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He's Got a Gun Special Edition

MINNESOTA

Chaotic moment federal officer reached for gun revealed in close-up analysis of Minneapolis armed anti-ICE protester shooting

Close-up videos of the fatal Minneapolis shooting showed protester Alex Jeffrey Pretti was armed with a gun — with the agent who fired the more than a dozen shots clearly reacting to something that alarmed him amid the chaos.

It’s unclear if Pretti had drawn the weapon and was immediately disarmed, if an officer had pulled it from his clothing or if he was in the process of pulling it out when a separate federal officer was seen taking it from the 37-year-old as he was pinned to the ground.

Videos of the incident show officers shouting “he’s got a gun,” as the unidentified agent reached into Pretti’s waistband to retrieve the weapon.

At one point an officer in gray coat is seen emerging from the melee with the gun, which officials said was a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun. According to close up video of that moment, as the officer holds the gun, the gun’s slide moves, meaning it may have fired, causing a loud noise of a gunshot shortly before other officer fired at Pretti.

In various videos,the agent who fired the fatal shots could be seen shooting the armed protester at close range, then pumping at least 9 more rounds into his body as Pretti lay motionless on the ground.

Moments before the fatal incident, one video showed Pretti gripping his phone while helping a woman who was pushed to the ground by an immigration agent, who relentlessly sprayed the pair with tear gas.

A hoard of federal officers pulled him away from the woman and brought him to the ground, where Pretti struggled on his hands and knees for several seconds before an agent wearing a gray jacket appeared to seize his gun — and the fatal shots rang out moments later.

The Department of Homeland Security said Pretti had approached US Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun as they were conducting a “targeted” arrest.

“The officers attempted to disarm this individual, but the armed suspect reacted violently,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said at a press conference Saturday night.

“Fearing for his life and for the lives of his fellow officers around him, an agent fired defensive shots. Medics were on the scene immediately and attempted to deliver medical aid to the subject, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.”

Top Trump lieutenants join in blasting Dems Tim Walz and Jacob Frey for ‘inciting’ protesters

WASHINGTON — President Trump’s top lieutenants Sunday joined him in blaming Minnesota Dems for “inciting” the anti-ICE chaos that has led to two protesters’ deaths at the hands of federal agents — claiming immigration authorities have battled unprecedented obstacles since arriving in the state to address widespread fraud accusations.

“We saw a resistance in Minneapolis like we haven’t seen anywhere else in this country,” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told Fox News — as the feds and local law enforcement began squabbling about the investigative jurisdiction of the latest shooting scene involving Saturday’s killing of protester Alex Pretti’s

Noem said the Minnesota immigration crackdown was sparked by an alleged multibillion-dollar benefits scam largely carried out by local immigrant communities – but that Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey encouraged” radicals to “take to the streets and to resist law enforcement” during the feds’ effort.

“It really is [an] irresponsibility that we haven’t seen out of someone in any other state,” she said, repeating a sentiment Trump first levied Saturday after the 37-year-old Pretti was killed by Border Patrol agents who found a gun on him at a Minneapolis protest.

Pretti – an ICU nurse for a veterans hospital – put himself between a woman who had been pepper-sprayed by federal agents. He was then tackled and found to have a gun, which was legally registered to him.

The agents appeared to have removed the handgun from him before a hail of about 10 shots was fired by Border Patrol and Pretti was killed, video showed.

But some footage may also show Pretti’s handgun accidentally discharging after an agent had taken it, suggesting the authorities who fatally fired on him may have been responding to that.

President Trump quickly kicked off laying the blame on Frey and Walz soon after the smoke settled.

“The Mayor and the Governor are inciting Insurrection, with their pompous, dangerous, and arrogant rhetoric!” Trump fumed on Truth Social on Saturday. “These sanctimonious political fools should be looking for the Billions of Dollars that [have] been stolen from the people of Minnesota, and the United States.”

Trump administration officials took up the call soon after – including Noem and Border Patrol commander-at-large Gregory Bovino, who called his agents “the victims” and speculated that Pretti had answered Democrats’ supposed calls and taken to the streets to resist ICE.

“Was he there for a reason? Did he fall victim to that violent and heated rhetoric by Mayor Frey and Gov. Walz?” Bovino said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday.

An investigation into the shooting is under way, according to Noem and Bovino, though neither clarified whether Pretti was armed with another weapon as he was pinned down and had his 9mm pistol removed.

Pam Bondi Offers To Pull ICE out of Minneapolis if Voter Files Handed Over

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi sent a letter to Minnesota Democratic Governor Tim Walz demanding the state take three specific actions before federal immigration agents would consider reducing their presence in Minneapolis, including handing over voter rolls.

In the letter, Bondi blamed both state and local leaders for the unrest that has come in response to the Trump administration's immigration enforcement operations. She said that Walz could "restore the rule of law."

The Context

The letter comes after a Border Patrol agent shot and killed Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, during a federal immigration enforcement operation. The shooting of Pretti comes less than three weeks after Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, was shot dead by an immigration agent in the same city.

