January 26th, 2026
The aftermath of Alex Pretti’s killing has become a political nightmare for the Trump administration. Two American citizens are dead, executed by federal immigration agents within weeks. Both were initially smeared as terrorists by the White House.
Now even Republicans are running for cover.
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According to The New York Times, the White House spent Monday desperately trying to distance Donald Trump from his own officials. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt refused to defend the lies spread by Stephen Miller and Kristi Noem. They had immediately branded Alex Pretti a “domestic terrorist” who was “brandishing” a gun.
The video told a different story.
Pretti was shot roughly ten times. He was filming with his camera, and had a legal concealed carry permit. Video from multiple angles shows he never drew his weapon. His hands were visible when agents shot him in the back.
Pretti was a 37-year-old ICU nurse protecting his community from what many Minnesotans view as an occupying force. Federal agents killed him for exercising his First and Second Amendment rights.
This marks the second American citizen killed by ICE in Minneapolis this month—Renee Good died earlier under similar circumstances. The administration rushed to attack her too: they called her a threat. Then video emerged. Trump called it a “tragedy” and said agents sometimes “make a mistake.”
The pattern reveals something darker than incompetence. It shows contempt.
The White House knew instantly these killings created a political crisis. According to The Times, officials appeared paralyzed. They refused to retract Miller and Noem’s false statements. They offered no evidence for their accusations. Yet they deployed Leavitt to claim the facts would speak for themselves.
The facts already did. They led straight to two dead Americans and an administration caught lying.
Even Trump’s most reliable allies are breaking ranks. According to The Washington Post, Senator Ted Cruz said the administration should be “more measured” in describing the Pretti killing. Texas Governor Greg Abbott called for the White House to “recalibrate” its immigration enforcement.
Read that again. Ted Cruz and Greg Abbott are criticizing Trump for being too aggressive on immigration.
Adding to the mix, the National Rifle Association defended Pretti’s Second Amendment rights. A Republican candidate for Minnesota governor ended his campaign over what he called the national party’s “retribution” on his state, and Chris Madel called ICE operations in Minnesota an “unmitigated disaster.”
When you’ve lost the NRA and Republican gubernatorial candidates in a red wave cycle, you have a problem.
The political fallout is accelerating. According to The Times, bipartisan pushback on Capitol Hill now risks another government shutdown. Lawmakers are threatening to withhold ICE funding after Pretti’s death. Federal courts in Minnesota convened emergency hearings. One seeks to prevent destruction of evidence. Another demands an end to the federal deployment entirely.
Trump responded by dispatching Tom Homan to take personal control of Minneapolis operations. According to The Post, Homan will manage ICE on the ground and coordinate with investigators. The president also called Governor Tim Walz after spending days attacking him.
The about-face was stunning. Trump moved from blaming Walz for the violence to declaring they were on a “similar wavelength.” He announced Walz was “happy” about Homan’s deployment. The governor’s office described the call as “productive” but made clear their demands: independent investigations into both killings and reduced federal presence in the state.
Trump agreed to consider both requests, according to Walz’s office.
Yet even as Trump tried damage control, Leavitt blamed Democrats. She insisted the tragedy resulted from “deliberate and hostile resistance by Democrat leaders in Minnesota for weeks.” The administration can’t decide whether to retreat or double down.
This confusion flows from a deeper problem. The Trump deportation machine was designed for spectacle, not competence. It prioritizes viral videos over due process, political loyalty over professional judgment and aggressive posturing over constitutional rights.
Now Americans are dying for that spectacle.
Homeland Security confirmed it’s preserving body camera footage, according to The Post. That footage will tell us exactly what happened in those final moments. It will show whether federal agents followed protocol or committed murder.
But we already know the most important truth. Two American citizens are dead. The administration lied about both of them. Those lies came from Trump’s most senior officials and were repeated throughout the government.
When video proved the lies false, the White House offered thoughts and prayers instead of accountability.
This is not immigration enforcement. This is state violence against American citizens exercising constitutional rights. This is what happens when authoritarian impulses meet incompetent execution.
Even Republicans can see it now.
