Trump Administration Says Agents Who Shot Alex Pretti Placed on Administrative Leave

Two border patrol agents who opened fire on Alex Pretti in Minneapolis have been on administrative leave since Saturday, a representative from Customs and Border Protection said on Wednesday, adding it was “standard protocol.”It was unclear why it took days for the information to be released. A representative from the Department of Homeland Security declined to answer other questions surrounding the investigation.Pretti was recording the arrest of a woman on Saturday morning when a group of federal agents took him to the ground and two agents opened fire on Pretti.Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem initially claimed Pretti was “brandishing” a firearm and claimed it appeared he was there to “inflict maximum damage on individuals and kill law enforcement.”Ms. Noem also called the shots “defensive” by an agent fearing for his life.Several videos recorded at the scene contradicted that narrative. Pretti was legally carrying a concealed Sig Sauer 9 mm gun at the time. Video shows that a federal official took Pretti’s gun from his waist or a back pocket of his pants moments before the fatal shooting.Customs and Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino — the face of the operation at the time — said on Sunday that the agents involved in the shooting had been moved to other cities.It was unclear if the other agents involved in detaining Pretti have faced any administrative action.The reactions from the Trump administration drew backlash from Democrats and some Republicans who called for a full investigation into the incident.President Trump replaced Mr. Bovino at Minnesota on Monday with “border tsar” Tom Homan in an effort to tamp down criticism of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement surge.On Tuesday, the administration’s Homeland Security advisor, Stephen Miller, released a statement saying the agents involved in the shooting may not have been following protocol. That was a reversal from a post he made on X just hours after the shooting that referred to Pretti as a “would-be assassin.”Pretti’s death followed the January 7 killing of Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, by an ICE agent in Minneapolis. Trump administration officials have called that shooting justified, claiming Good was attempting to run him down. Videos from that incident raise questions about that description.Homeland Security officials declined to answer whether the agent who shot Good was placed on administrative leave.Minnesota officials are launching their own investigations into the shootings after being frozen out of the federal probes. The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office is asking a federal judge to force Homeland Security officials to preserve evidence in Pretti’s shooting.Governor Tim Walz has called for the surge to end and federal agents leave Minnesota. That does not appear to be imminent.Attorney General Pam Bondi arrived in Minneapolis on Wednesday. “Federal agents have arrested 16 Minnesota rioters for allegedly assaulting federal law enforcement — people who have been resisting and impeding our federal law enforcement agents,” Ms. Bondi said in an X post that also mentioned that more arrests were expected.“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: NOTHING will stop President Trump and this Department of Justice from enforcing the law,” Ms. Bondi added.

Trump Administration Says Agents Who Shot Alex Pretti Placed on Administrative Leave

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