A clash between the Trump administration and local residents entered a second day over the fatal shooting of a U.S. citizen by a federal immigration enforcement agent in Minnesota. As federal authorities labeled the deceased as "criminal suspects" and shifted blame, backlash and protests grew in the community.
Officials in the Trump administration repeatedly said that those who died in this month's shootings by federal agents were criminal suspects and that their "wrong choices" led to the tragedy. Enraged local residents took to the streets to condemn the Trump administration and federal immigration enforcement.
Gregory Bovino, the commander of the U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) agent who fired shots the previous day, referred to Rene Good, a woman who died on the 7th, and Alex Pretty, a man who died the previous day, as "suspects" at a news conference in Minneapolis on the 25th.
"Two suspects were shot," Bovino said, calling them "suspects who attack the lives of law enforcement officers, or delay, obstruct, or threaten their duties." He added, "When individuals make wrong choices and decisions and intervene in a law enforcement situation, we don't know whether that's based on ideology."
He likened the situation to a bank robbery scene, saying, "Imagine a bank robbery is underway and you're going to enter the scene where police are responding and try to do something," and argued, "That is not a good idea in any form." Bovino also said Border Patrol agents were in fact the victims.
In a CNN interview, Bovino responded to the suggestion that calling Pretty a "suspect" could be seen as blaming the victim by saying, "The victims are the Border Patrol agents," and "The suspect put himself in that situation." He emphasized that "immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis will continue without interruption."
He also warned, "It is an individual's choice to listen to politicians, journalists, or community leaders who disparage law enforcement, and there are consequences," adding, "Those actions and choices can lead to tragic outcomes." CNN noted that Bovino, little known a year ago, has now become a symbolic figure of the Trump administration's immigration enforcement.
President Donald Trump also posted a photo on Truth Social of a handgun believed to have been owned by Pretty, writing that it was "loaded (with two full spare magazines) and ready to fire," bolstering officials' claims that placed responsibility for the incident on the deceased.
Minnesota investigative authorities, meanwhile, pushed back, saying federal authorities are excluding local authorities from the investigation into Pretty's death. The Minnesota authorities filed an emergency injunction the previous day to prevent the destruction of evidence, and a federal court in Minnesota granted it, ordering the preservation of evidence.
According to The New York Times (NYT) and others, about 1,000 protesters gathered in Government Plaza, in downtown Minneapolis, to condemn federal authorities and mourn Pretty's death despite minus 20-degree extreme cold. Passing cars showed support by honking, and protesters chanted, "No more Minnesota nice, Minneapolis will fight back."
Maya Lee, a college student who attended the rally, told the local daily Minnesota Daily, "We no longer feel safe in our city," adding, "We can't tell who is the agent who is supposed to protect us or the intruder who threatens us. Alex was a nurse and someone who helped people. There is no reason he should die this way."
Local media said the protest proceeded peacefully, and there were no forcible crackdowns by authorities or clashes with protesters.