Closing summary
We’re wrapping up our live coverage for the day, but we’ll be back on Tuesday. Here is a summary of today’s developments:
Donald Trump’s efforts to deploy militarized immigration agents in US cities may finally be reaching a reckoning as he faces widespread opposition across the US, dissenting lawmakers in his own party, and impending court rulings after the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by federal officers in Minneapolis. While there is no sign the aggressive tactics used by immigration enforcement are coming to an end, the mayor of Minneapolis said the administration will begin to scale back the number of federal agents in Minneapolis starting on Tuesday, as the president and his team soften their harsh rhetoric about the incident. More here.
The Iranian government is bracing itself for a fresh US and Israeli missile assault after it was announced that the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group has now deployed key assets to the region, observers have said. It is thought that Washington has the firepower in conjunction with Israeli aircraft to mount an attack designed to topple the government accused of brutally suppressing protests and killing thousands of Iranians. More here.
Trump has said he is raising tariffs on South Korean goods including automobiles, lumber and pharmaceuticals, accusing the country of not living up to a trade deal struck last year and sending shares in Korean carmakers tumbling. In a post on social media, the US president said the tariffs paid on South Korean exports into America would rise from 15% to 25% because the “Korean Legislature hasn’t enacted our Historic Trade Agreement, which is their prerogative”. More here.
There was widespread outrage after the attorney general, Pam Bondi, pushed for access to Minnesota’s voter rolls as the state reeled from the killing of Alex Pretti over the weekend. Bondi included the demand for voter rolls in a letter she sent to the Minnesota governor, Tim Walz, on Saturday urging him to “change course” in the state. In addition to turning over the voter rolls, Bondi also said the state should turn over data on those receiving public assistance and repeal sanctuary city policies in the state. More here.
Donald Trump’s administration opposed efforts to expand the use of body cameras by immigration officers and sharply cut oversight staffing as it surged officers into US cities, including Minneapolis, where agents have fatally shot two American citizen protesters in January. Footage from bystanders of the two fatal shootings, including one by the border patrol that killed the ICU nurse Alex Pretti on Saturday, has underscored the power of video in checking official statements that have portrayed people who have been shot as provoking violent encounters with immigration officers. More here.
Ted Cruz warned Trump, his fellow Republican, that he would face a “bloodbath” in the November midterm elections if prices continued to rise, prompting the president to respond, “fuck you, Ted,” the US senator told donors, according to a secret recording of the private conversation obtained by Axios. Cruz reportedly delivered the reality check to the president in a phone conversation after Trump presented sweeping tariffs a few months after returning to the Oval Office in early 2025. The president was unhappy, Cruz said – and yelled and cursed in a conversation with Republican senators. More here.
The president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), Everett Kelley, has called for the resignation of homeland security secretary Kristi Noem, after the killing of one of their union members in Minneapolis: Alex Pretti.
Pretti, who was shot dead by federal immigration agents over the weekend, was an intensive care unit nurse at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Minneapolis, according to the union.
“In the immediate aftermath of Alex’s killing, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem betrayed the public trust by slandering the good name of our union brother and calling him a ‘domestic terrorist’,” said Kelley. “Alex Pretti was a patriotic ICU nurse at a VA hospital who devoted his life to serving America’s veterans.”
“Our demand is clear: Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who was responsible for carrying out the policy that led to Alex’s needless killing, and Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, the architect of that policy, must resign immediately. If they refuse, President Trump must dismiss them,” Kelley added.
Minnesota attorney general, Keith Ellison, also expressed his disdain for DHS earlier today, saying he maintains “zero trust” that the department will “do the right thing” in the investigation into Pretti’s death.
“There’s no way I can trust anything that they say or do, including preserve evidence,” Ellison told CNN’s Anderson Cooper. “Why would they preserve evidence of a crime … in a case where they’re denying that there was any crime committed by these officers at all? I just don’t believe it.”
Democratic congressman Ro Khanna visited Minneapolis on Monday, and spoke with “dozens” of people at the makeshift memorial for Alex Pretti. Speaking to the Guardian, Khanna said he was struck by the “multi-racial coalition” that came to grieve and express their anger at the immigration enforcement surge in the city. “Many people were not immigrants, but third or fourth generation Minnesotans,” the California lawmaker noted.
Khanna also spoke to people whose family members had been arrested by ICE, and others who were simply too afraid to leave their homes for fear of racial profiling by agents. One woman told the congressman that she noticed drones surveilling her house, and even though she has legal status she’s afraid of being caught in the immigration dragnet. She also told Khanna that she’s too afraid of sending her children to school.
“The mood is anger, sorrow, fear and a sense of loss,” Khanna said. “They don’t feel seen or heard by the federal government.” He noted that Minneapolis now resembled a “city under siege”, and implored congressional lawmakers to visit the state.
The progressive representative also noted the recent shift in rhetoric from GOP members of Congress, following the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, who have called out the tactics used by federal officers. “People see this as a government overarch issue more than an immigration issue,” Khanna said, while noting that his colleagues in the Senate should vote against the Department of Homeland Security funding bill headed for the upper chamber floor this week.
“It’s a basic test, and we need to be unified,” Khanna said, specifically referring to Democrats in the Senate.
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White House officials sought to rapidly distance Donald Trump and top officials from their initial portrayals of the man fatally shot by federal officials in Minnesota as a gunman, as they faced a deepening backlash after video footage was widely seen to undercut their assertions.
The move came as Trump advisers appeared to realize that the caustic portrayals of the man, Alex Pretti, who was reportedly licensed to carry a gun, had turned the killing into an even larger political liability for the president.
Over the weekend, senior administration officials including Stephen Miller, the deputy chief of staff, called the victim “a domestic terrorist who tried to assassinate law enforcement”, while Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, accused him of perpetrating “the definition of domestic terrorism”.
The characterizations were undercut by video footage that showed Pretti was shot in the back roughly 10 times after being tackled to the ground by a group of US border patrol agents whom he had been filming, and disarmed of his gun.
Read the full story:
Brian O’Hara, the Minneapolis police chief, told CNN that border patrol official Gregory Bovino’s actions have “not been helpful”.
“He was riding around in the city with a caravan and stopping at places and kind of just shaking things up – that’s not been helpful,” O’Hara told CNN.
Amid the announcement that Bovino will depart from the city, O’Hara said he hopes the move will shepherd in a de-escalation of the situation in Minneapolis.
“Nobody in law enforcement is saying federal law enforcement should not be enforcing federal law. That’s ridiculous, right?” the police chief told the news outlet. “But I don’t think it’s unreasonable to think that federal law enforcement should operate by the same standards and professionalism that the rest of law enforcement in the state does.”
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Hundreds of candles were lit at a memorial for Pretti, created at the site of his killing – many of them scented and tapered lights that neighbors had scrounged from their homes.
