Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem reportedly demanded a two-hour meeting with President Donald Trump on Monday (January 26) after being sidelined for her handling of the latest fatal shooting by an ICE agent over the weekend, the New York Times reports.
Trump held the crisis discussion with Noem after instead sending Border Czar Tom Homan to Minneapolis following the death of Alex Pretti, which took place in Minneapolis on Saturday (January 24), weeks after the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an ICE agent in the same city. Noem faced criticism after she publicly labeled Pretti, 37, a registered nurse who worked in the ICU at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System, as a “domestic terrorist” who pulled a gun on ICE officers.
Videos shared online appeared to show Pretti being taken down by multiple ICE agents and disarmed before an officer fired multiple shots during an anti-ICE demonstration in Minneapolis. The meeting came amid speculation that Trump’s decision to put Homan in charge of ICE operations meant he lost faith in Noem, however, the president didn’t suggest that her job was in jeopardy during the meeting, the New York Times reported.
The discussion also took place amid reports that U.S. Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Gregory Bovino had reportedly been demoted to his former job in El Centro, California, ahead of his expected retirement. Trump had previously acknowledged that Pretti was armed and carrying two extra magazines at the time of his death, while White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller claimed Pretti was a “would-be assassin” who “tried to murder federal law enforcement” and labeled him as a “domestic terrorist” via FOX News.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison demanded that a “full, impartial, and transparent investigation” be held in connection with the shooting while a federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from “destroying or altering” evidence linked to the incident, Axois reports.
Recent Comments