Tag: police shootings

In Senate Testimony on DHS Shootings, Kristi Noem Lies About Her Lies

After Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employees fatally shot Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti on January 24, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem claimed he was “brandishing” a gun and “attacked those officers.” She also said Pretti “committed an act of domestic terrorism.”

None of that was true, as bystander video immediately showed. But when given the opportunity to correct the record during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday, Noem instead lied about what she had said. Her obfuscation and dishonesty provoked angry rebukes not only from the Democrats on the committee but also from Sen. Thom Tillis (R–N.C.), who reiterated his recommendation that she resign.

“I did not call [Pretti] a domestic terrorist,” Noem told Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D–Minn.). “I said it appeared to be an incident of [domestic terrorism].” Noem offered the same revisionist account when Sen. John Kennedy (R–La.) asked her about the “domestic terrorism” label. “In answer to questions at the press conference that afternoon,” she said, “it was that it appeared to be” domestic terrorism.

Here is what Noem actually said on the day of the shooting: “When you perpetuate violence against a government because of ideological reasons and for reasons to resist and perpetuate violence, that is the definition of domestic terrorism. This individual, who came with weapons and ammunition to stop a law enforcement operation of federal law enforcement officers, committed an act of domestic terrorism. That’s the facts.”

Those were not, in fact, the facts. Videos showed that Pretti never “attacked those officers” and never drew his holstered pistol, which he was licensed to carry. The officers did not even notice the gun until after they tackled him, and he had been disarmed by the time the shooting started. Yet Noem did not merely say Pretti “appeared to be” a domestic terrorist, which would have been bad enough; she asserted, flat out, that he was a domestic terrorist.

By contrast, the official DHS statement about the incident hedged a bit. “This looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement,” it said.

Initial impressions are often wrong, of course, which is why it was reckless to describe Pretti as a would-be mass murderer just a couple of hours after he was shot. That is especially true because the only basis for that characterization was the self-interested account of the same immigration agents whose conduct was at issue.

“We were being relayed information from on the ground from CBP [Customs and Border Protection] agents and officers that were there,” Noem said during a Fox News interview five days after Pretti’s death. “We were using the best information we had at the time.”

Noem reiterated that excuse during Tuesday’s hearing. “We were relying, in the hours after that incident that was so horrific, on information we were getting from the ground from our agents,” she told Klobuchar. “We’re relying on reports from the ground and from agents that are there,” she told Sen. Richard Durbin (D–Ill.). “I was getting reports from the ground from agents at the scene, and I would say that it was a chaotic scene.”

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Panicked Soros DA who Mandated Grand Jury Investigations for Every Officer-Involved Shooting Denies That Police who Stopped Islamic Terrorist Will Face Grand Jury Proceedings Amid Public Pressure After Cops Lawyer Up

The Soros-backed Travis County, Texas, District Attorney is now walking back his post-George Floyd-era policy, which opened the officers involved in the fatal shooting of a terrorist on Sunday to a secret grand jury investigation.

As The Gateway Pundit reported, an Islamic Senegalese man, who obtained citizenship during Obama’s presidency, was shot dead by police after he opened fire on a bar in Austin, Texas, killing two and wounding 14.

Police reportedly also found a Quran in his car, and he was wearing a hoodie that said “Property of Allah” and a shirt that had Iranian representations on it.

The officers who stopped the attack were expected to face an investigation into potential misconduct due to the policy implemented by the Soros-backed DA.

Per the Texas Tribune, “Every shooting involving a police officer in Travis County for the past several years has gone before a grand jury — a policy that District Attorney José Garza has said ensures transparency.”

However, in a statement, Travis County District Attorney José Garza decried “false statements” by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, writing, “it should go without saying that my office is not seeking any charges and would not seek charges.” He further claimed that Republicans in Texas are using the lives lost in the shooting “to score political points.”

Texas State Representative Mitch Little had said in an X post on Monday, “I’m looking forward to hearing more about the [Austin Police] officers who heroically stopped the terrorist. We should be honoring them as a state, and they shouldn’t be going out wondering if they’re going to be indicted for doing their jobs. We need a cultural reset.”

And Texas attorney Doug O’Connell then revealed that the Austin Police Association had already asked his firm, O’Connell West, to represent the officers. O’Connell said in a comment, “Unfortunately they will face a Grand Jury hearing – as is the process directed to the Travis County DA by the Wren Collective. We will be with them every step of the way. Rep Little I’d be happy to visit with you about Grand Jury reform!”

