Top DOJ Official Lays Blame With Minnesota Officials, Says Shooting of Protester ‘Entirely Avoidable’

‘No matter how many different angles that we see, there’s a lot that we don’t see. ... And that’s exactly why you have to have an investigation,’ Blanche said.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington on Nov. 19, 2025. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche on Jan. 25 responded to demands from local Minnesota Democratic officials to end immigration operations after the shooting of a protester by federal immigration officials in the state.

“We feel a ton of sympathy for the family and friends of the deceased, but make no mistake about it, this was entirely avoidable if we had a governor, if we had a mayor, if we had leadership in Washington and over Minnesota that actually cared about their citizens, this would never have happened, because there would be law enforcement on the streets helping ICE,” Blanche told NBC News on the morning of Jan. 25.

Family members identified the man who was killed as Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old who was involved in protests against federal immigration enforcement efforts in the city. After the shooting, an angry crowd gathered at the site and protesters clashed with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers.

The Minnesota National Guard was assisting local police at the direction of Gov. Tim Walz, local officials said. Guard troops were sent to both the shooting site and to a federal building where officials have squared off with protesters daily.

Walz, a Democrat, said after the shooting that the Trump administration “must end” the immigration operation in Minneapolis.

“Minnesota has had it. This is sickening,” he wrote on X on Jan. 24.

“Pull the thousands of violent, untrained officers out of Minnesota. Now.”

While commenting on video footage of the shooting, Blanche said that one can see several Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers “surrounding” Pretti, and then there was “a violent interaction with the man, who was shot.”

“The video—no matter how many times you look at it, no matter how many different angles that we see, there’s a lot that we don’t see,” Blanche said. “And that’s exactly why you have to have an investigation, which is exactly what [Homeland Security] is doing, and exactly what we would hope that they would do.

“But you can’t tell exactly what happened. ... ICE has a very tough job. It is very hard when they’re walking, trying to do their job, and there are agitators and rioters everywhere. These men and women are not protesting. They are not peacefully protesting.”

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that federal officers were conducting an operation and fired “defensive shots” after a man with a handgun approached them and “violently resisted” when officers tried to disarm him.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said during a news conference that Pretti had shown up to “impede a law enforcement operation.”

On social media, President Donald Trump responded to the shooting by questioning why Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey did not deploy resources to help with the protests. The president also posted images of the gun that was recovered after the incident and defended the agents involved in the operation.

Trump wrote: “What is that all about? Where are the local Police? Why weren’t they allowed to protect ICE Officers?”

Federal agents have been sent to Minneapolis “because of massive Monetary Fraud, with Billions of Dollars missing, and Illegal Criminals that were allowed” into the state, Trump wrote, referring to Department of Justice cases and allegations involving Medicaid fraud and the defrauding of other forms of public funds in Minnesota.

The Epoch Times contacted Walz’s and Frey’s offices for comment but did not hear back by publication time.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.