{"id":255191,"date":"2026-01-28T03:10:22","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T03:10:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/255191\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T03:10:22","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T03:10:22","slug":"minneapolis-shooting-scrambles-gun-rights-politics-for-trump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/255191\/","title":{"rendered":"Minneapolis shooting scrambles gun rights politics for Trump"},"content":{"rendered":"

Prominent Republicans and gun rights advocates helped elicit a White House turnabout this week after bristling over the administration\u2019s characterisation of Alex Pretti, the second person killed this month by a federal officer<\/a> in Minneapolis, as responsible for his own death because he lawfully possessed a weapon.<\/p>\n

The death produced no clear shifts in US gun politics or policies, even as President Donald Trump shuffles the lieutenants<\/a> in charge of his militarised immigration crackdown. <\/p>\n

But important voices in Trump’s coalition have called for a thorough investigation of Pretti\u2019s death<\/a> while also criticising inconsistencies in some Republicans\u2019 Second Amendment stances.<\/p>\n

If the dynamic persists, it could give Republicans problems as Trump heads into a midterm election year<\/a> with voters already growing sceptical of his overall immigration approach. <\/p>\n

\"President<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump speaks before departing on Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House, January 20, 2026, in Washington. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n

The concern is acute enough that Trump\u2019s top spokeswoman sought Monday (local time) to reassert his brand as a staunch gun rights supporter.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe president supports the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding American citizens, absolutely,\u201d White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.<\/p>\n

Leavitt qualified that \u201cwhen you are bearing arms and confronted by law enforcement, you are raising \u2026 the risk of force being used against you\u201d.<\/p>\n

Videos contradict early statements from administration<\/p>\n

\"Demonstrator<\/p>\n

Demonstrator holds signs during a protest outside the office of Senator Amy Klobuchar in Minneapolis, after Alex Pretti was fatally shot by a US Border Patrol officer over the weekend. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n

That still marked a retreat from the administration\u2019s previous messages about the shooting of Pretti<\/a>. It came the same day the president dispatched border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota, seemingly elevating him over Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino, who had been in charge in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n

Within hours of Pretti\u2019s death on Saturday, Bovino suggested Pretti \u201cwanted to \u2026 massacre law enforcement\u201d, and Noem said Pretti was \u201cbrandishing\u201d a weapon and acted \u201cviolently\u201d toward officers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know of any peaceful protester that shows up with a gun and ammunition rather than a sign,\u201d Noem said.<\/p>\n

White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, an architect of Trump\u2019s mass deportation effort, went further on X, declaring Pretti \u201can assassin\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"United<\/p>\n

United States Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller reacts on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in October. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n

Bystander videos contradicted each claim, instead showing Pretti holding a cellphone and helping a woman who had been pepper-sprayed by a federal officer.<\/p>\n

Within seconds, Pretti was sprayed, too, and taken to the ground by multiple officers. <\/p>\n

No video disclosed thus far has shown him unholstering his concealed weapon -\u2013 which he had a Minnesota permit to carry. It appeared that one officer took Pretti\u2019s gun and walked away with it just before shots began.<\/p>\n

As multiple videos went viral online and on television, Vice President JD Vance reposted Miller\u2019s assessment, while Trump shared an alleged photo of \u201cthe gunman\u2019s gun, loaded (with two additional full magazines!)\u201d.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, Trump was asked if he agreed with Miller’s comment describing Pretti as an \u201cassassin\u201d and answered \u201cno\u201d. But he added that protesters \u201ccan\u2019t have guns\u201d and said he wants the death investigated.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t walk in with guns, you just can\u2019t,\u201d Trump told reporters on the White House lawn before departing for a trip to Iowa.<\/p>\n

Swift reactions from gun rights advocates<\/p>\n

\"People<\/p>\n

People protest against ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) in downtown Minneapolis. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n

The National Rifle Association, which has backed Trump three times, released a statement that began by casting blame on Minnesota Democrats, whom it accused of stoking protests. But the group lashed out after a federal prosecutor in California said on X that, \u201cIf you approach law enforcement with a gun, there is a high likelihood they will be legally justified in shooting you\u201d.<\/p>\n

