Donald Trump has sparked a fierce constitutional debate after questioning the judgment of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse fatally shot by federal agents in Minneapolis, for carrying a 'fully loaded' firearm.
Speaking as investigations into the 24 January shooting began, the president appeared to sidestep the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, instead focusing on Pretti's decision to carry a weapon and spare magazines.
'I don't like it when somebody goes into a protest, and he's got a very powerful, fully loaded gun with two magazines loaded up with bullets also,' Trump said. 'That doesn't play good either.' His remarks alienated Second Amendment advocates and intensified scrutiny over a federal crackdown that has seen two US citizens killed in Minnesota in less than a month.
The comments underscore a widening political chasm over how America responds to federal law enforcement killing civilians, and whether the focus should rest on those carrying weapons at public demonstrations or on the officers wielding lethal force.
The Shooting That Turned Deadly in Seconds
Video footage from multiple angles captured what actually happened on that Saturday afternoon. Pretti, a licensed concealed carry holder with no criminal history besides a handful of traffic citations, had come to protest what he viewed as unjust federal overreach. Rather than brandishing his weapon, witnesses and video evidence showed him holding his phone aloft, filming the agents whilst directing traffic with his free hand, the actions of someone documenting an event, not preparing for a confrontation.
What followed was startling in its speed. When Pretti stepped between an ICE agent and a woman the officer had just shoved, he was immediately pepper-sprayed. Within moments, at least six agents had tackled him to the ground. A slowed-down video clip appeared to show one agent removing a firearm from Pretti's person before walking away from the pile of officers. Then came the shots.
The Department of Homeland Security insisted Pretti was 'brandishing' his weapon, despite no video evidence supporting the claim. Their statement suggested he had 'arrived at the scene to inflict maximum damage on individuals and kill law enforcement', a characterisation that contradicted every frame of footage showing a man trying to protect a bystander.
Secretary Kristi Noem initially alleged 'an individual approached US Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun,' though the sequence of events painted a starkly different picture.
Trump's Weapon Complaint Rings Hollow Amid Legitimate Questions
Pretti became the second American citizen killed by ICE agents in Minnesota within four weeks. On 7 January, mother-of-three Renee Nicole Good, also 37, was shot and killed during similar circumstances in the Twin Cities, sparking nationwide outrage and calls for accountability. Yet as scrutiny intensified, Trump's focus remained curiously narrow.
By criticising Pretti for legally carrying a weapon, the president sidestepped the far larger questions haunting federal agencies. Why did agents resort to lethal force against a man who posed no active threat? Why have two citizens been killed by the same federal body in fewer than thirty days? And how did an officer's own weapon end up allegedly being removed from Pretti's possession before the fatal shots?
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, having reviewed the footage himself, was unsparing in his assessment. 'I've seen the video, several angles, and it's sickening,' he declared at a weekend press conference. 'The federal government cannot be trusted to lead this investigation.' He implored Trump's chief of staff, Susie Wiles, to withdraw federal agents from his state, warning that 'they are sowing chaos and violence.'
Red: Alex Pretti's gun was always holstered until it was removed by an ICE agent.
— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) January 26, 2026
Blue: Alex Pretti's hands were never close to his gun.
Orange: The ICE agent's gun was not fired until Alex Pretti was disarmed.
Conclusion: This was an execution by ICE of an unarmed man, for… pic.twitter.com/YlyHvFbldB
Pretti's family released a statement characterising the federal government's account of their son's death as 'sickening lies,' condemning both the shooting and the framing of a trained healthcare worker as some sort of threat. Their grief, raw and immediate, stood in sharp contrast to Trump's clinical dismissal of a licensed gun owner's constitutional right to self-protection.
Alex Pretti's parents did not mince words in their statement about the lies Kristi Noem and the Trump admin are pushing.
— Political Punk (@actingliketommy) January 25, 2026
We need to hold them all accountable. pic.twitter.com/unnJFWdeeV
The tragedy has crystallised a stark political reality: when federal officers use lethal force, whether the victim was armed or not seems increasingly less important than whose administration will face scrutiny. For Trump, it was simpler to question why Pretti carried a weapon than to answer why federal agents kept killing civilians.
