Utah Republican Sen. Curtis slams Noem and seeks review of Minneapolis shooting
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Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah) attends a December hearing at the Capitol. Photo: Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
Utah Sen. John Curtis on Monday called for an independent investigation into the fatal shooting of ICU nurse Alex Pretti by a federal immigration agent in Minneapolis this weekend.
The latest: Curtis, a Republican, also condemned statements from the Department of Homeland Security and embattled Secretary Kristi Noem, who called Pretti a domestic terrorist and speculated hours after his death that he "wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement."
- Video from the scene contradicts details from the Trump administration — for the second time this month.
The intrigue: Curtis' statement marks a departure from his position on Sunday, when he called on Americans to show "restraint" and "rely on a legal process designed to uncover the truth" in the shooting's aftermath.
- "Wait for the investigation" had become a mantra among many elected Republicans and conservative media personalities over the weekend, despite skeptics' growing doubts that DHS will conduct thorough and unbiased investigation of the shooting.
Driving the news: "You've trusted me, and maintaining that trust matters. … We must have a transparent, independent investigation into the Minnesota shooting … Officials who rush to judgment before all the facts are known undermine public trust and the law-enforcement mission," Curtis posted.
- "I disagree with Secretary Noem's premature DHS response, which came before all the facts were known and weakened confidence," he wrote, adding that he would work with Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) and other senators to demand oversight.
Between the lines: Curtis' statement comes after other Republicans' calls for an independent investigation, but he was early among them to single out Noem by name.
- Curtis' Monday statement came an hour after Axios asked his office why he believed the DHS' investigations into its own agents would substantially add to the conclusions the department already said it reached. His office declined to comment further.
Catch up quick: After DHS officials defended its agents, the department assumed control over the investigation, assisted by the FBI.
- Typically, the Department of Justice's Office of Civil Rights and the FBI lead federal use-of-force reviews.
Context: Historically, uses of deadly force by federal agents have also been reviewed by local or state agencies alongside the federal government.
- But in Minnesota, that relationship has fallen apart. Local and state agencies say federal investigators have blocked them from crucial evidence and tried to prevent them from securing the scene on Saturday.
- A judge on Sunday ordered the DHS and FBI not to destroy evidence. The Trump administration called any suggestion of tampering "a ridiculous attempt to divide the American people."
Flashback: After the fatal shooting of Renee Good on Jan. 7, state investigators were cut off from the investigation.
- Trump officials later said a federal review of the Good shooting was unnecessary, and they continue to deny Minnesota officials access to evidence they'd routinely use to investigate a law enforcement shooting.
- An FBI agent and six federal prosecutors have resigned from the DOJ over the Trump administration's push to investigate Good and her widow rather than the immigration agent who fired the shots.
Zoom out: As of Monday, Sen. Mike Lee was the only other member of Utah's congressional delegation who had weighed in on Saturday's shooting and its fallout, posting "Send in the guard" and "Invoke the Insurrection Act" on X.