The Border Patrol official leading President Trump’s immigration‑enforcement surge in Minnesota is framing Saturday’s fatal shooting of a 37-year-old ICU nurse as a tragic but unavoidable consequence of a man who was “actively impeding and assaulting law enforcement.”
Gregory Bovino, Border Patrol commander‑at‑large, said Alex Pretti’s decisions sealed his fate on the streets of Minneapolis. He argued that the true victims in the fatal encounter were Border Patrol agents, saying they deserve credit for preventing a potential shooting of law enforcement personnel.
“Border patrol agents and law enforcement were conducting a targeted law enforcement effort against a violent illegal alien that was nearby, and that suspect injected himself into that law enforcement situation with a weapon,” Mr. Bovino said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “What happened between when that situation first came about and the shooting — that’s going to be investigated.”
Critics say videos of the encounter — recorded from multiple angles by bystanders — tell a different story. They say the footage shows Mr. Pretti peacefully filming the scene, then moving to help a woman who had been pepper‑sprayed and shoved to the ground, moments before he was tackled by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and fatally shot.
Outrage over the death of Mr. Pretti, an intensive‑care nurse and lawful gun owner, has merged with anger over ICE’s fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good earlier this month in Minneapolis, heightening tensions between federal and state officials and triggering a wave of protests.
Mr. Pretti’s family has accused the Trump administration of spreading “sickening lies about our son” and urged officials to “please get the truth out about our son.”
SEE ALSO: Trump admin lying ‘to the American public’ about killing of Alex Pretti, Sen. Murphy says
The on‑camera killing of Mr. Pretti — who officials say had no criminal record — and the administration’s defense of the shooting have poured fuel on an already explosive situation, sharpening scrutiny of the government’s immigration enforcement mission.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Saturday that Mr. Pretti was there to “impede law enforcement operation and assaulted our officers.”
“I don’t know of any peaceful protester that shows up with a gun and ammunition, rather than a sign,” Ms. Noem said.
Pressed repeatedly about evidence of Mr. Pretti brandishing a weapon or assaulting anyone, Mr. Bovino cautioned against “freeze‑frame” adjudicating the situation and insisted the facts would emerge through the investigation.
At the same time, he stood firm in his earlier claim that Mr. Pretti had arrived with violent intent, asserting that he was there to inflict “maximum damage” and “massacre” law enforcement.
“So good job for our law enforcement in taking him down before he was able to do that,” the Border Patrol chief said.
SEE ALSO: Videos of deadly Minneapolis shooting contradict government statements
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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