It is unclear how Pretti first came to the attention of federal authorities [on the day he was murdered], but sources told CNN that about a week before his death, he suffered a broken rib when a group of federal officers tackled him while he was protesting their attempt to detain other individuals.

In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security said that “DHS law enforcement has no record of this incident.”

A memo sent earlier this month to agents temporarily assigned to the city asked them to “capture all images, license plates, identifications, and general information on hotels, agitators, protestors, etc., so we can capture it all in one consolidated form,” according to correspondence reviewed by CNN.

With all their filming, facial recognition, and talk of creating registries of ‘domestic terrorists’ (i.e., protestors), this begs the question: Was Alex recognized by the facial recognition apparatus and intentionally murdered soon after?