Trump administration goes after Second Amendment rights in justifying Minneapolis shooting
A war of words over deeply held beliefs erupted on the political right in the hours after a federal agent shot and killed Alex Pretti on a Minneapolis street Saturday, pitting top officials in President Donald Trump’s administration against Second Amendment defenders in his electoral base.
At the core of the debate is that Pretti — who was permitted to carry a gun in public in Minnesota — had a concealed firearm on his person that eyewitness videos show federal agents apparently discovering and removing during the altercation that led to his death. Videos do not appear to show Pretti holding the weapon during that confrontation.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem sought to justify the killing by asserting at a news conference that Pretti “attacked those officers, had a weapon on him, and multiple dozens of rounds of ammunition, wishing to inflict harm on these officers coming, brandishing like that and impeding their work that they were doing.” No evidence has been provided to back up this account.
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Noem argued that his possession of a firearm demonstrated that he did not intend to remain peaceful.
“I don’t know of any peaceful protester that shows up with a gun and ammunition rather than a sign,” Noem said on Saturday.
On Sunday, when asked on Fox News if it is protocol to use deadly force on a disarmed person, Noem said, “That’s all part of this investigation.”
The attempt to explain Pretti’s killing by noting that he had a gun has also been mentioned by Trump, FBI Director Kash Patel, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and others.
In a few moments, Pretti’s killing turned some Trump supporters, including members of his administration, against generations of conservative orthodoxy on the Second Amendment. At the same time, it appeared to serve as a wake-up call for gun-rights activists that a Republican-run government, not just a Democratic-run one, could infringe on the Second Amendment.
An instructive exchange played out on X. Bill Essayli, a federal prosecutor in California appointed by Attorney General Pam Bondi, infuriated gun-rights activists with a series of posts expressing similar sentiments to Noem’s — “If you approach law enforcement with a gun, there is a high likelihood they will be legally justified in shooting you” — and accusing critics of being members of antifa.
None of that sat well with defenders of the Second Amendment, who are accustomed to having their right to bear arms challenged by Democrats, not Republicans.
“Oh I’m Antifa now?” Aidan Johnston, the director of federal affairs for the Gun Owners of America, wrote on X in response to Essayli. “I guess @TheJusticeDept is back to targeting gun owners as domestic terrorists. You can want illegals & criminals off the streets and not want to see CCW [concealed carry weapons] permit holders get executed for ‘approaching’ law enforcement.”
The National Rifle Association attacked Essayli for “demonizing law-abiding citizens.”
But the group, which has long sparred with Democratic presidents, noticeably held back from criticizing the Trump administration too directly. Instead, in a post on X, it essentially blamed “radical progressive politicians” like Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, for causing the situation, saying they “have incited violence against law enforcement officers who are simply trying to do their jobs.”
Walz and other Democratic leaders have repeatedly called for calm, while noting the destabilizing presence the thousands of federal agents have had on the city.
Dana Loesch, a conservative radio and TV host, wrote on X on Sunday, “Yes, you absolutely can carry at a protest. Anyone who tells you otherwise is an anti-2A [Second Amendment] statist.” She added, however, that people “cannot interrupt a federal op while armed.”
And the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus took issue with Patel saying on Fox News on Sunday, “You cannot bring a firearm, loaded, with multiple magazines to any sort of protest that you want. It’s that simple. You don’t have that right to break the law.”
“This is completely incorrect on Minnesota law. There is no prohibition on a permit holder carrying a firearm, loaded, with multiple magazines at a protest or rally in Minnesota,” the caucus wrote on X.
Asked about the concerns of gun-rights advocates, the White House referred NBC News to remarks made by Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino in a Sunday-morning interview with CNN.
“We respect Second Amendment rights, but those rights don’t count when you riot and assault, delay, obstruct and impede law enforcement officers,” Bovino said.
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