A shooting has once again put Minneapolis on the verge of all-out war, but President Trump is making quick moves to get a hold of the situation. The convergence of multiple narratives and developments in the news has led to some pretty remarkable developments, to say nothing of Second Amendment rights being threaded into this mess. It's something that liberal America and the media cannot digest anymore, which is nuance. And the Alex Pretti shooting is quite the layered cake.
We'll recap other aspects of this shooting in a bit, but one thing must be put to rest. Pretti, who was armed, shouldn't have acted like a traffic cop or interfered in a federal immigration enforcement operation on January 24, which got him killed. No, bringing firearms to protests isn't illegal, nor should it be, though that hasn't stopped numerous state attorneys general from trying to do so, citing the safety concerns. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom can shut the hell up; California has banned firearms at political events. Pretti didn't have his carry license, which some are harping on, but it's only a $25 fine in the state. It doesn't revoke the permit, and your firearm isn't subject to seizure. It's a petty misdemeanor. That's not the hill to die on.
The firearm is a red herring: his actions during the raid, which led to him getting shot, are the core of the matter. Much like how Renee Nicole Good used her vehicle to ram into an ICE agent, which is at the heart of that shooting on January 7. The only difference is that Pretti's shooting should be investigated, as it's not as clear-cut. Border Patrol agents had their bodycams on—let's see what turns out. But, again, no, firearms at political events are nothing new. In the summer of 2009, there was an individual carrying an AR-15 rifle at an Obama event in Phoenix, Arizona. It was used by the media to gin up some fake news narrative about racial animus fueling opposition to then-President Obama; the man carrying the rifle was black. The point is you can carry a gun to political events. More recently, on Lobby Day in Richmond, Virginia, scores of Second Amendment advocates exercised their constitutional rights.
The messaging on our end hasn't been good on this incident. The Left was always going to go bananas, claiming this was an execution. For the Trump administration, we had FBI Director Kash Patel and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent peddle some falsehoods about the state's gun laws. Over at the Department of Homeland Security, whispers inside claim they're not happy with how Pretti has been cast by Secretary Kristi Noem:
NEW: Since yesterday's deadly shooting in MN, I've talked to more than half a dozen federal sources involved immigration enforcement, including several in senior positions, who all tell me they have grown increasingly uneasy & frustrated w/ some of the claims & narratives DHS…
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) January 25, 2026
I've talked to more than half a dozen federal sources involved immigration enforcement, including several in senior positions, who all tell me they have grown increasingly uneasy & frustrated w/ some of the claims & narratives DHS pushed in the aftermath of the shooting.
Specifically, I'm told there is extreme frustration with DHS officials going on TV and putting out statements claiming that Alex Pretti was intending to conduct a "massacre" of federal agents or wanted to carry out "maximum damage", even after numerous videos appeared to show those claims were inaccurate.
While they say it was a terrible decision to show up with a gun and inject himself into a federal law enforcement operation, there is no indication Pretti was there to murder law enforcement, as videos appear to show he never drew his holstered firearm.
These sources say this messaging from DHS officials has been catastrophic from a PR and morale perspective, as it is eroding trust and credibility - comparing it to when Democrats falsely claimed the border was closed or that Haitians were being whipped at the border.
Some of these sources have described DHS’ response to the shooting as “a case study on how not to do crisis PR”, one said they are so “fed up” that they wish they could retire, another said “DHS is making the situation worse”, and another added that “DHS is wrong” and “we are losing this war, we are losing the base and the narrative."
These sources all believe this is going to end up being what they call a “bad shoot”, a “shitty” situation that happened in seconds where agents likely heard “gun!”, then the disarmed firearm may have had an accidental discharge that spooked the agents, and they shot. The agents do not have the luxury of multiple slow motion angles - and had to make split second decisions.
All of the sources support the mass deportation agenda, but have serious hesitations about the way it is being carried out and the messaging that comes with it. Many of the sources have expressed frustration that ICE is routinely blamed for the actions of Border Patrol, a completely separate agency.
It was a terrible look, which is why Trump is moving quickly to resolve this issue. He's bringing back CPB chief Gregory Bovino, and Tom Homan will oversee all deportation operations. He also had good calls with Mayor Jacob Frey and Gov. Tim Walz, the latter of which has acted like a psych patient, comparing federal immigration officers to Nazis, which earned "happy hands" a condemnation from the Holocaust Museum. They did not like Walz's Anne Frank reference vis-à-vis ICE agents and deportations. When Holocaust groups rip you a new one, you know you've screwed up. Also, Tim, you know how hard that is to do—to earn the statement slapping you down from the Holocaust Museum? Get a grip, man.
But anti-ICE Signal chats were also exposed, with some top state Democrats participating, including Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, allegedly. It's another mess involving Walz's people.
For everything else, we're going to have to wait and see. But bad information, emotions, and impatience with the analysis of the evidence have led to a huge mess. Will it impact the midterms? Let's cool the jets there, too. It's January—everyone, calm down.
But as for debating the exercising of your Second Amendment rights at political events, enough with that. It's not really the main part of this story, and it's never a good thing when the Democrats seem, for a hot second, that they're the ones who back gun rights. Pretti having a gun isn't the issue. Again, it was his insane actions during this incident. There's a reason why no one should interfere with federal law enforcement actions.
You're probably going to get shot.
