Bari Weiss’ outlet The Free Press broke with the Trump administration’s public line on the killing of Minneapolis resident Alex Pretti, accusing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem of pushing a story that clashes with what bystander videos show. In an editors’ statement published Sunday, the publication said Noem’s description of the Border Patrol shooting amounted to “reckless lies” and argued officials chose escalation over restraint as investigators review the case.
Noem told reporters Saturday that Pretti was “brandishing” a firearm, “impeded” officers and “attacked them,” then “violently resisted” efforts to disarm him, prompting an agent to fire “defensive shots.” The Free Press responded that multiple videos circulating online appear to show Pretti holding a phone just before agents tackled him, and it faulted the administration for treating an incomplete narrative as settled fact. The editors argued Noem could have pointed to an active investigation and expressed remorse for a citizen’s death instead of locking in a justification.
The fight over the facts has moved into court. A federal judge in Minnesota ordered the Department of Homeland Security to preserve evidence tied to the shooting after state and county officials said federal agents took control of key materials and restricted access at the scene. Investigators are also reviewing body-worn camera footage, and officials have said some agents involved had cameras.
DHS has defended the agent’s actions. Spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin has said Pretti approached officers while armed and resisted detention, and the department has maintained the shooting was a response to a perceived lethal threat. Pretti’s parents have rejected that portrayal, saying he worked as an ICU nurse caring for veterans and died trying to protect a woman during the confrontation.
The episode has sharpened the political pressure around federal immigration operations in Minnesota, drawing calls for transparency from Democrats and some Republicans. Leaders of law-enforcement groups and use-of-force specialists have also questioned the administration’s early characterizations, pointing to video that undercuts claims that Pretti posed an immediate danger at the moment he was shot.
