The Trump administration took monstrous steps to defend its ICE agents after a second fatality occurred in Minnesota as Democrat politicians and their media allies continue escalating tension over the presence of immigration agents trying to remove criminal illegal aliens.
For context, a 37-year-old man named Alex Pretti was fatally shot by ICE agents after physically resisting efforts to subdue him on January 24th, 2025. A gun was removed from him during the struggle and discharged, leading ICE agents to fear they were under attack and returned fire. Some reports speculate the discharge was unintentional, though it in a split-second under those circumstances agents facing violent resistance have no way of determining that.
Pete Hegseth posted a short comment on X that was seen by over six million times in the aftermath of the shooting, writing that ICE agents are patriots for saving America. “Thank God for the patriots of ICE,” he declared. “We have your back 100%. You are SAVING the country.
Hegseth took it a step further and placed blame squarely on Democrats for creating both the environment that led to Pretti’s death as well as whipping up folks like him in such a lathering fervor. “Shame on the leadership of Minnesota — and the lunatics in the street. ICE > MN.”
Kristi Noem likewise defended her agents and slammed a reporter for trying to make facts of the case sound like Trump admin propaganda. “That is no claim. It is the facts, the facts of this situation. This individual showed up to an law enforcement operation with a weapon and dozens of rounds of ammunition. He wasn’t there to peacefully protest,” she vehemently said, pushing back on the notion that each side had its own grounded facts.
Noem then went off on Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, whose rhetoric has inspired thousands of agitators to swarm the streets and make them unsafe for ICE agents. “He was there to perpetuate violence, and he was asked to show up and to continue to resist by a governor who is irresponsible and has a long history of corruption and lying, and we won’t stand for it anymore. These law enforcement officers take an oath. They get up every single day and they go out to protect the public.”
“Many of these individuals live in their communities, and this mayor and this governor have doxed them. They have allowed people to threaten them and their families and expose their identities in order to instill fear and violence, and that’s not what America is about,” she added.
And even President Trump weighed in on the shooting death of Pretti, sharing an image of a confiscated handgun allegedly possessed by the victim. “This is the gunman’s gun, loaded (with two additional full magazines!), and ready to go – What is that all about?” the president wrote on Truth Social.
The president then sounded off on Somali fraud, which he said was being covered up in part by Democrats by turning their attention to ICE. “Much of what you’re witnessing is a COVER UP for this Theft and Fraud. The Mayor and the Governor are inciting Insurrection, with their pompous, dangerous, and arrogant rhetoric! Instead, these sanctimonious political fools should be looking for the Billions of Dollars that has been stolen from the people of Minnesota, and the United States of America.”
“LET OUR ICE PATRIOTS DO THEIR JOB! 12,000 Illegal Alien Criminals, many of them violent, have been arrested and taken out of Minnesota. If they were still there, you would see something far worse than you are witnessing today!” the post finished.