Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is one of many Trump administration officials who have called the victims of recent officer-involved shootings in Minnesota domestic terrorists, but the jury is still out on whether Renee Good and Alex Pretti fit that definition.
The two high-profile shootings have come amid heightened tensions between immigration enforcement and local protesters, whose actions often provoke federal officers into taking lethal action. Whether their actions were justified remains up for debate pending investigations into the incidents, but the Trump administration is doubling down on its immigration operation in the blue state.
After being asked if President Donald Trump agrees with Noem’s description of 37-year-old Pretti, killed by Border Patrol agents Saturday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “I have not heard the president characterize Mr. Pretti in that way.”
Joining Noem in labeling Good and Pretti “domestic terrorists” is White House official Stephen Miller, who caught flak from lawmakers for ascribing malicious intent to Pretti’s actions prior to his death.
Pretti, an ICU nurse, carried a registered handgun during the incident and “violently resisted” law enforcement, according to the Department of Homeland Security. A Border Patrol agent, who allegedly feared for his own life and the lives of his fellow officers, then fatally shot the man.
The DHS chief is using the anti-government violent extremist definition for domestic terrorism, according to University of New Haven criminal justice professor Kenneth Gray.
“This threat encompasses the potentially unlawful use or threat of force or violence in furtherance of ideological agendas, derived from anti-government or anti-authority sentiment, including opposition to perceived economic, social, or racial hierarchies, or perceived government overreach, negligence, or illegitimacy,” the department says in a 2020 document on the definition of anti-government violent extremism, which qualifies as one of the many types of domestic terrorism.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche bluntly disagreed with Noem and Miller, refusing to make a judgment about whether Pretti was a domestic terrorist so as not to “prejudice the fact.”
“I don’t think anybody thinks that they were comparing what happened on Saturday to the legal definition of domestic terrorism,” Blanche said during an appearance on Fox & Friends, directly contradicting Noem and Miller.
Gray previously told the Washington Examiner that an investigation will have to determine whether the victim’s actions actually meet that definition. His comments were made shortly after this month’s shooting that killed Good, but they also apply to the killing of Pretti.
When reviewing such a case, a court will have to determine whether an alleged domestic terrorist’s actions were meant to intimidate a civilian population, influence government policy, or affect government conduct based on the legal definition of domestic terrorism under the Patriot Act. Proof of intent to commit a dangerous or violent act in furtherance of an ideological goal is required in this instance.
While it remains to be seen if Good and Pretti fit that legal definition, the Trump administration will likely argue they do meet the standard based on the events leading up to both shootings.
In the initial incident earlier this month, Good was in her vehicle when ICE officers approached in an unmarked truck. At one point, she was told to exit the vehicle. Refusing to comply, she started driving forward while one officer was standing in front of the car. The officer was later found to have suffered internal bleeding after her vehicle hit his torso. The officer then discharged three shots, one of which penetrated the windshield and hit Good in the head, as confirmed by the autopsy.
In the latter situation, Pretti was helping a person stand up after they were pushed to the ground by a Border Patrol agent. While recording the incident, the ICU nurse was pepper-sprayed and found himself surrounded by several agents who pinned him to the ground. An agent then allegedly pulled a handgun from Pretti’s hip moments before multiple shots were fired.
Video footage of the encounter paints a slightly different picture than the Trump administration’s account of events.
DHS posted a photo of the 9-millimeter semi-automatic handgun on social media, making it sound like Pretti aimed the gun at federal law enforcement before he was shot. In support of this narrative, the department said it appeared he “wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.”
DHS has repeatedly said officers fired “defensive” shots in similar situations, including a car chase involving an illegal Venezuelan national earlier this month. The man was shot in the leg but survived.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) is leading Republican lawmakers in calling for a “thorough and impartial” investigation into the officer-involved shooting that killed Pretti.
Leavitt announced the FBI, DHS, and Border Patrol will all be conducting independent investigations into Pretti’s murder. Trump told the Wall Street Journal that his administration is “reviewing everything” about the shooting and “will come out with a determination” eventually.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said he is dispatching White House border czar Tom Homan later Monday to report directly back to him about the situation.
The agents involved in Saturday’s fatal tumult were reassigned out of Minneapolis to “other locations,” according to Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino.
As for Good’s death, the federal government has declined to open a criminal civil rights investigation into that officer’s actions. Instead, the federal investigation is reportedly focused more on Good’s actions and her romantic partner. The inquiry has caused division within federal ranks, leading to resignations of at least one FBI agent and several prosecutors with the U.S. attorney’s office in Minnesota.