That analysis, the NRA said, is \u201cdangerous and wrong\u201d.<\/p>\n

FBI Director Kash Patel magnified the blowback on Sunday on Fox News\u2019 Sunday Morning Futures With Maria Bartiromo. No one, Patel said, can \u201cbring a firearm, loaded, with multiple magazines to any sort of protest that you want. It\u2019s that simple\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

(Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n

Erich Pratt, vice president of Gun Owners of America, was incredulous.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have attended protest rallies while armed, and no one got injured,\u201d he said on CNN.<\/p>\n

Conservative officials around the country made the same connection between the First and Second amendments.<\/p>\n

\u201cShowing up at a protest is very American. Showing up with a weapon is very American,\u201d state Representative Jeremy Faison, who leads the GOP caucus in Tennessee, said on X.<\/p>\n

Trump’s first-term vice president, Mike Pence, called for \u201ca full and transparent investigation of this officer-involved shooting\u201d.<\/p>\n

A different response from the past<\/p>\n

\"Federal<\/p>\n

Federal agents detain a person in Minneapolis. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n

Liberals, conservatives and nonpartisan experts noted how the administration’s response differed from past conservative positions involving protests and weapons.<\/p>\n

Multiple Trump supporters were found to have weapons during the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. Trump issued blanket pardons to all of them.<\/p>\n

Republicans were critical in 2020 when Mark and Patricia McCloskey had to pay fines after pointing guns at protesters who marched through their St Louis neighbourhood after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. <\/p>\n

And then there’s Kyle Rittenhouse, a counter-protester acquitted after fatally shooting two men and injuring another in Kenosha, Wisconsin, during the post-Floyd protests.<\/p>\n

\"Kyle<\/p>\n

Kyle Rittenhouse, right, and his attorney Corey Chirafisi listen during his trial. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n

\u201cYou remember Kyle Rittenhouse and how he was made a hero on the right,\u201d Trey Gowdy, a Republican former congressman and attorney for Trump during one of his first-term impeachments. \u201cAlex Pretti\u2019s firearm was being lawfully carried. \u2026 He never brandished it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam Winkler, a UCLA law professor who has studied the history of the gun debate, said the fallout \u201cshows how tribal we\u2019ve become\u201d. Republicans spent years talking about the Second Amendment as a means to fight government tyranny, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe moment someone who\u2019s thought to be from the left, they abandon that principled stance,\u201d Winkler said.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Democrats who have criticised open and concealed carry laws for years, Winkler added, are not amplifying that position after Pretti\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

Uncertain effects in an election year<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A federal agent points a weapon at a person outside a hotel during a noise demonstration protest in response to federal immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n

The blowback against the administration from core Trump supporters comes as Republicans are trying to protect their threadbare majority in the US House and face several competitive Senate races.<\/p>\n

Perhaps reflecting the stakes, GOP staff and campaign aides were reticent Monday to talk about the issue at all.<\/p>\n

The House Republican campaign chairman, Representative Richard Hudson of North Carolina, is sponsoring the GOP\u2019s most significant gun legislation of this congressional term, a proposal to make state concealed-carry permits reciprocal across all states.<\/p>\n

The bill cleared the House Judiciary Committee last fall. Asked Monday whether Pretti\u2019s death and the Minneapolis protests might affect debate, an aide to Speaker Mike Johnson did not offer any update on the bill\u2019s prospects.<\/p>\n

Gun rights advocates have notched many legislative victories in Republican-controlled statehouses in recent decades, from rolling back gun-free zones around schools and churches to expanding gun possession rights in schools, on university campuses and in other public spaces.<\/p>\n

William Sack, legal director of the Second Amendment Foundation, said he was surprised and disappointed by the administration\u2019s initial statements following the Pretti shooting. Trump’s vacillating, he said, is \u201cvery likely to cost them dearly with the core of a constituency they count on”.<\/p>\n

The morning’s headlines in 90 seconds, including Police appeal for help over spate of robberies, Melania speaks about Minneapolis protests, and a tennis star\u2019s meltdown caught on camera. (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Prominent Republicans and gun rights advocates helped elicit a White House turnabout this week after bristling over the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":255192,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[65,42,43,64,40,38,41,39,66],"class_list":["post-255191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-donald-trump","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-north-america","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-us-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255191","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=255191"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255191\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/255192"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=255191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=255191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=255191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}