Let’s face it: Under the weight of mounting video evidence and subsequent statements by senior Trump administration officials, the swift narrative painting Alex Pretti as a domestic terrorist hellbent on slaughtering federal agents has collapsed.
Senior administration officials now appear to be throwing immigration agents in Minneapolis under the proverbial bus as they blame those on the scene for fueling the administration’s initial half-cocked defense of what transpired.
The killing of Pretti has also resurrected renewed scrutiny of a Department of Homeland Security PR machine that has swiftly rushed to exonerate the actions of agents in incidents involving use of force, despite questions raised by bystander videos and independent judges.
Pretti, a 37-year-old Minneapolis ICU nurse, was shot and killed by federal immigration agents just over one week ago during a tense encounter caught on video. The video shows Pretti sought to shield a woman shoved to the ground by an immigration agent, culminating in his attempt to resist arrest before agents eventually opened fire.
The incident occurred 11 days after Pretti was involved in an earlier confrontation with immigration agents and seen on video kicking the tail light of a federal vehicle before being tackled and released by agents.
After the January 24 shooting, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem asserted that Pretti, a licensed gun owner, was brandishing a firearm at federal agents, “wishing to inflict harm on these officers.”
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller was quick to label Pretti “a domestic terrorist” in the aftermath of the shooting.
Top Border Patrol official Greg Bovino, who has since been relieved of commanding Minnesota operations, said, “This looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.”
Under federal law enforcement policy, agents can use deadly force against someone posing an imminent threat of death or serious physical injury, but no video has surfaced to date showing Pretti actually reaching toward his holstered firearm.
To the contrary, a federal agent was seen on video disarming Pretti just before agents opened fire. Numerous law enforcement experts have noted the tactics appear sloppy at best, and warrant further investigation. The Justice Department has launched a civil rights investigation into the matter.
The backtracking by senior Trump administration officials is now notable.
Miller now says officials are evaluating why the Customs and Border Protection team “may not have been following” proper protocol before the fatal shooting of Pretti – a remarkable acknowledgment of possible wrongdoing from one of the Trump administration’s most influential and hardline operators on immigration enforcement.
In a statement to CNN, Miller said the White House had “provided clear guidance to DHS that the extra personnel that had been sent to Minnesota for force protection should be used for conducting fugitive operations to create a physical barrier between the arrest teams and the disruptors.”
“We are evaluating why the CBP team may not have been following that protocol,” he said.
On Sunday, Noem was evasive while also appearing to defend her description of Pretti as a “domestic terrorist” in the immediate aftermath of his killing, saying authorities were working from the best information available amid chaos at the scene.
“You’re relying on the information and facts that you’re getting from the ground … and so when those reports are given, you give as much information as you possibly can,” Noem told “Fox and Friends.”
Pressed again on whether she still believes Pretti is a “domestic terrorist,” Noem pointed to the ongoing investigation, while saying her department will “do better” as new situations develop on the ground.
But what comes next is a matter of open debate, following nearly a year of Trump officials quickly rushing to defend the actions of agents.
Federal law enforcement sources told CNN use of force investigations typically take weeks or even months before authorities render a verdict on an agent’s actions. Yet, during the Trump administration, agents have repeatedly been swiftly cleared of any wrongdoing, including the ICE officer who fatally shot Minneapolis resident Renee Good last month.
Sources are expressing concern about incidents that are not caught on viral videos.
“If it’s purely the ICE agent’s word against someone else, game over,” one federal law enforcement source said. “Unless it’s beyond egregious and on film, they are basically untouchable.”