Senior officials in President Donald Trump’s administration reacted to the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by U.S. Border Patrol in Minneapolis on Saturday with a cascade of allegations portraying him as violent and dangerous. Those claims, however, are either contradicted by available video footage or unsupported by any evidence presented so far.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Pretti “attacked” officers. FBI Director Kash Patel echoed that language. White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller labeled Pretti “an assassin,” claiming he tried to murder federal agents—a claim reposted by Vice President JD Vance. Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino and the Department of Homeland Security suggested Pretti intended to “massacre” law enforcement.
Yet as of Sunday afternoon, none of these claims had been substantiated by video evidence or official documentation.
Do videos show Pretti attacking federal officers?
Noem told reporters on Saturday that Pretti “impeded law enforcement officers and attacked them,” repeating the word “attacked” for emphasis. Patel reinforced this framing in a Sunday Fox News interview, stating,
“You do not get to attack law enforcement officials in this country without any repercussions.”
However, no video footage available as of Sunday afternoon shows Pretti committing an attack.
Multiple videos depict Pretti directing traffic near an immigration enforcement operation, warning officers not to push civilians into traffic, recording agents with his cellphone, and stepping in front of an officer who had shoved a woman to the ground. In that moment, Pretti appears to make brief physical contact with the agent using his right arm and left hand.
The agent responded by spraying Pretti with a chemical irritant and dragging him to the ground. Additional officers joined, and one appeared to strike Pretti repeatedly while he was restrained.
When Bovino claimed in a CNN interview that Pretti “assaulted federal officers,” host Dana Bash asked him to identify where in the video such an assault occurred. Bovino did not point to any specific moment.
By Sunday morning, Noem softened her language, telling Fox News that Pretti was “laying hands on law enforcement,” rather than “attacking” officers.
Was Pretti “brandishing” a gun, as officials claimed?
On Saturday, Noem asserted that Pretti was “brandishing” a firearm and carrying “dozens” of rounds of ammunition. That claim is directly contradicted by video footage.
At no point in the available recordings does Pretti appear to be holding a gun, waving one, or using a weapon to threaten anyone. Footage shows him holding a cellphone in one hand and nothing in the other. A concealed firearm appears to be removed from his waistband by a federal agent only after Pretti was already on the ground, moments before he was shot.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said on CBS Sunday:
“I don’t have any evidence that I’ve seen that suggests that the weapon was brandished.”
Notably, administration officials declined to repeat or defend the “brandishing” claim in interviews on Sunday. When Patel was asked on Fox News how Pretti could have threatened officers while holding only a phone, he deferred to DHS and prosecutors. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche similarly avoided confirming the claim on NBC, citing an ongoing investigation.
Is there evidence Pretti planned to kill or “massacre” officers?
On Saturday, multiple officials escalated their rhetoric dramatically.
Miller called Pretti “an assassin” who “tried to murder federal agents.” Bovino said the incident
“looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.”
DHS echoed that language in a social media post. Noem told reporters that Pretti appeared intent on killing officers.
No evidence has been presented to support any claim that Pretti sought to assassinate or murder anyone.
Pretti’s father told the Associated Press that his son had been attending protests against the administration’s immigration actions, particularly after another Minneapolis protester, Renee Good, was killed by an ICE agent earlier in January.
During Sunday interviews, none of the officials—including Noem, Patel, Blanche, or Bovino—repeated the claims that Pretti intended to murder or massacre law enforcement.
Was Pretti carrying his gun illegally at the protest?
Patel suggested that Pretti broke the law by carrying a concealed firearm at a protest, telling Fox News:
“You cannot bring a firearm loaded with multiple magazines to any sort of protest that you want.”
He added,
“No one who wants to be peaceful shows up at a protest with a firearm that is loaded with two full magazines.”
Those statements conflict with Minnesota law.
Police Chief O’Hara confirmed that Pretti, a U.S. citizen, had a valid permit to carry a concealed firearm and was legally armed. Minnesota law does not prohibit carrying a concealed weapon at a peaceful protest.
“It appears that he was present, exercising his First Amendment rights to record law enforcement activity, and also exercising his Second Amendment rights to lawfully be armed in a public space,”
O’Hara said.
The Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus responded on X, stating Patel was “completely incorrect on Minnesota law.” Gun Owners of America added that the Second Amendment protects the right to bear arms while protesting.
Did Pretti commit any gun-related offense at all?
Noem claimed Sunday on Fox News that Pretti was improperly carrying the firearm without identification. Even if true, that would constitute only a petty misdemeanor in Minnesota, punishable by a fine of up to $25—not a serious crime.
How has the administration’s rhetoric shifted since the shooting?
By Sunday, administration officials appeared to retreat from their most inflammatory claims. While initial statements portrayed Pretti as a violent would-be mass killer, later interviews avoided repeating allegations of assassination, massacre, or brandishing a weapon.
Pretti’s parents issued a statement condemning what they described as “sickening lies” told about their son, who was a registered intensive care unit nurse at a Veterans Affairs hospital.
As investigations continue, the gap between the administration’s initial claims and the available evidence has only grown more pronounced—raising serious questions about how and why those claims were made in the immediate aftermath of Pretti’s death.
