Border Patrol chief praises agents who killed Alex Pretti
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Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino looks on during a press conference on Jan. 22 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Photo: Stephen Maturen/Getty Images
Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino praised federal agents who fatally shot Minneapolis nurse Alex Pretti, insisting without explanation or evidence Sunday that Pretti was "there for a reason."
The big picture: For the second time this month, videos of a Minnesota resident being shot by federal agents contradict the narrative federal officials pushed. Both times, officials doubled down with ramped-up rhetoric.
Driving the news: "The suspect put himself in that situation," Bovino said on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday. "The victims are the Border Patrol agents there."
- Federal officials said DHS officers were conducting a targeted operation against an undocumented immigrant when the confrontation occurred.
- Videos from multiple angles show Pretti filming a scene where civilians encounter federal agents. An agent shoves a person to the ground before spraying Pretti with a chemical irritant.
- Officers wrestle Pretti to the ground and appear to remove a gun from his waist. Then shots ring out.
- The Department of Homeland Security claimed without evidence Pretti was there to "massacre law enforcement."
Friction point: CNN's Dana Bash repeatedly pushed Bovino for evidence to support that claim Sunday. Instead, he said without offering new details that officers prevented "any specific shootings" of law enforcement.
- He added, "So, good job for our law enforcement in taking him down before he was able to do that."
- Bash asked for evidence Pretti went after law enforcement or was trying to impede their operation. Bovino said Pretti injected himself into "an active law enforcement scene."
- Bovino also offered no evidence to show Pretti brandished a weapon, as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem suggested.
State of play: Bovino complained about "freeze-frame adjudication" of the incident, but claimed Pretti came to the scene "for a reason."
- Bovino refused to weigh in on footage showing an officer disarming Pretti before shooting him, saying, "we don't know that agent was taking any gun away."
- Bovino was adamant Pretti assaulted law enforcement officers who were trying to de-escalate the situation, despite the contradictory video evidence.
What we're watching: Gov. Tim Walz said Saturday the state will conduct its own investigation and blasted the administration's initial account as "lies."
- But DHS blocked local agents from the scene, Minnesota's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said.
- A federal judge granted a temporary restraining order to prevent federal agents from destroying or altering evidence, including evidence feds already removed.
Go deeper: Gun rights groups challenge shooting of legally armed Minneapolis man