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No Major Network Is Going to Say This About Trans People and ICE…But It’s True

This is a controversial statement that no major network would openly state, but it’s true: in 2026, more people have been shot by transgender individuals than by ICE agents. The Left is increasingly opposing federal immigration enforcement efforts across the country, aiming to prevent law enforcement from detaining and deporting individuals who shouldn’t be here. In January, two people in Minneapolis, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, wrongly attempted to interfere with these operations and paid dearly for it—Good hit a federal agent with her car and was shot in the face.

Meanwhile, the recent mass shootings committed by transgenders at schools, and recently, a hockey game in Rhode Island, have led to more fatalities and injuries than ICE. Kyle Rittenhouse posted this, though others have made similar observations, and it’ll likely trigger liberals.

Good. Stop acting crazy and get your people in line. Their insanity is becoming a public safety concern.

Now, if you just count those who have been killed, well, some are arguing that ICE and trans folks have killed the same number of people in 2026 thus far, which stands at five. That figure is bound to change, given how unhinged the Left is, however. 

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Mar-a-Lago shotgun-wielding madman ID’d as Austin Tucker Martin, a North Carolina golf course artist

The crazed gunman who was shot dead after trying to enter Mar-a-Lago with a shotgun and a gas can has been identified as a North Carolina artist who was reported missing by his mom.

Austin Tucker Martin, 21, of Cameron, North Carolina, was killed by law enforcement in the early hours of Sunday morning, law enforcement sources told The Post.

He was reported missing by his family to authorities on Saturday.

Officials are still investigating whether he bought the gun en route to Florida.

Trump was not at Mar-a-Lago at the time; he was at the White House. On Saturday night, he and first lady Melania hosted the Governors’ Dinner, which Democratic governors appear to have boycotted.

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Fixated On Epstein Files Week Before Shooting

The armed man shot and killed by Secret Service agents outside President Donald Trump‘s Mar-a-Lago property Sunday had grown increasingly obsessed with the Epstein files and was also a vocal supporter of Trump … TMZ has learned.

Austin Tucker Martin sent a text message, obtained by TMZ, to a co-worker on February 15, 2026, that read, “I don’t know if you read up on the Epstein Files, but evil is real and unmistakable.” He continued, “The best people like you and I can do is use what little influence we have. Tell other people about what you hear about the Epstein files and what the government is doing about it. Raise awareness.”

Sources who worked with Austin at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club in North Carolina tell TMZ … he became fixated on Epstein following the latest release of information tied to the files. Co-workers tell us he was deeply disturbed by what he believed was a government cover-up and often talked about powerful people “getting away with it.”

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Armed man shot and killed after ‘unauthorized entry’ into Mar-a-Lago: Secret Service

A man in his early 20s was shot and killed early Sunday after allegedly breaching the secure perimeter of President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, FLorida, the U.S. Secret Service announced.

The Secret Service said the incident occurred around 1:30 a.m. when the suspect made an “unauthorized entry” at the property.

The individual was observed near the north gate carrying what appeared to be a shotgun and a fuel can.

Agents and a deputy from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office confronted the man who was pronounced dead at the scene. 

No Secret Service or Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office personnel were injured, and no Secret Service protectees were present at the property at the time, officials said.

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Inside Minneapolis’s ICE Watch Network

In less than a month, two “ICE watchers” have been shot and killed by immigration enforcement agents in Minneapolis. On January 24, a federal agent shot and killed 37-year-old Alex Pretti, a Veterans Affairs ICU nurse. His death follows that of Renée Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, who was killed on January 7.

Both Pretti and Good participated in “ICE watching,” an anti-immigration-enforcement tactic that can involve tracking ICE agents, filming arrests, and alerting other activists of enforcement actions. While participants frame ICE watching as a “community safety” measure, these tactics often place untrained civilians in direct, high-stakes confrontation with armed federal agents.

In Minneapolis, one key organizer of these activities is “Defend the 612.” The group, the membership of which apparently included Renee Good, oversees a massive network of Signal chats dedicated to monitoring and protesting ICE activity. It has become the beating heart of the city’s resistance to federal immigration enforcement. (The group’s name refers to the Minneapolis area code.)

City Journal reviewed Defend the 612’s trainings, entered its Signal network, and traced its organizational support. Our reporting reveals that members and related officials have encouraged protesters to impede law enforcement; pushed civilians toward legally and physically risky confrontations; and helped mobilize a counterprotest that turned violent.

