However, the official narrative provided by federal authorities paints a starkly different picture. Investigators have asserted that Pretti was armed and posed an immediate, lethal threat to the officers on the scene. This claim has become the eye of the needle through which all evidence must now pass. Multiple bystander videos, captured from varying angles, show a frantic sequence of events. In several clips, Pretti is seen holding a dark object that his supporters identify as a mobile phone. These videos do not clearly depict him raising or pointing a firearm at the agents. In one of the most harrowing segments of footage, Pretti appears to be on or near his knees—a posture of relative surrender—when the first volley of gunfire erupts. Continue reading…