Brass Solidarity – a band that had formed in the aftermath of the 2020 murder of another Minneapolis resident George Floyd – played a rendition of Stand By Me, and the dozens of people gathered around the memorial sand along. The community band, led by Raycurt Johnson, normally plays once a week in George Floyd Square – near the site of Floyd’s killing. After Renee Nicole Good was killed, they began playing in her memory, as well. On Monday, they honored Pretti.
“Say his name!” They shouted as they concluded their song. “Alex Pretti!” The neighborhood screamed back.
Earlier in the day, Pho 79 - Carvalle, a Vietnamese and Chinese restaurant down the street from the Pretti memorial, was offering free meals to anyone in need. In the evening, they had set out hand warmers and other supplies for demonstrators who had gathered nearby.
Two days ago, in the aftermath of the killing, many of the restaurants along this corridor, known as “eat street” had transformed into makeshift shelters and field hospitals for demonstrators and observers injured by the chemical irritants that federal agents had used against them.
On Monday night, the street was fairly quiet – save for the brass music that pierced through the chilly air.
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CNN is reporting that border patrol official Gregory Bovino’s access to his social media accounts was suspended.
The move comes after Bovino responded to posts about the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti over the weekend, accusing Pretti of assaulting immigration agents before he was shot dead. Bovino’s claim has not been supported by videos of the killing on Saturday.
An official for the Department of Homeland Security said earlier today that Bovino has not been removed from his duties after reports saying otherwise.
Republican senator John Curtis said he supports an independent investigation into the shooting of a 37-year-old Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, joining a slew of other GOP lawmakers pressing for a deeper inquiry into the tactics executed by federal immigration agents.
“We must have a transparent, independent investigation into the Minnesota shooting, and those responsible—no matter their title—must be held accountable,” said the Utah senator in a post on X. “Officials who rush to judgment before all the facts are known undermine public trust and the law-enforcement mission.”
He added: “I disagree with Secretary Noem’s premature DHS response, which came before all the facts were known and weakened confidence.”
Curtis says he plans to work with senators from both parties to push for oversight and transparency, supporting senator Rand Paul’s call “for leaders of these operations to testify, so trust can be restored and justice served”.
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Senior border patrol official Gregory Bovino removed from his role – report
Gregory Bovino has been removed from his role as border patrol “commander at large”, the Atlantic reports.
According to the magazine, Bovino will return to his previous job in El Centro, California, where he is expected to retire soon, citing a homeland security official and two people with knowledge of the removal.
Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs at the department of homeland security, said that Bovino “has NOT been relieved of his duties”.
In a post on X, she said that Bovino “is a key part of the President’s team and a great American”. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt reposted McLaughlin’s remarks.
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Democratic senator Peter Welch called for homeland security secretary Kristi Noem to leave her post following the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, both of whom were shot dead by federal immigration agents in the city.
“Noem’s got to go. I mean, we have the head of this department who spends a lot of her time in self-promotion, the $200 million video shoot in Mount Rushmore,” the Vermont senator said in an interview on MS Now’s Ana Cabrera Reports.
“She is the real problem, because what she’s doing is turning the function of immigration enforcement away from enforcement and into being kind of a shock troop that goes into cities and acts with impunity,” Welch added. “She’s blown the job. You know, we need immigration enforcement, but that’s not what she’s doing. It’s mass intimidation.”
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A federal court in Minneapolis heard arguments on Monday on whether the Trump administration’s deployment of 3,000 immigration agents to Minnesota has crossed the line from law enforcement into unconstitutional occupation.
Hours later, Kate Menendez, the Biden-appointed US district judge overseeing the case, ordered the federal government to respond to the assertion that the Trump administration’s so-called “Operation Metro Surge” enforcement campaign was intended to “punish plaintiffs for adopting sanctuary laws and policies”.
She gave the Trump administration lawyers until Wednesday evening to respond, suggesting a ruling was not imminent.
The extraordinary legal question centers on the 10th amendment, which reserves to the states all powers not explicitly granted to the federal government in the constitution. Lawyers for Minnesota and the cities of Minneapolis and St Paul claim in their suit that Operation Metro Surge has become so intrusive and dangerous that it amounts to an illegal occupation of the state.
Read the full story here:
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NBC News reports that Lindsey Halligan, a federal attorney appointed by Donald Trump who led the failed prosecutions of two of the president’s political foes, is no longer an employee of the justice department.
Halligan left her position as interim US attorney for the eastern district of Virginia last week after several judges criticized her, with one of them finding she held the position unlawfully.
Sources told NBC News that she is no longer an employee at the justice department, and it remains unclear whether she was hired elsewhere.
After Halligan was sworn in as interim US attorney in September, she oversaw the indictments of fierce Trump opponents Letitia James, the New York attorney general, and James Comey, the former FBI director. A judge dismissed the cases in November.
Updated
At about 9am on Saturday, US federal agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, a Minneapolis nurse who was observing immigration officers in the city.
The Guardian’s video team has pieced together footage posted to social media, showing the attack from different angles:
Some federal agents to leave Minneapolis on Tuesday, mayor says
Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey said he spoke with President Donald Trump today, asserting that “some federal agents will begin leaving the area tomorrow, and I will continue pushing for the rest involved in this operation to go”.
For his part, Trump said that “lots of progress is being made”, and that his conversation with mayor Frey was “very good”.
Frey is slated to meet with Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan on Tuesday to “discuss next steps”, according to the mayor.
“Minneapolis will continue to cooperate with state and federal law enforcement on real criminal investigations – but we will not participate in unconstitutional arrests of our neighbors or enforce federal immigration law,” Frey said in a statement. “Violent criminals should be held accountable based on the crimes they commit, not based on where they are from.”
Updated
More pressure from Republican lawmakers is mounting on the Trump administration to investigate the killing of 37-year-old nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis by immigration officers.
“Any loss of life under politically-charged circumstances is a tragedy,” said senator Michael Crapo of Idaho in a post on X. “I support a full and impartial investigation into the events leading up to the death of Alex Pretti. His family, law-abiding citizens exercising their Second Amendment right and the trust of the American people deserve a fair process.”
“I am deeply troubled by the shootings in Minneapolis involving federal agents,” said Republican senator Jerry Moran of Kansas on X. “This tragic circumstance should be investigated to the fullest extent to ensure transparency and accountability.”
According to a post on Truth Social, Donald Trump said he would increase tariffs on some South Korean imports into the United States.
Trump said tariffs on autos, lumber and pharmaceuticals will rise from 15% to 25%, accusing the country of “not living up” to its trade deal with the US.
“South Korea’s Legislature is not living up to its Deal with the United States,” Trump said.
He added: “Because the Korean Legislature hasn’t enacted our Historic Trade Agreement, which is their prerogative, I am hereby increasing South Korean TARIFFS on Autos, Lumber, Pharma, and all other Reciprocal TARIFFS, from 15% to 25%.”
