As fallout from the ICE shooting in Minneapolis grows, DHS leaders face scrutiny over conflicting claims and use of force
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is chalking up her actions in office to the direction of President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller.
Noem, Miller, and others in the administration have faced backlash over their description of the circumstances surrounding federal agents shooting and killing 37-year-old Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday. Noem and others claimed Pretti wanted to “massacre” agents before the confrontation. Administration officials have pointed out the fact that Pretti was armed as proof of his malicious intentions, but Second Amendment activists have consistently pushed back against this.
Pretti’s death followed an ICE agent shooting and killing 37-year-old mother Renee Good in the same city earlier this month. The city is currently suing the administration over ICE’s deployment.
Miller previously referred to Pretti as an “assassin.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called Miller one of the president’s closest allies amid rumors of a rift between Noem and Miller.
“Stephen Miller is one of President Trump’s most trusted and longest-serving aides. The president loves Stephen,” she said.
“Everything I’ve done, I’ve done at the direction of the president and Stephen,” Noem reportedly said to someone who relayed her comment to Axios.
The report from Axios suggests there was a great amount of confusion surrounding Pretti’s death in the White House. Officials told the outlet that Border Patrol officers told the White House that Pretti brandished a gun before being shot, but this claim is contradicted by video evidence. Some White House officials reportedly took issue with the official statement coming out, as they were not briefed on all of the details surrounding the shooting before it was published.
“Others within the White House attempted to clean up the DHS statement prior to it being sent, but it had already been disseminated,” a source familiar with the situation told Axios.
