A screengrab from a video shows a law enforcement officer spraying irritants at Alex Pretti before he was fatally shot by federal agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 24, 2026. (Reuters)
Blanche noted that the DOJ's Civil Rights Division lawyers would be involved as needed, suggesting the agencies were scrutinizing the officers' actions and whether they were appropriate.
Amy Swearer, a senior legal fellow at Advancing American Freedom who specializes in firearm issues, said some of the initial statements made by members of the Trump administration about Pretti were "so extraordinarily unhelpful" in terms of the public perception about the incident.
Videos circulating online showed a chaotic mix of Border Patrol and Customs and Border Protection agents wrestling Pretti to the ground. After one agent disarmed Pretti by pulling his firearm, which he legally owned and carried, from his waist, he was shot roughly ten times and died at the scene.
"I think it would have been a lot more helpful if the Trump administration had been more careful with their words and had more clearly conveyed that the problem wasn't he publicly carried a firearm in any of his capacity," Swearer said. "It was the fact that — by being armed and then getting into this confrontation with law enforcement — that gun became a factor in the use-of-force analysis."
The Second Amendment conversation was exacerbated by several officials in the Trump administration in the immediate aftermath of the incident, prior to videos and analyses revealing that Pretti had not brandished his weapon and was disarmed at the time he was shot.
A portrait stands at a memorial for Alex Pretti on Jan. 25 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. ( Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Swearer noted that the gun rights conversation that emerged "just confused a lot of people as to why he was shot in the first place."
"It really did turn the broader national conversation into this idea of, ‘Well, this is a Second Amendment issue,’" she said. "It almost conveyed to people that, 'Well, the reason he was shot wasn't because he's physically on the ground with officers.'"
Ashley Oliver is a reporter for Fox News Digital and FOX Business, covering the Justice Department and legal affairs. Email story tips to ashley.oliver@fox.com.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/why-federal-probe-alex-prettis-death-isnt-about-gun-rights