In the wake of the fatal shooting of Minneapolis ICU nurse Alex Pretti by federal agents, MAGA loyalists have rushed to social media and friendly broadcasts to defend the incident.
The spin cycle was already running on Saturday, just hours after Pretti was killed and only 17 days after the shooting death of Renee Good in the same city. The Department of Homeland Security insisted that the victim showed up on the streets on Saturday to “massacre” law enforcement officers.
A Washington Post analysis of a video capturing Pretti’s shooting shows that ICE agents held the Illinois-native to the ground and removed a firearm from a holster near his back. After securing the gun, agents shot Pretti multiple times, killing him.
Despite the video evidence, Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin called Pretti a “deranged individual” during an appearance on Fox News.
“A deranged individual who came in to cause massive damage with a loaded pistol was shot and killed. How much more does it have to go on before the Democrat leaders take responsibility for their words?” Mullin said.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told Fox News that it is an offense in Minnesota to carry a registered firearm without proper ID, an offense punishable by a fine of up to $25.
“He came to that scene and impeded a law enforcement operation, which is against federal law. It’s a felony. He became aggressive and resisted them throughout that process,” Noem added.
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The highly influential right-wing social media account, Catturd, shrugged off the fact that Pretti was a nurse who worked with veterans by pointing out notorious serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer was a medical specialist and an army veteran.
“Liberal media … “He was a nurse!” Yeah, and Jeffrey Dahmer was a medical specialist in the army. What’s your point?” he wrote on Truth Social.
MAGA commentator Mark Levin questioned why Pretti even had a gun in a situation where he knew there would be police operations and possible unrest.
In contrast, Levin previously referred to Kyle Rittenhouse — who also brought a much larger gun into a situation where law enforcement were clashing with protesters — as “absolutely outstanding” for defending himself.
“If this kid hadn’t shot [Joseph] Rosenbaum, he’d be dead. If this kid hadn’t shot [Anthony] Huber, he’d be dead. If this kid hadn’t shot [Gaige] Grosskreutz, he’d be dead.,” Levin said on Fox News in 2021.
Levin then blamed the Democrats for cooperating with ICE.
“None of this would be going on but for the intentional acts of sabotage by local and state Democrat officials who are not only obstructing federal law enforcement but urging on the mobs and inciting violence with the most toxic demagoguery and propaganda,” Levin wrote.
United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told ABC’s Jonathan Karl on This Week on Sunday, “ I’m sorry he is dead, but he did bring a semiautomatic weapon to what was supposed to be a peaceful protest.”
When Karl said that there was no evidence the victim brandished the gun, Bessent doubled down, saying, “But he brought a gun!”
To which Karl responded, “We do have a Second Amendment in this country.”
Meanwhile, Andrew Cherkasky, who served as the first prosecutor for the Air Force’s Special Victims Unit, told Fox News that he believed Pretti had a “death wish” and likened his death to suicide by cop.
“Based on the reports we are hearing in the videos we see, this appears to be essentially a suicide by cop type of scenario,” Cherkasky said. “It has long been known if you’re going to fight with cops and resist in situations that are escalating like this it is a death wish.”
