White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller suggested that federal agents were “not following protocol” before the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, marking a shift in messaging after days in which the Trump administration had defended the incident as justified.
— Katie Miller (@KatieMiller) January 27, 2026
In a statement provided to The New York Times, Miller said the White House had issued “clear guidance” to the Department of Homeland Security that federal agents deployed as part of the administration’s immigration crackdown be used to protect “arrest teams” from people he described as “disruptors.” He added, “We are evaluating why the CBP team may not have been following that protocol,” referring to officers from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The comments came after Miller and other Trump administration officials had characterized Pretti, a 37-year-old Minneapolis resident, as a “domestic terrorist” and an “assassin” who had attempted to kill federal agents, despite a lack of evidence. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem similarly said that Pretti had brandished a firearm and intended to inflict “maximum damage on individuals and to kill law enforcement.”
A domestic terrorist tried to assassinate federal law enforcement and this is your response? You and the state’s entire Democrat leadership team have been flaming the flames of insurrection for the singular purpose of stopping the deportation of illegals who invaded the country. https://t.co/tCQiGKo1Qo
— Stephen Miller (@StephenM) January 24, 2026
A New York Times analysis of video footage contradicted those claims, showing that Pretti was holding a phone, not a gun, when federal agents pinned him to the ground before shooting him. A preliminary review by CBP’s internal watchdog also did not find that Pretti had brandished a weapon. Miller said the department’s initial assessment had been “based on reports from CBP on the ground.”
The killing of Pretti, who worked as a nurse in the intensive care unit at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Minneapolis, has prompted public outrage and renewed protests over the federal immigration enforcement campaign. Trump initially told Fox News that he might “de-escalate” the operation but later, at a rally in Iowa, described those arrested in Minnesota as “hardened, vicious, horrible criminals” and referred to anti-ICE demonstrators as “paid insurrectionists,” remarks that have drawn criticism for inflaming tensions.
The administration has drawn similar scrutiny over the Jan. 7 killing of Renee Good, a Minneapolis woman shot by ICE agent Jonathan Ross. President Trump called the shooting self-defense, while local and state officials disputed that account. New York Times analysis of the incident found no evidence that Ross had been run over, as claimed by the administration.
Miller’s statement signals a subtle acknowledgment that federal law enforcement actions in Minnesota may not have fully adhered to protocol, even as the administration continues to defend its broader immigration enforcement policies.
