WASHINGTON — President Trump and top officials blamed Dem Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey for “inciting” anti-ICE protesters, including Alex Pretti — drawing a line between the chaos in the Twins Cities and the Trump admin’s investigation of massive benefits fraud in the state.
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said the Trump administration began its massive immigration crackdown in Minnesota in response to the stagging welfare scandal the focused on the Somali immigrant community.
“We saw a resistance in Minneapolis like we haven’t seen anywhere else in this country,” Noem told Fox News’ “The Sunday Briefing. “In fact, encouraged by the governor at press conferences to go out and take to the streets and to resist law enforcement.”
“It really is [an] irresponsibility that we haven’t seen out of someone in any other state.”
Border Patrol commander-at-large Gregory Bovino similarly raised concerns about local Democrats’ rhetoric in the run-up to the shooting of Pretti.
“Was he [Pretti] there for a reason? Did he fall victim to that violent and heated rhetoric by Mayor Frey and Gov. Walz?” Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino rhetorically asked on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday.
After the shooting Saturday, President Trump raged at Frey and Walz.
“The Mayor and the Governor are inciting Insurrection, with their pompous, dangerous, and arrogant rhetoric!” Trump fumed on Truth Social. “These sanctimonious political fools should be looking for the Billions of Dollars that [have] been stolen from the people of Minnesota, and the United States.”
Trump’s use of the phrase “inciting Insurrection” sparked speculation that the president has been mulling whether or not to invoke the Insurrection Act in Minneapolis, which would enable him to deploy the military to the beleaguered city.
The Insurrection Act was last used in 1992 in response to the rioting in Los Angeles over the beating of Rodney King Jr.
Noem deferred to Trump when asked whether or not he would invoke the Insurrection Act.
Pretti, 37, had been armed with a 9mm handgun that he had a permit to carry and was pinned to the ground by multiple Border Patrol agents during the fateful Saturday encounter.
Footage showed one officer removing his firearm moments before two Border agents opened fire, killing Pretti.
An investigation into the ordeal is underway, according to Noem and Bovino, neither of whom clarified whether or not Pretti was armed with another weapon after he was pinned down and had the 9mm pistol confiscated.
“I’m grieved for them. I truly am. I can’t even imagine losing a child,” Noem said when asked about Pretti’s family. “We can’t have individuals that are impeding law enforcement operations and then showing up with guns and weapons.”
Earlier this month, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sparked a national outcry following the Jan. 7 shooting of Renee Good, also 37, who accelerated her SUV in the direction of an officer before he opened fire.
The shooting of Pretti sparked fierce backlash from Democrats and some unease from conservatives.
“Responsible public voices should be awaiting a full investigation, not making generalizations and demonizing law-abiding citizens,” the National Rifle Association shot back in response to a federal prosecutor in California suggesting that there’s a reasonable risk of getting shot if one carries a gun towards law enforcement.
The NRA also echoed Trump’s, Noem’s, and Bovino’s concerns about the rhetoric from Democrats in Minnesota.
“For months, radical progressive politicians like Tim Walz have incited violence against law enforcement officers who are simply trying to do their jobs,” The NRA said in a statement.
“Unsurprisingly, these calls to dangerously interject oneself into legitimate law-enforcement activities have ended in violence, tragically resulting in injuries and fatalities.”
The Post contacted reps for Walz and Frey for comment.
“Minnesota believes in law and order. We believe in peace,” Walz declared on X Sunday. “And we believe that Trump needs to pull his 3,000 untrained agents out of Minnesota before they kill another American in the street.”
