Some MAGA loyalists and Second Amendment advocates are breaking away from President Trump’s characterization of the two recent fatal shootings in Minnesota.
Both deadly encounters with federal agents prompted Democratic backlash, but some GOP-backed groups are slowly following suit with a different concern: gun rights.
The Department of Homeland Security said Alex Pretti, the second person killed this month during a confrontation with immigration officers in Minneapolis, approached Border Patrol officers with a Sig Sauer high-capacity 9 mm pistol and “violently resisted” officers’ efforts to disarm him.
Department spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said the officers fired “defensive shots.”
Mr. Pretti had a permit to legally carry a firearm, but the department said it’s unlawful for protesters or observers to bring guns to demonstrations.
Amid the flurry of gun owners’ concerns, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt reaffirmed her boss’ support for their rights.
“The president supports the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding American citizens, absolutely,” she told reporters on Monday.
She added that when someone bearing arms is confronted by law enforcement, he or she raises “the risk of force” against them.
The National Rifle Association, which has endorsed Mr. Trump in all his presidential campaigns, staunchly disagrees.
After a federal prosecutor in California said that “if you approach law enforcement with a gun, there is a high likelihood they will be legally justified in shooting you,” the NRA said this take is “dangerous and wrong.”
The NRA took to social media Tuesday night to announce that it believes that “all law-abiding citizens have a right to keep and bear arms anywhere they have a legal right to be.”
This followed Mr. Trump’s comments that were likely to further frustrate Second Amendment advocates.
“I don’t like that he had a gun,” he said. “I don’t like that he had two fully loaded magazines. That’s a lot of bad stuff.”
Kyle Rittenhouse, who gained notoriety in 2020 after gunning down two men during a Black Lives Matter protest and was acquitted in court, simplified the argument: “Carry everywhere. It is your right.”
FBI Director Kash Patel said Sunday that no one can bring a loaded firearm with multiple magazines “to any sort of protest that you want. It’s that simple.”
Erich Pratt, vice president of Gun Owners of America, countered by saying he attended protest rallies while armed, “and no one got injured.”
The recent deaths have caused no concrete threats to the Second Amendment, but the quick replies from prominent gun rights groups may prove to be a thorn in the president’s side as he deals with the blowback.
• Mary McCue Bell can be reached at mbell@washingtontimes.com.
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