“I’m not aware of any peaceful protesters who showed up with guns and ammunition instead of signs,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem.
Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino defends Minnesota mass shooting
U.S. Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino defended the shooting death of a 37-year-old civilian by federal agents in Minneapolis.
Several prominent Second Amendment rights groups have criticized federal authorities, suggesting that it is dangerous and perhaps a sign of bad faith for legal gun owners to protest while possessing legally acquired firearms.
The controversy arose after Border Patrol agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, a registered nurse at a veterans hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 24.
Federal officials said Preti had a handgun and intended to “kill law enforcement.” But federal court video and witness testimony show Preti holding a phone, not brandishing a firearm. The video also shows a federal agent with his hands free participating in a struggle with Preti and coming out with a firearm before another agent opens fire. The firearm resembled one seen in images posted by the White House and displayed at a Department of Homeland Security press conference.
The Minneapolis police chief said Preti had a concealed carry permit.
Hours after the shooting, Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Esseri of Southern California told X, “If you approach law enforcement with a gun, you are legally likely to be shot. Don’t do it!” Other members of the Trump administration insisted that peaceful protesters do not show up with guns.
Several prominent gun rights groups, including the National Rifle Association, took issue with Esairi’s statement.
“Such sentiments by the Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California are dangerous and wrong,” the NRA said in a statement. “The voices of responsible citizens should wait for a full investigation, and should not be generalized and demonize law-abiding citizens.”
Gun Owners of America said in a statement that its leaders “condemn Essayri’s distasteful comments.”
“It is not likely that a federal officer would be ‘legally justified’ to shoot a concealed carry license holder who approaches him while legally carrying a firearm,” the group said. “The Second Amendment protects Americans’ right to bear arms during protests, a right that the federal government may not infringe on.”
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) also slammed Essayri’s comments, writing about X: “If you don’t understand that carrying a firearm is not a death sentence, but a God-given right protected by the Constitution, you are no good to law enforcement or government.”
In a follow-up statement, Esseri accused critics of misinterpreting his comments.
“I never said it was legally justified to shoot at law-abiding submerged aircraft carriers. My comments were aimed at agitators who approach law enforcement with guns and refuse to disarm them,” he said on X.
“My advice is sound: If you value your life, don’t aggressively approach law enforcement while armed,” he added. “If they reasonably perceive a threat and you do not immediately disarm them, they are legally authorized to use deadly force.”
Trump administration officials say peaceful protesters won’t show up with firearms
Following the shooting, multiple Trump administration officials said peaceful protesters were not carrying firearms.
“I’m not aware of any peaceful protesters who showed up with guns and ammunition instead of signs,” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said at a news conference hours after the shooting. “If someone shows up with a weapon, this is a violent riot.”
“He brought a gun,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview on ABC News’ “This Week,” trying to pin the blame for the shooting on Mr. Preti. When host Jonathan Karl countered by bringing up the Second Amendment, Bessent said, “I’ve been to protests. Look, I didn’t bring a gun, I brought a sign.”
FBI Director Kash Patel made similar comments during a January 25 appearance on Fox News.
“No one who wants to be peaceful would go to a protest with a firearm with more than one magazine loaded,” he said, adding: “You cannot bring a firearm with more than one magazine into any protest. It’s simple. There is no right to break the law.”
Patel and other Trump administration officials have previously defended Kyle Rittenhouse, a 17-year-old who brought an AR-15-style rifle to protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in 2020. Rittenhouse shot three men, killing two and wounding another, but was later acquitted of all related charges.
Family, Minneapolis police deny federal explanation of shooting
Similar to the shooting death of Renee Nicole Good by an immigration officer in Minneapolis, Noem and other federal officials almost immediately labeled Preti, who had no criminal record, a “domestic terrorist.”
“This individual, who came with weapons and ammunition to thwart the law enforcement operations of federal law enforcement officers, committed an act of domestic terrorism,” she said.
Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino told CNN that the agency respects the Second Amendment rights of Americans, but suggested Preti’s arming at the protest indicated an intent to commit violence.
“We respect Second Amendment rights, but those rights do not count when people commit acts of violence, violence, or delaying, obstructing, or obstructing law enforcement officers, especially when they have attempted to do so in advance,” the statement said, without providing evidence that Mr. Preti had committed acts of violence against investigators.
Preti’s family condemned the Trump administration’s account of Preti and the shooting, calling it “reprehensible and disgusting” and a “sickening lie.”
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” that he found federal authorities’ account of the shooting “very disturbing.”
O’Hara said Preti was “exercising his First Amendment right to document law enforcement activity and also exercising his Second Amendment right to be lawfully armed in public places in the city.”
Christopher Cann is a national breaking news reporter for USA TODAY. Email us at ccann@usatoday.com.
