Topline
The Trump administration and Minnesota officials are again at odds, with the president accusing Minnesota Democratic leaders of “inciting insurrection” while Gov. Tim Walz claims the Department of Homeland Security is lying about the events of Saturday’s fatal shooting of a 37-year-old U.S. citizen by federal agents in Minneapolis.
Key Facts
Trump said on Truth Social that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, both Democrats, “are inciting Insurrection, with their pompous, dangerous, and arrogant rhetoric!” adding “these sanctimonious political fools should be looking for the Billions of Dollars that has been stolen from the people of Minnesota, and the United States of America.”
A video shared on Facebook on Saturday morning shows a group of federal agents taking a man to the ground and punching him before at least 10 shots were fired outside Glam Doll Donuts on the south side of the city, with the man going limp.
In an afternoon press briefing, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the man killed was an American citizen and was shot multiple times, while Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino said the man was armed and intended to attack federal agents.
O’Hara said the man had a permit to carry a handgun.
Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt has since requested aid from the Minnesota National Guard “due to the potential for continuing and growing conflict,” as a crowd of protesters has grown near the site of the shooting in south Minneapolis while authorities have repeatedly deployed tear gas in an attempt to disperse demonstrators.
What Do Federal Authorities Say?
Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino said at a press conference Saturday afternoon that agents were engaged in a “targeted operation against an illegal alien” when a man approached armed with “a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun.” Bovino said the man “violently resisted” when agents attempted to disarm him. “This looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement,” Bovino said, a narrative Walz later called “nonsense.” The man also had two loaded magazines, according to Bovino, who said he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Victim Identified As Alex Pretti
Family members of the victim identified him as Alex Pretti, an intensive care unit nurse, according to the Associated Press. Records obtained by the Minnesota Star-Tribune say Pretti attended the University of Minnesota and was issued his registered nurse license in the state in 2021. A colleague said Pretti worked “as a nurse to support critically ill Veterans” and exemplified “such a great attitude.”
Feds’ Actions Are “sickening,”
The governor said the state is creating “a log of evidence” for prosecution of federal agents involved in Saturday’s shooting and other incidents this month, while reminding residents to not further escalate tensions: “We want peace, they want chaos. We cannot and will not give them what they want,” he said in a press conference. Walz called the most recent shooting “sickening,” referring to the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol officers as “unprofessional (and an) absolute abomination.” After Saturday’s shooting and escalation that followed, federal authorities left the scene, according to Walz, who said in his press conference, “You kill a man, and then you just leave? You’re law enforcement — you just leave? Is there a single case in American history where you just, like, walk away and say, ‘I guess that just happened and we’re not gonna clean up our mess?'”
“unlawful Assembly” Declared In Minneapolis
O’Hara described “an incredibly volatile scene in south Minneapolis right now,” as authorities have deployed tear gas and other deterrents Saturday in an attempt to disperse a growing crowd of protesters following the shooting. The police chief said local authorities “have given multiple warnings” for the crowd to disperse. KARE reported federal authorities were deploying chemical irritants toward hundreds of protesters who had gathered in the area, with the City of Minneapolis urging residents “to remain calm and avoid the immediate area.”
Shooting Is Latest Involving Federal Agents In Minnesota
The shooting comes weeks after Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE officer in Minneapolis, leading to nationwide protests and renewed calls to abolish ICE. A week after Good was killed, a Venezuelan man was shot in the leg in Minneapolis after federal officials said he assaulted an agent.
Crucial Quote
“How many more residents, how many more Americans, need to die or get badly hurt for this operation to end?” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said in an afternoon press conference. “How many more lives need to be lost before this administration realizes a political and partisan narrative is not as important to American values?”
Minnesota Democrats Make Demands To Trump
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., who earlier in the week filed paperwork to run for governor in Minnesota, said she is gathering information on Saturday’s shooting but made a call to federal authorities: “To the Trump administration and the Republicans in Congress who have stood silent: Get ICE out of our state NOW.” Walz made similar remarks on X, writing, “Minnesota has had it. This is sickening. The President must end this operation. Pull the thousands of violent, untrained officers out of Minnesota. Now.” He later wrote that he told White House officials it must be Minnesota investigators, not federal authorities, who lead the investigation, but the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said its agents were blocked by federal officials at the scene. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., referred to the shooting as an “execution by immigration enforcement,” saying she is “absolutely heartbroken, horrified, and appalled that federal agents murdered another member of our community.”
Minnesota Republican Puts Blame On Walz
Minnesota Senate Republican Leader Mark Johnson called the shooting “frustrating and tragic,” putting the blame on the state’s governor: “This tragedy is the result of escalating tensions led by Governor Walz, who has used inflammatory rhetoric against law enforcement, called this lawful operation an ‘occupation,’ and encouraged Minnesotans to resist rather than comply with law enforcement. His actions have turned this into a propaganda war.”
Shooting Follows Massive March In Minneapolis
On Friday, an estimated 50,000 people marched in downtown Minneapolis against immigration enforcement, battling sub-zero temperatures as they demanded ICE leave the city.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
