Jonathan Turley flags ‘legitimate questions’ surrounding Border Patrol shooting of anti-ICE demonstrator

George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley noted that questions about the fatal shooting of a man by a Border Patrol agent Saturday were “legitimate” after initial accounts from the Department of Homeland Security were apparently contradicted by video.

A Border Patrol agent fatally shot 37-year-old Alex Pretti Saturday during a scuffle while a “targeted” enforcement operation was underway in Minneapolis, triggering riots. Turley said that it would be important to review the moments before an agent shouted a warning about the pistol Pretti was reportedly carrying.

“I do believe that there was an unforced error with regard to the administration and their initial accounts of the shooting,” Turley told “America Reports” co-hosts John Roberts and Sandra Smith. “Those accounts are not borne out by those videotapes. I mean, it does not appear that he was threatening the officer. It appears that this certainly escalated after that first contact. And that is not the impression you received from those early statements.”

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Turley observed that Pretti had failed to follow orders from the agents, repeatedly going into the road.

“He was not obeying orders, that is also clear,” Turley said. “He came back into the road after being told to get out of the road, but what we really need to see is that short period before you hear an officer say gun. There’s an indication that one of the officers removed his gun, and during that period, one of the other officers said gun and the shooting occurred shortly after that.”

Turley also noted that Democratic Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota had painted himself into a corner by referring to United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as “Gestapo.”

“Minnesota is right in one respect: They should be part of the investigation, and I don’t think the administration gives up much certainly by allowing them to be part of that,” Turley said. “This is obviously an incredibly traumatic moment for everyone involved.”

“Minnesota should be part of that process, but Minnesota, for its part, has got to step forward and show greater responsibility,” Turley continued. “Governor Waltz just referred to the taking of individuals for removal under a federal law as analogous to capturing people for genocide. He actually said that the children of Minnesota are like Anne Frank. That’s the type of rhetoric that is still coming out of the governor’s office.”

According to neighbors, Pretti was in a local group that monitored ICE operations in the Minneapolis area, the Mirror reported. At least one similar group in Minnesota has been monitoring vehicles used by ICE, sharing their locations, and calling for others to confront the agents, which has often resulted in assaults and physical altercations, according to Fox News Digital.

The fatal shootings of Pretti and Renee Nicole Good took place during confrontations arising from “rapid-response” actions to ICE efforts to apprehend illegal aliens with criminal records.

Independent journalist Cam Higby shared a copy of the “rapid response” network manual on X. The document directs members in the network to claim that “armed men” were “getting ready to hurt or attack someone” or that a kidnapping is in progress when calling 911.

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