Homeland security secretary Kristi Noem is slated to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on 3 March as tensions escalate amid the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota, US Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin confirmed on Monday.
“Secretary Noem refused to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee last year and now tells us that she will be available in five weeks—should she still be DHS Secretary at that time,” Durbin said in a statement.
“With all of the violence and deaths involving DHS, the Secretary is apparently in no hurry to account for her mismanagement of this national crisis,” Durbin added. “And she expects us to rubber stamp her record-breaking budget in the meantime.”
The announcement comes as several lawmakers from both aisles have called for an independent investigation into the killings in Minnesota this month.
The San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary, approved the use of a military base in Minnesota to extend support for federal immigration agents in the state.
The Chronicle obtained an email showing a request by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to use Fort Snelling, a decommissioned military base near the Minneapolis-St Paul international airport, to house US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel and store weapons, vehicles and aircraft.
“The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) requests support from the Department of War (DoW) to provide existing infrastructure to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), a component of DHS, specifically an area for parking approximately 300-500 vehicles and 10 storage trailers, a ready room space for approximal 500-800 CBP personnel, a space to house, maintain and operate five CBP Air Assets, access to a magazine to store munitions, and other necessary facilities to support operations in the Minneapolis, Minnesota metropolitan area,” reads the email from CBP obtained by the outlet.
Hegseth approved the request, per the Chronicle.
Updated
Ruben Gallego said he wasn’t opposed to funding the DHS, but said Democrats needed to use their leverage to extract concessions on how federal agents carry out enforcement operations.
The Arizona senator, seen as a leading voice in the party on immigration, called for a pause in operations in Minnesota, and said he wants to see provisions added to the homeland security funding that would prevent racial profiling, require the use of warrants to enter people’s homes and ensure an independent investigation into fatal encounters.
In the event of a funding lapse, Gallego acknowledged that the DHS could possibly tap money provided for the department in Trump’s sweeping domestic policy law, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
“It’s not my responsibility to make their jobs any easier, especially when they’re killing US citizens on the streets of this country,” he said.
He added: “The most important thing we need to do is we need to make sure that the American public understands how dangerous the situation is right now.”
Gallego, who represents a border state and was elected with the support of many voters who backed Trump, said Arizonans and the broader public still support immigration enforcement and border security – and it was important for Democrats to continue to do so as well.
But what was happening now, he said, was not that.
“There’s a reason why the American public has now moved against what’s happening with the president’s immigration enforcement law,” he said, “because they don’t see how logically this makes sense, how this brings in more security. If anything, they see them bringing more chaos and less security into their neighborhoods.”
Updated
The US government appears to be on track for another government shutdown amid a Democratic revolt against a funding bill that includes more than $60bn for homeland security.
Following the death of 37-year-old VA nurse Alex Pretti, a stream of Democrats announced their opposition to the government funding package, demanding conditions on ICE’s enforcement operations in exchange for their votes.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Senator Ruben Gallego, Democrat from Arizona, vowed to vote against the package that included funding for DHS.
Gallego said he was “confident” enough Democrats would vote against the funding bill to ensure it doesn’t move forward, at least for now. “For how long? That’s a totally different question,” he said.
Several Senate Democrats who previously bucked their party to avert a shutdown have now said they will not authorize homeland security spending. Gallego and other Democrats have called on Senate Republicans to separate the DHS funding bill from the rest of the spending package, which includes funding for defense, transportation, housing and other major government departments.
Republican leadership has indicated that they will not separate the bills, instead daring Democrats to withhold the votes needed to avert another funding lapse.
Senator John Fetterman, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, who frequently breaks with his party, was sharply critical of ICE’s conduct, but said in a statement that he would “never vote to shut our government down”.
“I want a conversation on the DHS appropriations bill and support stripping it from the minibus,” Fetterman said. “It is unlikely that will happen and our country will suffer another shutdown.”
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Minnesota governor Tim Walz called the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in the state “chaos”, “illegal” and “un-American” in an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal today.
“The Trump administration’s assault on Minnesota long ago stopped being a matter of immigration enforcement. It is a campaign of organized brutality against the people of our state. It isn’t just. It isn’t legal. And, critically, it isn’t making anyone any safer,” said Walz in the op-ed.
“That isn’t effective law enforcement. It isn’t following the rule of law. It’s chaos. It’s illegal. And it’s un-American” he added. “This assault on our communities is not necessary to enforce our immigration laws. We don’t have to choose between open borders and whatever the hell this is.”
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Federal agents in Minneapolis have been deploying crowd control gas against protesters.
The Minnesota Star Tribune has put together an explainer to help residents identify what federal agents are firing at them.
Here's how to identify some crowd control munitions, canisters of which federal agents have left on the ground after deploying them against people in Minnesota. https://t.co/GWkzLyoHPz
— The Minnesota Star Tribune (@StarTribune) January 26, 2026
Graphic by Mark Boswell/The Minnesota Star Tribune pic.twitter.com/2R2b81gk85
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Gregory Bovino will reportedly leave Minneapolis on Tuesday
The senior border patrol official Gregory Bovino is poised to leave Minneapolis on Tuesday, dealing a blow to someone who had been seen as a main figure in Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement surge, CNN reports.
Bovino’s expected departure came to light hours after Trump announced that he was sending border czar Tom Homan to Minneapolis.
Sources told CNN that Trump administration officials were displeased with Bovino’s handling of Alex Pretti’s death at the hands of federal agents.
“According to one official, Trump spent several hours on Sunday and Monday watching the coverage and was personally unhappy by how his administration was coming across,” CNN said.
“Others say that Bovino, who became the face of Trump’s immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota, only made matters worse by claiming Pretti intended to ‘massacre’ federal agents.”
Updated
Minnesota officials and the justice department are now squaring off in court over local and state law enforcement’s request that federal agents preserve evidence in Alex Pretti’s killing.
A judge issued a temporary restraining order late Saturday requiring that federal agents retain evidence. This temporary restraining order came after the Minnesota bureau of criminal apprehension and Hennepin county attorney’s office alleged that federal agents were stymying access to evidence.
A justice department attorney said in court that federal agents had “preserved everything they have collected,” the New York Times reports, echoing Department of Justice court papers that claimed the TRO and request were non-starters.
More developments soon …
Updated
Republican Senator Rand Paul, who chairs the homeland security and governmental affairs committee, has requested that the leaders of US immigration agencies, including ICE and CBP, testify.
Today, I call on the heads of ICE, CBP, and USCIS to testify before the Homeland Security Committee. pic.twitter.com/eu5XBk80xy
— Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) January 26, 2026
Paul is requesting that the testimony take place at an open hearing by 12 February.
Updated
The day so far
Good afternoon and thank you for reading our live coverage today.
