President Donald Trump responded Saturday afternoon to reports of a fatal shooting in Minneapolis involving federal agents and a 37-year-old man, using Truth Social to accuse Minnesota leaders of stoking unrest and to claim the incident was being used to obscure alleged financial wrongdoing.
“Much of what you’re witnessing is a COVER UP for this Theft and Fraud,” Trump wrote, blasting local and state officials and asserting that “Billions of Dollars” have been stolen from Minnesota and the United States.
The Context
Federal officials said the shooting occurred during what the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) described as a “targeted operation.” According to DHS statements, the man allegedly approached U.S. Border Patrol officers with a handgun and resisted violently. Agents said one officer opened fire. Medical responders attempted lifesaving measures at the scene, but the man was pronounced dead shortly afterward.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara told reporters the victim was believed to be an American citizen and said he had no criminal history beyond traffic citations. O’Hara also said the man legally owned a firearm. Authorities have not formally released the victim’s name, though the Minneapolis Star Tribune identified him as Alex Jeffrey Pretti. State records cited in the report indicate Pretti had a nursing license issued in 2021 that remained active through 2026.
What Trump Said
Trump demanded on Truth Social that Americans “LET OUR ICE PATRIOTS DO THEIR JOB!”
In a longer post, he claimed federal agents were forced to protect themselves and questioned why local police were not involved, suggesting—without offering evidence—that city and state leaders “called them off.”
“This is the gunman’s gun, loaded (with two additional full magazines!), and ready to go – What is that all about?” Trump wrote, while also accusing Minnesota leaders of “inciting Insurrection, with their pompous, dangerous, and arrogant rhetoric!”
He then pivoted back to allegations of corruption, writing: “We are there because of massive Monetary Fraud, with Billions of Dollars missing… We want the money back, and we want it back, NOW.”
Trump also claimed that “12,000 Illegal Alien Criminals, many of them violent, have been arrested and taken out of Minnesota,” and argued that if they had not been removed, “you would see something far worse than you are witnessing today!”
Minutes later, he posted again, doubling down: “AMONG OTHER THINGS, THIS IS A ‘COVER UP’ FOR THE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS THAT HAVE BEEN STOLEN FROM THE ONCE GREAT STATE (BUT SOON TO BE GREAT AGAIN!) OF MINNESOTA! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP”
What Others Are Saying
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz wrote on X that he had spoken with the White House after “another horrific shooting by federal agents,” calling the situation “sickening” and urging the president to “end this operation” and “pull the thousands of violent, untrained officers out of Minnesota. Now.”
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, speaking at a Saturday press conference, called on Trump to end the operation, arguing it was not making the city safer. He compared the tactics to operations seen “in other places, in other countries,” and said he was done hearing that local officials or community members were responsible for the “vitriol in our streets.”
The Border Patrol Union, in a statement posted on X, defended agents’ training and said there would be “severe consequences” if someone brings and brandishes a loaded handgun during a confrontation. The union also blamed what it described as “irresponsible, hate-filled and false rhetoric” from media and politicians for escalating tensions, and said it was confident agents would ultimately be shown to have used justifiable force.
