Blanche Refuses to Call Pretti Shooting “Domestic Terrorism” on Fox & Friends
Deputy U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche declined on Fox & Friends Monday to classify the killing of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis as “domestic terrorism,” emphasizing that the incident remains under investigation and describing it as a “tragedy” rather than endorsing harsher labels.
The exchange highlights growing frustration inside federal law enforcement over how the Department of Homeland Security has handled public messaging following the Jan. 24 shooting in Minneapolis, where a Border Patrol agent fatally shot 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti during an immigration enforcement operation. Federal immigration enforcement officials told Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin that there is “extreme internal frustration” with senior DHS officials publicly characterizing Pretti as a domestic terrorist who intended to “inflict maximum damage” or carry out a “massacre,” and some sources described the department’s response as “a case study on how not to do crisis PR.”
Blanche was asked directly on the show whether Pretti’s actions rose to the level of domestic terrorism; he responded that he would not prejudge because the investigation is ongoing and reiterated his characterization of the overall event as a tragedy, stopping short of echoing the more severe terms used by some federal and political allies.
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The debate over terminology comes amid starkly conflicting narratives about what occurred that day: federal officials have maintained Pretti posed a threat, while video footage and eyewitness accounts reviewed by multiple news outlets show Pretti holding a phone and attempting to assist others before being fatally shot, raising questions about the official account.
Minnesota officials and civil rights advocates have called for greater transparency and independent investigation into the shooting, and protests have spread nationally as political tensions deepen.
What happens next will hinge on the ongoing federal and state investigations, potential release of body-camera footage, and how the Justice Department chooses to frame any findings.
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