Most of Monday’s political news stems from the aftermath of Alex Pretti’s death at the hands of federal immigration agents in Minneapolis this weekend. State officials are trying to stop Donald Trump’s deployment of 3000 immigration agents to Minneapolis. Some local law enforcement are claiming that the feds are already blocking investigation of Pretti’s killing.
Here is a quick recap of where things stand.
Two federal judges are weighing cases that involve the legality of federal agents’ activity in Minneapolis. One case, which was argued this morning, challenged the legality of this surge. Another case, which will be argued at 2pm local time, involves local officials’ claims that federal agents are getting in the way of their investigation of Pretti’s death.
Donald Trump is sending border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota on Monday night. “He has not been involved in that area, but knows and likes many of the people there. Tom is tough but fair, and will report directly to me,” the president said in a Truth Social post.
Chris Madel, an up-and-coming Republican gubernatorial candidate in Minnesota, dropped out of the race because of the GOP’s “stated retribution on the citizens of our state”. In what the Minnesota Star Tribune described as a “stunning exit”, Madel also said: “United States citizens, particularly those of color, live in fear. United States citizens are carrying papers to prove their citizenship. That’s wrong.” That Madel said this is, in fact, stunning: He provided legal counsel to Jonathan Ross, the ICE agent who earlier this month shot and killed Renee Good.
Chuck Schumer, Senate Democratic leader, ramped up his request to separate Department of Homeland Security funding from a six-bill package. “Senate Democrats have made clear we are ready to quickly advance the five appropriations bills separately from the DHS funding bill before the January 30th deadline,” Schumer said in a statement. “The responsibility to prevent a partial government shutdown is on Leader Thune and Senate Republicans … If Leader Thune puts those five bills on the floor this week, we can pass them right away. If not, Republicans will again be responsible for another government shutdown.”
Minnesota governor Tim Walz’s office said in a statement that he and Trump had a “productive” phone call where the president “agreed to look into reducing the number of federal agents in Minnesota and working with the state in a more coordinated fashion on immigration enforcement regarding violent criminals”. In the statement, Walz’s team said Trump agreed to talk with the Department of Homeland Security about making sure the Minnesota bureau of criminal apprehension is able to investigate.
Updated
In Maine, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has arrested “more than 200 illegal aliens” in the past five days, assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin told the Guardian in a statement.
Once again, DHS said that it was targeting the “worst of the worst” but highlighted the same four arrests of immigrants with criminal convictions that it shared when the immigration enforcement operation started last week in the Pine Tree state.
Updated
Department of justice fights court order requiring federal agents to preserve evidence in Alex Pretti's death
Trump administration officials are fighting a court order issued late Saturday that requires federal agents to preserve evidence in Alex Pretti’s death.
The temporary restraining order stemmed from a request from the Minnesota bureau of criminal apprehension (MBCA) and Hennepin county attorney’s office. They alleged that feds had stymied their investigative efforts of Pretti’s death at the hands of federal agents.
Trump’s justice department claimed in court papers that they “fail to establish that they will be irreparably harmed absent a temporary restraining order”.
They claim that federal agents “are already obligated to preserve the evidence at issue here under their own policies”.
They contend that the FBI gathered evidence from the scene of Pretti’s death “using appropriate collection and handling procedures, and that evidence is currently preserved and stored in a secure evidence room at the Minneapolis field office”.
“The evidence is being preserved; nothing has been destroyed or altered. [Customs and Border Protection] has preserved all relevant body-worn camera footage from the incident and will do so for 75 years.” They also said that ICE was in possession of “limited evidence and follows stringent requirements for the documentation, retention, and accountability of its investigative records and evidence”.
The justice department insists that Minnesota and Minneapolis officials don’t have a right to steer the feds’ evidence-handling procedures, “particularly procedures involving an immigration-enforcement incident”.
A court hearing on the TRO is scheduled for 2pm local time.
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White House insists that Trump supports second amendment rights
Leavitt says, “The president supports the second amendment rights of law abiding American citizens. Absolutely.”
She goes on to caveat this by repeating the administration’s suggestions that Alex Pretti, who was a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry, was at fault. [A reminder that Pretti had a gun on his person but video footage shows he was holding his phone, not a weapon, when he was confronted by law enforcement.]
Leavitt says:
There has been no greater supporter or defender of the right to bear arms than President Donald J Trump. So while Americans have a constitutional right to bear arms, Americans do not have a constitutional right to impede lawful immigration enforcement operations. And as any gun owner knows that when you are carrying a weapon, when you are bearing arms and you are confronted by law enforcement, you are raising the assumption of risk, and the risk of a force being used against you. And again, that’s unfortunately what took place on Saturday.
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Leavitt is asked how many shots were fired, how many guns were discharged, and whether Alex Pretti’s gun went off or only the federal agents’ guns.
She says the investigation is ongoing and includes interviews with the agents involved.
Noem still has Trump's 'utmost confidence and trust' and continues to oversee DHS, says White House
Leavitt is asked if Tom Homan’s deployment to Minnesota should be taken as a sign that Trump is “dissatisfied” with the officials on the ground who handled the incident.
Leavitt says, “No,” adding that Kristi Noem “still has the [president’s] utmost confidence and trust” and says Noem is continuing to oversee the Department of Homeland Security and immigration enforcement across the country.
Trump calls on Congress to pass legislation ending sanctuary cities
Trump is calling on Congress to “immediately pass legislation ending sanctuary cities once and for all”, Leavitt says.
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White House says CBP 'won't be needed' in Minnesota if Walz and Frey comply with anti-immigration measures
“That’s why President Trump spoke with Governor Walz directly this morning, and he has outlined a clear and simple path to restoring law and order in Minnesota,” Leavitt says.
Number one, governor Wallace, Mayor Frey and all Democrat leaders should turn over all criminal illegal aliens currently incarcerated in their prisons and jails to federal authorities along with any illegal aliens with active warrants or known criminal histories for immediate deportation.
Number two, state and local law enforcement must agree to turn over all illegal aliens who are arrested by local police.
And then thirdly, local police must assist federal law enforcement in apprehending and detaining illegal aliens who are wanted for crimes, especially violent crimes.
If Governor Walz and Mayor Frey implement these common sense, cooperative measures, that I will add, have already been implemented in nearly every single other state across the country, Customs and Border Protection will not be needed to support Ice on the ground in Minnesota.
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Leavitt goes on to accuse Walz and Frey of “using their platforms to encourage leftwing agitators to stalk, record, confront and obstruct federal officers who are just trying to lawfully perform their duties”.
This, she claims, “has created dangerous situations, threatening both these officers and the general public and Minnesotans alike”.
“This is precisely what unfolded in Minneapolis on Saturday morning,” she adds.
Updated
“But let’s be clear about the circumstances which led to that moment on Saturday,” Leavitt goes on.
