The Border Patrol shot and killed Alex Pretti, who was armed with a handgun, during an altercation with these immigration enforcement officers in Minneapolis yesterday. It’s yet another incident that’s sent ripples through the nation. The Left is ginned up again, taking to the streets of the city, causing mayhem.
#BREAKING: Man shot by Border Patrol during operation in Minneapolis, waiting for more info. pic.twitter.com/bDjid5auAl
— Insider Wire (@InsiderWire) January 24, 2026
Local Democrats and lefty social media once again were off to the races, calling this an execution. It was not—we don’t know anything yet. The presser and reaction from Gov. Tim Walz was another circus, with law professor Jonathan Turley laying into the governor for inflaming the mob:
Gov. Walz is again inflaming the mob. He is effectively declaring this to be the murder of a citizen who had a permit to carry this weapon. He is saying that the state not the federal government will control the investigation. He does not have that authority.
The state can clearly have a parallel investigation and the federal government can do a joint investigation. However, he cannot dictate how or who will conduct the investigation.
With thousands in the streets, Walz just did all that he could to give them license for their rage. Most of us would never call this a lawful or unlawful shooting based on one videotape.
Walz calling for his own investigation is a bit odd when he is actively engaged in his version of Red Queen justice of a "sentence first -- verdict afterwards.
Walz just said "quit referring to these people as law enforcement." That is a new low from the governor. These are law enforcement officers who put their lives on the line every day. To say that they are not law enforcement is to further enable the rage.
Walz just said we are being "shot in the face coming out of donut shops." This is not a presser, it is a rage fest by Walz.
Bob Jacobson just admitted that they had to leave the crime scene because they did not have enough personnel to control the area. That is quite an admission after the Governor said that he had all of the personnel he needed to keep the peace. They could not even hold a crime scene without retreating.
Walz is blaming the feds for creating "chaos" and then leaving the scene. It ignores the lack of coordination and assistance from the state in these operations.
Walz is saying that they are "slandering this individual" and saying that the federal government "does not want you to trust your eyes and ears." In other words, he is conveying, again, that the facts are clear from the video.
Turley also criticized Mayor Jacob Grey going off:
...Many of us have watched this videotape. The view of the hands of the suspect are not clear. We hear the shoot followed by a series of shots. We need to know if the suspect had pulled the gun or the reason for the officers to use lethal force. That would not seem an…
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) January 24, 2026
...The mayor has said that he watched the video but clearly does not know of specific details, as just acknowledged by the police chief. This is not to say that this is a justified or unjustified shooting. We simply need, again, to wait for the actual facts to emerge...
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) January 24, 2026
...Chief O'Hara was just asked about reports that the suspect had approached the officers holding the 9mm. He says that they have no confirmation. Wouldn't that be a good reason for Mayor Frey to call for the investigation to run its course rather than fuel the building anger?
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) January 24, 2026
We’re still early into the investigation. Things would be different if state officials worked with federal counterparts on this matter, but that’s not happening.
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