Two US Border Patrol agents, CBP, who carried out the fatal Shots at Alex Pretti are said to have given in, were officially released from duty. This was confirmed on Wednesday by a representative of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS). “This is our normal process,” Tricia McLaughlin explained.
It is unclear how long the two officers have been on leave or how long it will last. The names of the two officials have not yet been published. However, it is common for security guards involved in a shooting to be placed on leave during the investigation period. The investigations following the fatal incident on Saturday which were recorded by several authorities, are still continuing.
However, it was only announced the day before that an initial internal investigation by CBP would contradict the Trump administration’s previous statements. Government members, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Trump adviser Stephen Miller, had described Pretti – a 37-year-old nurse – as a “terrorist” and “assassin” whose goal was to kill as many security forces as possible.
Video recordings However, the deadly confrontation quickly disproves these statements. And an investigation by the Border Patrol now appears to have come to the same conclusion. Accordingly, Pretti never pulled out the pistol that he had with him on that fateful day to threaten the officers.
The question of whether Pretti had drawn his weapon or not initially caused confusion. DHS claimed this was the case just hours after the incident. However, examinations of the video recordings could not confirm this. After the US government’s lie was exposed, those responsible defended the use of lethal force by saying that simply legally carrying a weapon was a sign that someone was up to no good.
Gun lobby groups criticized this characterization, which they said violated the constitutional right to bear arms.
Protests in Minneapolis
As Reuters reported, the immigration agency ICE, which like CBP is subordinate to the Department of Homeland Security, has ordered its officers to stop responding to riotous demonstrators and their confrontations. According to the news service, this is a change of course.
I think Renee and Alex both embodied the best of who we are
Diane Boonstra, Demonstrantin
“It serves no purpose other than to inflame the situation. No one will be able to convince the other. The only communication should be officials issuing orders,” said an internal email seen by Reuters.
Die Anti-ICE-Proteste in Minneapolis and beyond, meanwhile, continue uninterrupted. Despite freezing temperatures, hundreds of people gathered in the city on Wednesday evening to demonstrate and commemorate the two victims, Alex Pretti and Renee Good, who were shot by an ICE officer on January 7th.
“I think Renee and Alex both kind of embodied the best of who we are,” Diane Boonstra, who attended Wednesday’s protests, told MPR News.
Observers and activists reported that the raids in the city had not abated in recent days, but had become even more targeted.
Trump issues a warning
After both the federal government and those responsible in Minnesota tried to resolve the ongoing differences over the actions of immigration authorities in the past few days, it seems to be over again.
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Jacob Frey, the Democratic mayor of the city of Minneapolis, was “playing with fire” after Frey made it clear that local police would not cooperate with federal authorities to enforce immigration laws.
Trump made the statement just a day after he said he intended to “de-escalate a little” the situation in Minnesota. Border Czar Tom Homan, the command of immigration operations in Minnesota has taken over, will give a press conference on Thursday.