This tragedy occurred as a result of a deliberate and hostile resistance by Democrat leaders in Minnesota for weeks. Governor Walz and the mayor, Jacob Frey, and other elected Democrats were spreading lies about federal law enforcement officers who are risking their lives daily to remove the worst criminal, illegal aliens from our streets.
Leavitt says Saturday’s [fatal] shooting [of Alex Pretti] remains under active investigation by the FBI, homeland security and customs border officials.
“The administration is reviewing everything with respect to the shooting, and we will let that investigation play out,” she says.
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Trump does not want to see people killed on US streets, says White House
Leavitt is speaking now.
“Nobody in the White House, including President Trump, wants to see people getting hurt or killed in America’s streets,” she says. “This includes Renee Good, Alex Pretti, the brave men and women of federal law enforcement, and the many Americans who have been victimized at the hands of illegal aliens.”
Updated
We’re waiting to hear from White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt shortly. I’ll bring you all the key lines from that once the press briefing gets under way.
Trump agrees to 'look into' pulling some ICE agents out of Minnesota, says Walz's office
We have more on the phone call that took place today between Donald Trump and Minnesota governor Tim Walz, which we covered per Trump’s perspective earlier.
According to a statement from Walz’s office, the two held a “productive” call where the president “agreed to look into reducing the number of federal agents in Minnesota and working with the state in a more coordinated fashion on immigration enforcement regarding violent criminals”.
Trump also agreed to talk to the Department of Homeland Security “about ensuring the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is able to conduct an independent investigation, as would ordinarily be the case”, the statement says.
Per my colleague Hugo Lowell, Trump’s call with Walz comes amid widening public backlash to the aggressive immigration operation in Minnesota, which could be compounded with further bad news if a federal judge finds as early as today that Operation Metro Surge was broadly illegal.
Updated
A Democratic congressman who broke with his party to help pass a bill that provides funding to ICE today expressed regret for his vote in the wake of the killing of US citizen Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
Tom Suozzi, who represents a swing district encompassing New York City’s suburbs, was one of seven Democrats who on Thursday joined with all members of the Republican majority in the House of Representatives to pass the homeland security department appropriations bill, which includes funding for ICE.
In a statement posted to social media, Suozzi wrote that he “failed to view the DHS funding vote as a referendum on the illegal and immoral conduct of ICE in Minneapolis. I hear the anger from my constituents, and I take responsibility for that. I have long been critical of ICE’s unlawful behavior and I must do a better job demonstrating that.”
He called the Saturday killing of Pretti by federal agents a “senseless and tragic murder” which “what happens when untrained federal agents operate without accountability. President Trump must immediately end ‘Operation Metro Surge’ and ICE’s occupation of Minneapolis that has sown chaos, led to tragedy, and undermined experienced local law enforcement.”
Pretti’s killing has made the homeland security appropriations bill and its funding for ICE a major point of contention in Congress as lawmakers race to meet a 30 January deadline to fully fund the government or risk a partial shutdown.
The Senate must now approve the homeland security appropriations bills along with five others to fund the government. The measure will require at least some Democratic votes to pass, but following Pretti’s killing, Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said the party would not back the homeland security funding bill until it is rewritten.
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Senator Angus King of Maine, an independent lawmaker who caucuses with Democrats, said that he would not vote for a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as it stands.
Speaking on Face the Nation, King said that he couldn’t vote for a bill that “includes ICE funding under these circumstances”. He cited the killing of 37-year-old Alex Pretti and the ongoing surge of federal immigration enforcement in his home state. The DHS appropriations bill includes maintaining a $10bn annual budget for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The legislation is currently part of a six-bill package that’s headed to the Senate floor this week, with a 30 January deadline. Earlier, we reported that the upper chamber’s top appropriator. The Senate’s top Democrat, Chuck Schumer, has called on Republican majority leader John Thune to separate the DHS bill from the remaining funding measures.
On Sunday, King pushed for Senate leadership to do the same. “Let’s have an honest negotiation, put some guardrails on what’s going on, some accountability, and that would solve this problem,” he added.
A reminder that King was one of a handful of lawmakers who broke with the Democratic party and voted to pass a stopgap funding bill in November, ending a record-breaking government shutdown.
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Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer doubled down on his request to separate Department of Homeland Security funding from a six-bill appropriations package.
Schumer previously said that he would block a six-bill package but would move forward the five bills that don’t involve DHS – averting a partial government shutdown.
“Senate Democrats have made clear we are ready to quickly advance the five appropriations bills separately from the DHS funding bill before the January 30th deadline,” Schumer said in a statement.
“The responsibility to prevent a partial government shutdown is on Leader Thune and Senate Republicans.”
“If Leader Thune puts those five bills on the floor this week, we can pass them right away. If not, Republicans will again be responsible for another government shutdown.”
As the Hill reported, there are logistical complications, upping the stakes of a possible shutdown.
Thune would have to get Senate Republicans on board with omitting the DHS bill which, per The Hill, is “something that he would need the consent of the entire Senate to do.”
And, Thune could try advancing the other five bills, but the chances are slim he could pull this off by 30 January, “given the Senate’s time-consuming floor procedures”.
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President Trump is claiming that Minnesota governor Tim Walz called him “with the request to work together with respect to Minnesota” and said the governor was glad border czar Tom Homan was being dispatched to his state.
“It was a very good call, and we, actually, seemed to be on a similar wavelength. I told Governor Walz that I would have Tom Homan call him, and that what we are looking for are any and all Criminals that they have in their possession.
“The Governor, very respectfully, understood that, and I will be speaking to him in the near future. He was happy that Tom Homan was going to Minnesota, and so am I” Trump also said in a Truth Social post, insisting that his administration’s immigration enforcement surge had helped other places.
“Even in Minnesota, Crime is way down, but both Governor Walz and I want to make it better!” Trump said.
The Guardian reached out to Walz’s office for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Now, it’s important to remember: The Trump administration has repeatedly claimed that Minnesota authorities have not cooperated in turning over immigrants in criminal custody.
Minnesota’s department of corrections had to put out a fact sheet over these claims, saying that Trump’s Department of Homeland Security “continues to release false numbers about ICE detainers in Minnesota”.
“DOC honors every ICE detainer, even beyond state law requirements,” the department said in this fact sheet. “DOC coordinates every custody transfer with ICE. No exceptions.”
The entire document can be read here.
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As a hearing challenging the legality of federal agents’ immigration enforcement surge unfolds in Minnesota federal court, one clear focal point emerging is Attorney General Pam Bondi’s letter to Governor Tim Walz.
Bondi’s missive demanded that Walz release information about Minnesota’s voter rolls and welfare program. She wrote: “I am confident that these simple steps will help bring back law and order to Minnesota and improve the lives of Americans.”
Minnesota officials, as well as many Democrats, have claimed that Bondi’s letter is tantamount to extortion – that it’s a call to comply with these demands lest the sprawling deployment of federal agents continues.