The group’s growth threatens to stoke the city’s already-raging fire.

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Of Lies and Surges

Two headlines caught my eye this AM in my email media stream.

From the New York Times: “How the Trump Administration Rushed to Judgment in Minneapolis Shooting”

There was no “judgment” displayed in the execution of Alex Pretti. The Trump administration blatantly, maliciously, and viciously lied about what happened. Video evidence incontrovertibly shows that the Trump administration lied. Period.

Trump officials simply didn’t and don’t care about the truth. About justice. About the life of a U.S. citizen. They only care about their own petty lives and violent narratives. Anyone who gets in their way is a potential “domestic terrorist.” They’re sending a loud message clearly: resist us and you’ll end up bloodied in the streets – and maybe dead.

All governments lie, as I.F. Stone famously reminded us. But rarely can I remember lies of such obvious viciousness about regular people whose only real crime is exercising their right to dissent in democracy.

The other headline was this one from the Boston Globe: “Maine and Minnesota: A tricky tale of ICE surges in two states.”

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Two CBP Agents Identified in Alex Pretti Shooting

The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez.

The records viewed by ProPublica list Ochoa, 43, and Gutierrez, 35, as the shooters during the deadly encounter last weekend that left Pretti dead and ignited massive protests and calls for criminal investigations.

Both men were assigned to Operation Metro Surge, an immigration enforcement dragnet launched in December that sent scores of armed and masked agents across the city.

CBP, which employs both men, has so far refused to release their names and has disclosed few other facts about the deadly incident, which came days after a different immigration agent shot and killed another Minneapolis protester, a 37-year-old mother of three named Renee Good.

Pretti’s killing, and the subsequent secrecy surrounding the agents involved, comes as the country confronts the consequences of President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown. The sweeps in cities across the country have been marked by scenes of violence, against immigrants and U.S. citizens, by agents allowed to hide their identities with masks — an almost unheard of practice in law enforcement. As a result, the public has been kept from one of the chief ways it has to hold officers involved in such altercations accountable: their identity.

Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers have called for a transparent investigation into the killing of Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care unit nurse working at a Department of Veterans Affairs hospital.

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FBI Takes Over Investigation of Alex Pretti Shooting

The FBI is now leading the probe into the shooting of Alex Pretti, the Minneapolis resident killed Saturday by Border Patrol officers, the Department of Homeland Security said Friday.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem first disclosed the shift during a Fox News interview Thursday evening. Her department said earlier this week that Homeland Security Investigations, a unit within the department, would be heading the investigation.

“We will continue to follow the investigation that the FBI is leading and giving them all the information that they need to bring that to conclusion, and make sure that the American people know the truth of the situation and how we can go forward and continue to protect the American people,” Noem said, speaking to Fox host Sean Hannity.

Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin confirmed Friday that the FBI will lead the Pretti probe and that HSI will support them. Separately, Customs and Border Protection, which is part of DHS, is doing its own internal investigation into the shooting, during which two officers opened fire on Pretti.

DHS did not immediately respond to questions about when the change was made or why. The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

It was also not immediately clear whether the FBI would now share information and evidence with Minnesota state investigators, who have thus far been frozen out of the federal probe.

In the same interview, Noem appeared to distance herself from statements she made shortly after the shooting, claiming Pretti had brandished a handgun and aggressively approached officers.

Multiple videos that emerged of the shooting contradicted that claim, showing the intensive care nurse had only his mobile phone in his hand as officers tackled him to the ground, with one removing a handgun from the back of Pretti’s pants as another officer began firing shots into his back.

Pretti had a state permit to legally carry a concealed firearm. At no point did he appear to reach for it, the videos showed.

“I know you realize that situation was very chaotic, and that we were being relayed information from on the ground from CBP agents and officers that were there,” Noem said during the interview with Hannity on Thursday. “We were using the best information we had at the time, seeking to be transparent with the American people and get them what we knew to be true on the ground.”

The change comes after two other videos emerged Wednesday of an earlier altercation between Pretti and federal immigration officers 11 days before his death.

The Jan. 13 videos show Pretti in a winter coat, yelling at federal vehicles and at one point appearing to spit before kicking out the taillight of one vehicle. A struggle ensues between Pretti and several officers, during which he is forced to the ground. Pretti’s winter coat comes off, and he either breaks free or the officers let him go and he scurries away.

When he turns his back to the camera, what appears to be a handgun is visible in his waistband. At no point do the videos show Pretti reaching for the gun, and it is not clear whether federal agents saw it.

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