Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche on Jan. 25 responded to calls from local Minnesota Democratic officials to halt immigration operations following the shooting of a protester by federal immigration officers in the state.
Blanche expressed sympathy for the victim’s family but emphasized the role of local leadership in preventing the tragedy. “We feel a ton of sympathy for the family and friends of the deceased, but make no mistake about it, this was entirely avoidable if we had a governor, if we had a mayor, if we had leadership in Washington and over Minnesota that actually cared about their citizens, this would never have happened, because there would be law enforcement on the streets helping ICE,” Blanche told NBC News.
The man who was killed has been identified as Alex Pretti, 37, who participated in protests against federal immigration enforcement efforts in Minneapolis. Following the shooting, tensions escalated as protesters clashed with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers at the scene.
The Minnesota National Guard assisted local police under the direction of Governor Tim Walz, with troops deployed to both the shooting site and a nearby federal building frequently targeted by protesters. In response, Walz, a Democrat, called on the Trump administration to end the federal immigration operation in Minneapolis. “Minnesota has had it. This is sickening,” he wrote on X on Jan. 24. “Pull the thousands of violent, untrained officers out of Minnesota. Now.”
Blanche, commenting on video footage of the incident, said several ICE officers were “surrounding” Pretti when a violent interaction occurred, resulting in the shooting. “The video—no matter how many times you look at it, no matter how many different angles that we see, there’s a lot that we don’t see,” he said. “And that’s exactly why you have to have an investigation, which is exactly what [Homeland Security] is doing, and exactly what we would hope that they would do. But you can’t tell exactly what happened. … ICE has a very tough job. It is very hard when they’re walking, trying to do their job, and there are agitators and rioters everywhere. These men and women are not protesting. They are not peacefully protesting.”
A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson, Tricia McLaughlin, said officers fired “defensive shots” after a man with a handgun approached them and “violently resisted” when they tried to disarm him. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem added that Pretti had attempted to obstruct a law enforcement operation.
On social media, President Donald Trump criticized Governor Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey for not deploying resources to manage the protests. He shared images of the recovered firearm and defended the federal agents involved. “What is that all about? Where are the local Police? Why weren’t they allowed to protect ICE Officers?” Trump wrote. He also cited ongoing DOJ cases related to Medicaid fraud and other alleged financial crimes in Minnesota as justification for federal intervention.
Attempts by The Epoch Times to contact the offices of Walz and Frey for comment were unsuccessful by the time of publication.
