Women accused of biting agents’ fingers moments after Alex Pretti was killed; one had tip bitten off

Two women have been charged with biting the fingers of U.S. Border Patrol officers moments after federal agents fatally shot Alex Pretti in Minneapolis over the weekend near the scene of an immigration enforcement action.

Claire Louise Feng, 27, of St. Paul was arrested on Jan. 24 and charged in U.S. District Court a day later with assaulting a U.S. Border Patrol agent.

Charged with the same count and also arrested that day was Emily Duchateau Baierl, 37, of Minneapolis.

Both women were scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 26. Court records do not list an attorney for either woman. In the meantime, they remain held in the Sherburne County jail pending determination of a bail amount.

According to the criminal complaints against Feng and Baierl, which included photos of the unnamed officers’ injuries:

After Pretti was killed about 9 a.m., federal agents secured a perimeter as a crowd began to gather.

Around 9:25 a.m., a female kicked a chemical cannister toward federal agents after it was deployed as part of the effort to keep people in the crowd from getting near where the shooting occurred.

“Feng then forcibly bit the right ring finger of [the second agent],” the complaint read.

The wounded agent’s vision was distorted by his gas mask, leaving him “not aware of the severity of Feng’s bite, but [he] knew he was injured,” the complaint continued.

Once he removed his glove, the injured agent saw that a tip of the finger was bitten off.

“The victim located the tip of his finger inside his glove and was able to get medical attention approximately 45 minutes after the incident,” the complaint noted.

Around the same time, a Border Patrol agent attempted to arrest Baierl after seeing her throw objects after federal officers.