in the streets and do these things, Cain claimed, despite being pressed for specific evidence of such instructions.
While Cain focuses on the defense of the agents, the Pretti family and local officials have painted a different picture of the victim. Alex Pretti was a U.S. citizen and a dedicated nurse at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center with no criminal history. Bystander footage from the January 24, incident appears to show Pretti holding a cell phone while attempting to help a woman being handled by agents, shortly before he was pepper-sprayed, tackled, and shot ten times.
Outside of his political commentary and new ties to ICE, Dean Cain continues to be active in the entertainment industry as he enters 2026. Last year, he starred in the film Little Angels, a passion project that he wrote, directed, and starred in. The movie follows a college football coach who is forced to lead a girls’ soccer team after a public misstep, a role that mirrors Cain’s own history as a star athlete at Princeton and a brief signee with the Buffalo Bills.
Do you think that a celebrity’s personal involvement in law enforcement agencies like ICE gives their perspective more weight or does it create a conflict of interest in these public debates? Share your thoughts in the comments.