Lindsey Middlecamp, one of the attorneys representing Minnesota in court this morning, told the judge that Bondi’s letter amounted to “a ransom note,” the New York Times reported.
Judge Kate Menendez has been pressing a Department of Justice attorney Brantley Mayers on Bondi’s letter.
According to court reporter Adam Klasfeld, Menendez said: “You’re asking me to believe that the surge has nothing to do with coercing the Plaintiffs into changing their policies.”
Menendez also wanted to know about Donald Trump’s retribution comment.
The attorney said he didn’t see Trump’s social media post, per Klasfeld.
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Police leaders in Minnesota have asked for a meeting with Donald Trump, saying “communities across our state are experiencing heightened stress and uncertainty, placing significant demands on our communities and the public safety agencies that serve them”.
“Law enforcement professionals are being asked to operate in complex, high-pressure environments while communities seek reassurance, clarity, and stability,” the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association (MCPA) said in a statement.
“In light of these challenges, the MCPA has requested a meeting with President Trump to discuss these issues directly and to share the perspectives of Minnesota’s law enforcement leaders. This dialogue would be constructive and timely.
“The MCPA remains committed to the constitutional protections that define the relationship between the public and government authority. Public trust depends on consistent, professional conduct,” the statement also said. “At the same time, officer safety must remain a fundamental priority, as it is inseparable from the safety of the communities officers serve.
“A constructive path forward is essential. The MCPA encourages greater dialogue among federal and state leaders to support professional conduct that strengthens public safety, protects law enforcement professionals, and maintains public trust across Minnesota.”
The MCPA’s mention of greater dialogue is notable.
Minneapolis prosecutors and a state law enforcement agency filed suit late on Saturday, alleging that federal agents had stymied their investigation of the site where Alex Pretti was killed. A judge issued a temporary restraining order requiring federal authorities to preserve evidence in Pretti’s killing.
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Minnesota attorneys have wrapped initial arguments in their push for a judge to block the surge of immigration enforcement agents in their state.
The judge is now questioning a Department of Justice attorney, Adam Klasfeld reports.
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Minnesota lawyers are trying to use Donald Trump’s comments about the state in asking a judge to halt the surge of immigration agents in Minneapolis.
Court reporter Adam Klasfeld, who is covering the proceeding, said that state attorney Brian Carter invoked Trump’s comments to show the deployment of 3,000 federal agents violated Minnesota’s sovereignty.
Carter:
— Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) January 26, 2026
"It is personal animosity. It is retribution. Literally, the President of the United States" said in the middle of this "chaos": "Minnesota, you day of retribution is here."
"That's CRAZY. How can that NOT violate the 10th Amendment?"
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Lawyers for Minnesota are still in court asking a judge to stop the surge of ICE agents in Minneapolis.
Judge Kate Menendez is pressing these attorneys to explain how she could decide on such a broad request, the New York Times noted.
“It seems that part of the solution for this set of wrongs that you describe is to bring cases about those wrongs,” Menendez said, “rather than to say all of these things together means the federal government has to leave the state of Minnesota.”
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Donald Trump’s decision to send ‘“border czar” Tom Homan to Minneapolis will only heighten chaos in the city, a local official told CNN.
Minneapolis city council member Soren Stevenson said Homan’s deployment was “escalating tensions”.
“They know that they’re in a bad spot. This is Minnesota. What are you talking about, a lawless, crazy place? This is Minnesota. This is a beautiful place. A wonderful place. And they’re losing this narrative battle,” Stevenson said Monday on CNN News Central. “And so, he’s sending in his top guard. And really, it’s escalating because we just want to be left alone. Just leave us.
“You know, we don’t have this big law and order problem. This is a great place to live. The chaos in our community is coming from ICE,” Stevenson continued. “It’s coming from this invasion that we’re under, this occupation. And so, this is just escalating tensions, and it’s got to stop. It’s just got to stop.”
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We’re starting to get updates from federal court in Minnesota, where lawyers for the state are trying to halt the surge of federal agents.
The New York Times reports that Lindsey Middlecamp, an attorney for the state, asked Judge Kate M Menendez: to “issue a temporary restraining order today. Not tomorrow. Not next week. Today.”
Brian Carter, also an attorney for the state, told a judge that the presence of immigration agents was “essentially an army” meant to “basically stir the pot with conduct that is pervasive and includes widespread illegal violent conduct.”
More updates soon …
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Minnesota Republican gubernatorial candidate Chris Madel drops out of race because of Republicans' 'stated retribution on citizens of our state'
Minnesota GOP gubernatorial candidate Chris Madel dropped out of the race on Monday because of Republicans’ “stated retribution on the citizens of our state,” the Minnesota Star Tribune reported.
“Nor can I count myself a member of a party that would do so,” Madel also said in a video announcement.
Madel, a lawyer in Minneapolis, said in a video that he had previously backed the ramped-up immigration enforcement in Minnesota, such as its claimed targeting of hardened criminals.
But, Madel said, the operation “expanded far beyond its stated focus on true public safety threats”.
“United States citizens, particularly those of color, live in fear. United States citizens are carrying papers to prove their citizenship. That’s wrong,” he remarked.
Before dropping out of the race, Madel went from being a “relative political unknown” to a favorite for the Republican nomination.
Notably, Madel had campaigned on unwavering support of law enforcement. He even gave legal advice to Jonathan Ross, the ICE agent who killed Renee Good, the newspaper reports.
The newspaper called his decision a “stunning exit”.
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Court filing after court filing has detailed federal agents’ heavy-handed tactics in Minneapolis.
Just this morning, one court filing alleges that federal agents threatened to arrest a lawyer who was around a controversial Minnesota church protest.
Notes Scott MacFarlane:
NEW: In court filing today, attorney argues federal agents threatened to an arrest an attorney near scene of last week's Minnesota church protest
— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) January 26, 2026
"Based on their belief that she might have taken" a phone from one of the people arrested
Turns out.. agents already had the phone pic.twitter.com/FGbIKsntpP
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A man who says he witnessed federal agents kill Alex Pretti claims that he was arrested right after the deadly shooting.
“I’m not going to be intimidated by them,” CBS News quoted the man, who wanted to be referred to as Javier over safety concerns, as saying. “My father always told me never to be scared of a person that bleeds as much as you do. Everybody in this world bleeds as much as I do, and that’s my sense of security right now.”
Javier said he lives near the area where Pretti was shot dead, and went over after hearing about ICE activity there.
“I watched the agent shoot him,” Javier reportedly said. “Whether I knew him or not, he died for the cause.”
Javier claimed that federal agents took him and other people who were nearby to the Whipple federal building. They were detained there several hours, he alleged.
Javier said he was initially detained alone, but was then joined by almost 24 other people from the area. He claimed that agents gave them food and water, as well as medical attention, before freeing them.
This post was edited on Monday 26 January to clarify a quote from Javier.
