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Trump Team Demands Right to Destroy Evidence in Alex Pretti Shooting
New Republic • Jan 26, 2026

Trump Team Demands Right to Destroy Evidence in Alex Pretti Shooting

Donald Trump’s administration is asking for permission to destroy evidence in its so-called investigation into the killing of Alex Pretti by Customs and Border Patrol agents.The Trump administration filed a legal motion Monday opposing a federal judge’s order preventing it from tampering with evidence related to Pretti’s death, The New York Times reported. While it’s not uncommon for the Trump administration to oppose judges’ orders against it, this case seems particularly unnecessary—and suspicious. U.S. District Judge Eric Tostrud issued an order Saturday barring federal agents from “destroying or altering evidence,” in response to a request from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, or BCA. This order referred to evidence “removed from the scene” or evidence “taken into [the government’s] exclusive custody.”In a signed declaration, BCA Superintendent Drew Evans said the Minneapolis Police Department had requested his agency’s presence at the scene but that when his agents arrived, Department of Homeland Security officers turned them away. DHS also did not respond to subsequent requests to access the scene. “After the FBI cleared the scene without providing the BCA access, local and state law enforcement officers were unable to hold the scene, and it was overrun by individuals in the area,” Evans said. “The BCA was thus unable to examine the scene.”The BCA has historically handled investigations into shootings involving federal law enforcement, and has typically done so without federal involvement, according to Evans. Clearly, DHS is taking unprecedented actions to control the investigation into the second broad daylight killing of a civilian by its agents in just the past month. When coupled with Customs and Border Patrol’s efforts to shield its officers from accountability, and Trump officials’ desperation to change the subject, it seems we may be looking at a bona fide cover-up. Meanwhile, what we know about Pretti’s senseless killing is limited to the footage captured by multiple eyewitnesses. Video from several angles of the incident showed that Pretti was tackled by multiple federal agents after he approached a protester who’d been pepper-sprayed. When the agents realized the man they’d beaten and pinned to the ground was armed, they took his gun, and two of the agents shot him roughly 10 times. DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin confirmed Monday that the deadly incident was captured by body cameras worn by multiple DHS agents involved in the shooting. It’s not clear whether this footage will be released to the public.

Karoline Leavitt Appears to Throw CBP Chief Under the Bus on Minnesota
New Republic • Jan 26, 2026

Karoline Leavitt Appears to Throw CBP Chief Under the Bus on Minnesota

Customs and Border Patrol boss Greg Bovino’s time in Minnesota appears to have come to a close.The commander-at-large has overseen ICE and Border Patrol operations across the country, moving from city to city as the agencies violently scour neighborhoods to satisfy Homeland Security adviser Stephen Miller’s mandate to arrest upwards of 3,000 people per day.But press secretary Karoline Leavitt revealed during a White House press briefing Monday that the Trump administration is shuffling Bovino elsewhere, apparently replacing him with border czar Tom Homan.“Mr. Bovino is a wonderful man and he’s a great professional,” Leavitt said. “He is going to very much continue to lead Customs and Border Patrol throughout and across the country. Mr. Homan will be the main point of contact on the ground in Minneapolis.”CNN reported just a few hours after Leavitt’s press briefing that Bovino and some CBP agents are expected to leave Minneapolis soon and return to their normal areas of work.Bovino’s ousting from the North Star State appears to be a part of a larger restructuring in which the Trump administration is attempting to reinvent its approach to its immigration agenda.Donald Trump announced Monday morning that he planned to send Homan to Minnesota “tonight” and work with Governor Tim Walz.“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,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “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!”Republicans have balked at the national backlash to ICE’s violence in Minnesota, which so far has involved the senseless killing of two U.S. citizens just weeks apart. In the aftermath of their deaths, thousands of Americans have taken to the streets in protest. Trump’s job score has nosedived; he currently has a net approval rating of -19 percent.The country, by all means, appears fed up with the reality of Trump’s immigration agenda, which has thus far deported people from the U.S. without due process, ripped children from their parents, and ushered thousands of untrained ICE agents into cities and neighborhoods where they are not wanted.A CBS News poll published days before the Saturday killing of Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse working with veterans in Minneapolis, found that 61 percent of surveyed Americans felt that ICE agents were “too tough” when stopping and detaining people.

Even Texas Governor Greg Abbott Says ICE Needs to “Recalibrate”
New Republic • Jan 26, 2026

Even Texas Governor Greg Abbott Says ICE Needs to “Recalibrate”

Even Texas Governor and vocal Trump supporter Greg Abbott has taken issue with federal agents’ deadly shootings in Minneapolis, saying that ICE needs to “recalibrate.”“In general, we need to have respect for law enforcement officers in the country. ICE, they are law enforcement officers,” Abbott said Monday morning on conservative radio host Mark Davis’s show. “So they, being the White House, need to recalibrate on what needs to be done to make sure that that respect is going to be re-instilled. And that’s not an easy task, especially under the current circumstances.”He added that he believes the White House is “working on a game plan” to help federal agents “go about their job in a more structured way to make sure that they are going to be able to remove these people, but without causing all the kinds of problems and fighting in communities that they are experiencing right now.”Even as Abbott refused to attack slain protester Alex Pretti like much of the Trump administration—White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller called Pretti a “domestic terrorist”—he still placed most of the blame on local leaders, specifically Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Governor Tim Walz. “Your responsibility, your duty, is to use your office to make sure that there’s going to be calm and order in your community, and that means tamping down the rhetoric, tamping down ... the anger that your local residents feel, and instead instill calm and order,” he said. “This is truly the problem in Minnesota. It’s more about the lack of leadership, and the lack of calming by the governor, by the mayor—and candidly, I think they want it that way.”Still, it seems that the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti—both caught on video and both so clearly contrary to the Trump administration’s narrative of their domestic terrorism—are a red line for more on the right than they would admit.

