President Trump called Alex Pretti, the nurse who was one of two Americans fatally shot by federal agents in Minneapolis this month, an “agitator” and possibly an “insurrectionist” in a social media post early Friday, repeating efforts by his administration to blame the victims of the shootings.
Mr. Trump posted his comments on social media after videos gained attention showing Mr. Pretti in a confrontation with federal agents at a protest 11 days before he was killed. Mr. Pretti is seen spitting and cursing at some agents and kicking a taillight on one of their S.U.V.s before agents push him to the ground.
In a Truth Social post on Friday, Mr. Trump wrote: “Agitator and, perhaps, insurrectionist, Alex Pretti’s stock has gone way down with the just released video of him screaming and spitting in the face of a very calm and under control ICE Officer.”
Mr. Pretti’s parents and sister have condemned what they say are lies that Trump administration officials have spread about Mr. Pretti. They have described him as a good man who helped treat sick people at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Minneapolis.
Witness videos of Mr. Pretti’s earlier altercation from Jan. 13 and from the moments leading up to his killing on Jan. 24 contradict federal officials’ claims that he wanted to “massacre” law enforcement officers. Mr. Pretti was carrying a firearm when he was killed, but no evidence has emerged that he used it to attack officers. It is not against Minnesota law to bring a firearm to a protest.
After the videos from Jan. 13 were widely publicized on Wednesday, a lawyer for Mr. Pretti’s family, Steve Schleicher, said: “A week before Alex was gunned down in the street — despite posing no threat to anyone — he was violently assaulted.” He added: “Nothing that happened a full week before could possibly have justified Alex’s killing.”
The Trump administration has faced an intense backlash over its immigration crackdown in Minnesota, during which federal agents killed Mr. Pretti and, earlier this month, Renee Good.
The Trump administration has largely portrayed the shootings as justified and defended federal agents’ aggressive tactics. Even as Mr. Trump said earlier this week that he wanted to “de-escalate” the situation in Minnesota, he referred to anti-ICE demonstrators as “paid insurrectionists” and “paid agitators” without offering evidence. Though he called Mr. Pretti’s death “a very unfortunate incident,” he appeared to blame the 37-year-old for his death, saying: “You can’t walk in with guns.”
Tom Homan, sent by Mr. Trump to Minnesota to oversee the crackdown, acknowledged on Thursday that the operation needed to be “fixed” and that not “everything that has been done here has been perfect.”
Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs contributed reporting.
John Yoon is a Times reporter based in Seoul who covers breaking and trending news.
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