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Not at all surprisingly, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt voiced support of her boss’s decision to send border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota.
Tom Homan will be managing ICE Operations on the ground in Minnesota to continue arresting the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens. In addition, Tom will coordinate with those leading investigations into the massive, widespread fraud that has resulted in billions of… pic.twitter.com/pm552dhpxq
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) January 26, 2026
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The fact that more Republicans are calling for an investigation into Alex Pretti’s death doesn’t just mark a split from Trump – it also speaks to the possibility of a possible partial government shutdown.
Here’s how: Senators have to approve a six bill appropriations package by 30 January to avert a government shutdown, per The Hill.
Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins has said that she’s weighing possibly separating a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security from this six-bill bundle.
New York Democrat Senator Chuck Schumer said on Sunday that he would block a six-bill package, but would let five go forward.
The Hill explains: “Schumer’s offer to pass five of the annual spending bills to fund more than 90 percent of the federal government through September now puts the ball in Thune’s court.”
But, this means that Thune has to find a way to make Senate Republicans to agree with cutting out the sixth bill, which is “something that he would need the consent of the entire Senate to do.”
While Thune could try moving forward the other five funding measures, it’s unlikely he could do this by 30 January, “given the Senate’s time-consuming floor procedures,” the website notes.
Updated
Donald Trump sending Tom Homan to Minnesota, president announces on social media
Donald Trump is dispatching his border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota.
Trump made this announcement in a Truth Social post on Monday morning that also made unsubstantiated claims about protests in Minneapolis.
“I am sending Tom Homan to Minnesota tonight. He has not been involved in that area, but knows and likes many of the people there. Tom is tough but fair, and will report directly to me,” Trump said.
“Separately, a major investigation is going on with respect to the massive 20 Billion Dollar, Plus, Welfare Fraud that has taken place in Minnesota, and is at least partially responsible for the violent organized protests going on in the streets.
“Additionally, the DOJ and Congress are looking at ‘Congresswoman’ Illhan Omar, who left Somalia with NOTHING, and is now reportedly worth more than 44 Million Dollars.”
Omar has slammed claims that her net worth surged, reportedly saying she’s “not a millionaire” and blaming a “coordinated right-wing disinformation campaign”.
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As more and more Republicans call for an investigation of Alex Pretti’s killing, it’s worth remembering that Donald Trump’s call for heavy-handed immigration enforcement appeared to have already rankled a portion of his base.
A Politico poll that surveyed some 2000 adults between 16 and 19 January found that 49% of Americans believed Trump’s campaign was “too aggressive”.
This included one in five voters who supported Trump in 2024. Per Politico, “more than 1 in 3 Trump voters say that while they support the goals of his mass deportation campaign, they disapprove of the way he is implementing it.”
The poll was released on Saturday morning, before news of Pretti’s death became widespread. Before Pretti’s killing, Republicans had expressed concern that Trump’s mass deportation mandate could cost them their House majority during midterm elections.
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Two federal judges in Minnesota to weigh cases that could affect deployment of federal agents in Minneapolis
Two federal judges in Minnesota will weigh cases today that could affect Donald Trump’s surge of federal agents in Minneapolis.
One case that will be heard in Minneapolis federal court directly challenges the legality of this deployment. Two US citizens have been killed this month during the controversial immigration enforcement operation.
Lawyers representing Minneapolis and Minnesota want to temporarily stop the stationing of approximately 3,000 federal agents, maintaining that their presence illegally violates state sovereignty rights under the US constitution, according to the New York Times. The newspaper says their argument is that this situation “has crossed the line into an unconstitutional and illegal occupation”.
In another surge-related case, a federal judge will consider Minnesota officials’ lawsuit alleging that federal agents were blocking local law enforcement’s investigation of Alex Pretti’s death. Pretti was killed by federal law enforcement agents in Minneapolis on Saturday.
Judge Eric C Tostrud issued a temporary restraining order late on Saturday night ordering federal agencies to preserve evidence related to Petti’s killing.
Tostrud set a hearing for 2pm local time.
Updated
Online fundraiser benefiting the family of Alex Pretti has raised over $1,000,000
A GoFundMe page entitled Alex Pretti is an American Hero has raised $1,078,931 since it was set up on Saturday. The page reads:
On January 24, 2026, Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a Minneapolis resident and American citizen was executed on the streets of Minneapolis by ICE agents.
This fundraiser is intended to support the loved ones he leaves behind with immediate and ongoing needs. Because details are still unfolding, and to ensure the money goes to the right person, funds will not be distributed until we can verify next-of-kin and identify the appropriate family representative to manage anything raised.
If, for any reason, the funds cannot be transferred to Alex’s family, we will direct the total amount to the Immigrant Defense Project, a nonprofit that provides litigation, advocacy, and community-defense resources to help immigrants defend their rights and fight deportation.
The GoFundMe page quickly surpassed its goal of $20,000 after organizer Keith Edwards launched it over the weekend.
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Angela Giuffrida is the Guardian’s Rome correspondent
Two journalists from the Italian state broadcaster, Rai, were threatened by ICE agents in Minneapolis while filming for a report on the rising tensions in the US under Donald Trump’s administration, sparking a political backlash in Italy.
In a video posted on the Instagram account of the news show, In Mezz’Ora, journalists Laura Cappon and Daniele Babbo are in a car with anti-ICE activists who are following a jeep with agents on board as they search the city for people to detain.
Upon realising their vehicle is being followed, the ICE agents stop the jeep and approach the car with the two journalists inside. Despite identifying themselves as being from the press, the ICE agents threaten to break the car window and drag the passengers out if they continue keep following and recording.
The woman driving the car refuses to pull down the window while repeatedly saying “we’re not doing anything wrong”. Others can be seen filming the encounter on the street before the agents get into their vehicle and drive away.
Politicians from Italian opposition parties have urged the government of Italy’s far-right prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, who is ideologically aligned with Trump, to protect its citizens and condemn the intimidation.
“Two Italian journalists have also been threatened by Trump’s political police,” said Peppe Provenzano, a politician with the centre-left Democratic party. “Our deepest sympathy and solidarity goes out to them. If the Meloni government has any national pride, we ask it to formally protest and distance itself once and for all. We also ask it to clarify how it intends to protect our fellow citizens who live and work in places where ICE is operating from this climate of intimidation and violence.”
He added: “Seeing America reduced to this state by Trump’s thugs, sowing chaos, terror and death in the streets, while being covered up by the Trump administration, is truly dismaying.”
Obamas say Alex Pretti killing a ‘tragedy’ as calls mount for full investigation
Pressure mounted on Donald Trump’s administration on Sunday to fully investigate the previous day’s killing by federal immigration officers of 37-year-old nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
Calls for an investigation have come from all sides of the political divide after video analysis showed officers had removed from Pretti a handgun he was reportedly permitted to carry – and which he was not handling – before fatally shooting him.