White House Refuses to Back Stephen Miller’s Smear Against Alex Pretti
New Republic • Jan 26, 2026

White House Refuses to Back Stephen Miller’s Smear Against Alex Pretti

The White House appears to be distancing itself from comments deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller made about Alex Pretti, the Minnesota nurse shot and killed by Border Patrol agents over the weekend.Press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked Monday about Miller’s comment on X immediately after the shooting, in which he summarized the incident as: “A would-be assassin tried to murder federal law enforcement and the official Democrat account sides with the terrorists.” Miller’s tweet was reposted by official administration accounts, including @TrumpWarRoom and @RapidResponse47.NBC News’s Gabe Gutierrez asked Leavitt why Miller, a White House official, would jump to conclusions before an investigation.“Well, look, this has obviously been a very fluid and fast-moving situation throughout the weekend. As for President Trump, whom I speak for, he has said that he wants to let the investigation continue and let the facts lead in this case,” Leavitt replied. Q: Stephen Miller called Pretti a 'would-be assassin.' Why did administration officials jump to conclusions before an investigation had been conducted?Leavitt: Well, this has obviously been a very fluid and fast-moving situation pic.twitter.com/x4Pfk4qy2Z— FactPost (@factpostnews) January 26, 2026Leavitt went on to avoid defending Miller’s comments two more times. Mary Bruce, the White House correspondent for ABC News, pointed out that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem also called Pretti a domestic terrorist in addition to Miller, and asked if President Trump agreed with that assessment. Again, Leavitt deflected, saying that she hadn’t heard Trump describe Pretti “in that way.”When Bruce asked if Trump was alarmed to hear top administration officials “describe Pretti in that way,” Leavitt ignored the question and moved on.But the next reporter, Agence France-Presse’s Danny Kemp, then asked Leavitt, “Will Stephen Miller be apologizing to the family of Alex Pretti for calling him ‘an assassin’ trying to murder federal agents, despite the fact that, as you say, this is still under investigation?”Leavitt pointedly didn’t answer his question.“Again, this incident remains under investigation and nobody here at the White House, including the President of the United States, wants to see Americans hurt or killed and losing their lives in American streets,” the press secretary replied.Q: "Will Stephen Miller be apologizing to the family of Alex Pretti for calling him an assassin trying to murder federal agents?"Leavitt: *doesn't answer* pic.twitter.com/AupLcPjW1J— The Bulwark (@BulwarkOnline) January 26, 2026On three different occasions, Leavitt, a spokesperson for the president, refused to defend Miller, who has pushed for aggressive immigration enforcement and argued against backing down in the face of criticism, going against others in the administration according to The Wall Street Journal. Instead, as criticism begins to mount from Republicans both nationally and inside Minnesota, the president appears to be trying to avoid any negative labeling of Pretti. Miller’s perspective may be losing support from the White House as it inspires a national backlash.

Trump Unveils Investigation Into Ilhan Omar as His Team Torches Her
New Republic • Jan 26, 2026

Trump Unveils Investigation Into Ilhan Omar as His Team Torches Her

In the wake of yet another citizen being shot and killed in broad daylight by Donald Trump’s roving militia, the White House is now attempting to deflect blame by accusing Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar of fraud.Trump announced the so-called investigation on Truth Social Monday morning, claiming that there was no way the Democratic lawmaker could have so much money. “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,” he wrote. “Time will tell all.”This accusation is coming from the same man who raked in at least $1.4 billion in the last year alone—at the American people’s expense. Omar wasted no time in dismissing Trump’s desperate finger-pointing. “Sorry, Trump, your support is collapsing and you’re panicking. Right on cue, you’re deflecting from your failures with lies and conspiracy theories about me. Years of ‘investigations’ have found nothing,” she wrote on X. “Get your goons out of Minnesota.”Speaking at a White House press briefing later Monday, Karoline Leavitt doubled down on Trump’s baseless allegations. “The president raised a good question over the weekend, with respect to Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, who now has a net worth within the millions, and one must ask themselves why and how is that possible? Is she connected to the fraud rings we’ve seen taking place within her state, and her own district?” the press secretary said. “It’s a question the American people are raising, and the president believes it’s one worth answering.”Following the second deadly shooting by federal immigration officers just this month, the only question the American people are really asking is: When will you be out of a job, Karoline?Leavitt also repeated Trump’s claim that the widespread backlash to ICE’s wanton violence in Minnesota was merely a “cover up” for fraud. This absurd allegation is yet another example of the Trump administration attempting to hijack the language that describes its own actions, as the apparent cover-up of the senseless killing of Alex Pretti by Customs and Border Patrol agents is already underway.

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