Both incidents have sparked widespread protests and condemnation. In the case of both shootings, conflicting narratives have come from federal and state officials, and video footage taken by bystanders at both incidents has sparked questions and criticism.

Federal agents said that Pretti resisted violently, and Security Secretary Kristi Noem has said that an official fired "defensive shots." Walz, though, has said that this account is "nonsense" and "lies."

Following the shooting, the odds of a government shutdown have surged after Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said his party will block a Department of Homeland Security funding package.

What To Know

Bondi set out a list of three demands in the letter, including that the Department of Justice be given the state’s voter registration records, that the state repeal the "sanctuary policies," and share its records on Medicaid, and Food and Nutrition Service programs.

The attorney general said that there had been a 1,300 percent increase in violence against ICE officers and a 3,200 percent increase in vehicular attacks against federal agents, using these figures as justification for continued operations.

She blamed the rhetoric of Minnesota officials for the violence and wrote, "You and other Minnesota officials have refused to support the men and women risking their lives to protect Americans and uphold the rule of law."

She criticized Walz specifically for describing federal law enforcement as "Trump's modern-day Gestapo" and criticized Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey for saying "ICE: Get the f*** out of Minneapolis."

The letter has prompted criticism online from Democratic voices.                                                     

Senator Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, wrote on X, "This has never been about safety or immigration. It’s a pretext for Trump to take over elections in swing states."

Democratic Strategist Matt McDermott also addressed the letter in a post viewed over 4 million times, where he wrote, "As insane as this sounds, it’s true: Pam Bondi sent Minnesota officials a letter today saying ICE would leave the state if Minnesota turns over its voter files to the Trump Administration."

Well, Trump went a little bit further than Bondi...

Trump Issues Immigration Demands to Walz, Democratic Leaders

President Donald Trump issued five specific demands to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, all Democratic governors and mayors, and Congress on Sunday, calling on them to "formally cooperate with the Trump Administration to enforce our Nation's Laws" following the fatal shooting of Alex Jeffrey Pretti by a Border Patrol agent in Minneapolis.

Newsweek reached out to Walz and Frey's office via email on Sunday for comment.
...
Trump on Truth Social

The president posted on Sunday:

"That is why I am hereby calling on Governor Walz, Mayor Frey, and EVERY Democrat Governor and Mayor in the United States of America to formally cooperate with the Trump Administration to enforce our Nation's Laws, rather than resist and stoke the flames of Division, Chaos, and Violence:

1. Governor Walz and Mayor Frey should turn over all Criminal Illegal Aliens that are currently incarcerated in their State Prisons and Jails to Federal Authorities, along with all Illegal Criminals with an active warrant or known Criminal History, for Immediate Deportation.
   
2. State and Local Law Enforcement must agree to turn over all Illegal Aliens arrested by Local Police.
   
3. Local Police must assist Federal Law Enforcement in apprehending and detaining Illegal Aliens who are wanted for Crimes.
   
4. Democrat Politicians must partner with the Federal Government to protect American Citizens in the rapid removal of all Criminal Illegal Aliens in our Country. Some Democrats, in places like Memphis, Tennessee, or Washington, D.C., have done so, resulting in safer streets for ALL.
   

In addition, I am hereby calling on the United States Congress to immediately pass Legislation to END Sanctuary Cities, which is the root cause of all of these problems. American Cities should be Safe Sanctuaries for Law Abiding American Citizens ONLY, not Illegal Alien Criminals who broke our Nation's Laws.

All of these requests are rooted in COMMON SENSE, and will provide the best possible circumstances to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! The Trump Administration is standing by, and waiting for ANY Democrat to do the right thing, and work with us on these important matters of MAKING AMERICA SAFE like it is in all sections of our Country where we are, together with Local Leadership, participating and involved.

DONALD J. TRUMP PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA"

But there's a question remaining on the air, who was ICE trying to arrest when the shooting happened?

Feds were arresting Ecuadorian illegal alien Jose Huerta-Chuma in operation that resulted in Alex Jeffrey Pretti’s death

The accused criminal migrant in the operation that resulted in the shooting death of a Minneapolis anti-ICE protester Saturday has been identified as illegal alien Jose Huerta-Chuma.

Huerta-Chuma, of Ecuador, was arrested by Department of Homeland Security officers on Saturday and apprehended for driving without a license, according to Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino and the Washington Times.

Huerta-Chuma’s criminal record includes charges for domestic assault, disorderly conduct, and driving without a license, federal authorities said.
Details about his illegal entry into the country and the nature of his crimes were not provided by the Department of Homeland Security.

The traffic stop apprehension was disrupted by anti-ICE protesters — resulting in the deadly scuffle between uniformed officers and civilians on the icy Minneapolis streets.

Protester Alex Jeffrey Pretti was part of the street-side struggle, according to video, and became the center of a scrum of roughly six officers who tackled the 37-year-old after he attempted to separate ICE agents from demonstrators.

Pretti was armed with a semi-automatic pistol and two magazines of ammunition at the time, DHS said.

Bovino claimed Pretti approached officers with the weapon and “violently resisted” agents when they attempted to wrestle the gun from him, he said in a news conference.