Former president Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, called the killing “a heartbreaking tragedy” and “a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault”.
In a statement released on Sunday, the Obamas said federal law enforcement and immigration agents were not operating in a lawful or accountable way in Minnesota.
“For weeks now people across the country have been rightly outraged by the spectacle of masked ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] recruits and other federal agents acting with impunity and engaging in tactics that seem designed to intimidate, harass, provoke and endanger the residents of a major American city,” they said. The former president and former first lady said these tactics had now resulted in the fatal shootings of two US citizens – Pretti and Renee Good, both in Minneapolis. Yet, they said, Trump and other administration officials appeared eager to escalate the rhetoric before an investigation had been undertaken – and despite the fact that they “appear to be directly contradicted by video evidence”.
The Obamas called on Americans to support the wave of peaceful protests in Minneapolis and other parts of the country.
You can read the full story by my colleagues, Edward Helmore and Joseph Gedeon, here:
Updated
Tim Walz urges Trump to remove agents from Minnesota: ‘You can end this’
Minnesota governor Tim Walz appealed to Donald Trump to withdraw federal agents from Minnesota on Sunday, a day after US border patrol officers shot and killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse who was monitoring the immigration crackdown.
“What’s the plan, Donald Trump?” Walz asked at a news conference. “What do we need to do to get these federal agents out of our state?”
“President Trump, you can end this today. Pull these folks back; do humane, focused, effective immigration control – you’ve got the support of all of us to do that,” Walz said. “Please show some decency. Pull these folks out”.
Walz, who is not seeking re-election this year, offered an impassioned plea to the US public, many of whom have been caught between supporting immigration control and opposing actions of its enforcement under the Trump administration in the interior…
“Which side do you want to be on?” Walz asked. “The side of an all-powerful federal government that could kill, injure, menace and kidnap its citizens off the streets, or on the side of a nurse at the VA hospital who died bearing witness to such government,” referring to Pretti.
You can read the full story here:
Updated
Trump says his administration is 'reviewing everything' after Pretti killing
Donald Trump, under pressure to pursue a wide-ranging, independent investigation into the second Minneapolis killing by federal agents in a matter of weeks and withdraw ICE agents from the Minneapolis area, spoke to the Wall Street Journal in a five minute phone interview on Sunday.
The president was reportedly asked twice whether the federal agent who killed Pretti had acted appropriately. He responded: “We’re looking, we’re reviewing everything and will come out with a determination.”
He also told the newspaper: “I don’t like any shooting. I don’t like it.” He added: “But 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. That doesn’t play good either.” Video recorded by witnesses to the killing of Pretti shows the 37-year-old registered nurse was holding a phone, not a gun, when he was tackled and shot, directly contradicting the claims of senior Trump administration officials that he threatened to “massacre” officers.
Trump also signalled in the interview that he would eventually withdraw agents from Minneapolis, though he did not give a timeframe. He told the WSJ: “At some point we will leave. We’ve done, they’ve done a phenomenal job.” “We’ll leave a different group of people there for the financial fraud,” Trump said.
The Trump administration has targeted Minnesota over the past year over allegations of fraud, specifically going after the state’s Somali population, with the president engaging in explicitly racist tirades. About 84,000 people of Somali descent live in Minnesota, and most of them are US citizens or legal residents. Trump has used a fraud scandal around the theft of federal funds for social-welfare programs in Minnesota to justify sending agents into the state, many of them from ICE.
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Republicans call for investigation after Pretti killing
A growing number of Republicans are pressing for a deeper investigation into federal immigration tactics in Minnesota after the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti – a sign that the Trump administration’s accounting of events may face bipartisan scrutiny.
The Republican chairman of the House homeland security committee, Andrew Garbarino, has sought testimony from leaders at ICE, Customs and Border Protection and US Citizenship and Immigration Services, saying “my top priority remains keeping Americans safe”, the Associated Press is reporting.
A host of other congressional Republicans have pressed for more information, including representative Michael McCaul of Texas and senators Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.
Their statements, in addition to concern expressed from several Republican governors, reflects a party struggling with how to respond to federal agents’ killing of Pretti.
Updated
Alex Pretti’s family released a statement on Saturday evening in which they said they were “heartbroken but also very angry” after the US president, Donald Trump, and his officials referred to Pretti as a “gunman” who had approached US border patrol officers.
“The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting. Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked by Trump’s murdering and cowardly ICE thugs. He has his phone in his right hand and his empty left hand is raised above his head while trying to protect the woman ICE just pushed down all while being pepper sprayed,” the family statement said. “Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man.”
Two witnesses to the killing have said in sworn testimony that Pretti was not brandishing a weapon when he approached federal agents in Minneapolis on Saturday. One witness said federal agents tackled him after he came to help someone whom they had pushed to the ground.
The Trump administration’s unfounded claims about what happened are also directly undermined by the publicly available video. The homeland security secretary Kristi Noem said Pretti was shot because he was “brandishing” a gun.
Widely circulated video showed half a dozen officers taking Pretti – who had a phone, not a gun, visibly in his hand – to the ground after spraying him with a chemical agent.
You can read more about how Trump officials are continuing to push lies about Pretti’s killing in this analysis piece, despite video evidence showing exactly what happened on Saturday.
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Judge set to hear arguments on Minnesota's immigration crackdown after killings by federal agents
We are restarting our live coverage in the aftermath of the killing of Alex Pretti by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis on Saturday, as pressure grows on the Trump administration to fully investigate the fatal shooting amid mounting bipartisan opposition to ICE’s presence in Minnesota.
A federal judge will hear arguments later today on whether she should halt the often brutal immigration crackdown in Minnesota that has led to the killings of two 37-year-old US citizens in under a month by government officers.
The state of Minnesota and the cities of Minneapolis and St Paul sued the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, earlier this month, five days after Renee Good, a mother-of-three and prize-winning poet, was shot to death by an ICE officer, sparking outrage and protests in Minneapolis.
They are asking that US District Judge Kathleen Menendez order federal law enforcement agencies to reduce the numbers of agents in Minnesota (about 3,000) to levels before ICE launched its so-called “Operation Metro Surge” in the Minneapolis area last month.
The surge of federal agents – that roughly outnumbers the Minneapolis police force five to one – has caused terror in communities across the state, with reports of legal observers being hauled off without charge, schoolchildren teargassed and armed officers appearing at daycares, churches and mosques.
Speaking at a news conference yesterday, Democratic Minnesota attorney general Keith Ellison said he and the cities filed their lawsuit because of “the unprecedented nature of this surge. It is a novel abuse of the constitution that we’re looking at right now. No one can remember a time when we’ve seen something like this.”
It wasn’t clear ahead of the hearing when the judge might rule. Justice Department attorneys have called the lawsuit “legally frivolous” and said “Minnesota wants a veto over federal law enforcement.”
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