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CNN's The Arena with Kasie Hunt

New Tensions In Minneapolis Following Killing Of Alex Pretti; White House: Trump Supports Gun Rights After Alex Pretti Shooting. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired January 26, 2026 - 16:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[16:00:02]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: All right. Well, we'll be watching and hopefully I mean, we -- me and Boris will be back here tomorrow with you, Pete Muntean, from Reagan Airport.

Thank you so much.

And "THE ARENA WITH KASIE HUNT" starts right now.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST: Hi, everyone. I'm Kasie Hunt. Welcome to THE ARENA. It's good to have you with us on this Monday.

As we come on the air, grief, anger and massive political fallout from the killing of a second American citizen by federal agents. I'm sure you already know his name. This is Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse who worked at a V.A. hospital

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

HUNT: The shock, the anger, the fear, the grief on the ground and honestly, across the country, even across the world, as we all watched this unfold on our TV screens, on our phones, it's all so clear and so undeniable that what we saw and how it's been received across our country, its making the politics so bad for President Trump that he's having to change something. In response, the White House today announced that Border Czar Tom Homan will take charge when he arrives on the scene this evening, taking over from Gregory Bovino of Customs and Border Protection.

Just moments ago, we learned Bovino is expected to leave Minneapolis, with sources telling CNN that Trump administration officials grew deeply frustrated with his handling of the aftermath of this fatal shooting.

And today, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt -- well, she struck this tone from the White House podium.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Nobody in the White House, including President Trump, wants to see people getting hurt or killed in Americas streets. This includes Renee Good, Alex Pretti, the brave men and women of federal law enforcement, and the many Americans who have been victimized at the hands of illegal alien criminals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Leavitt it there, said Renee Good's name, said Alex Pretti's name.

President Trump also posted that he spoke to the Minnesota governor, Tim Walz. Walz is not a man that Trump has ever hesitated to insult, but today, taking his call, Trump writing that, quote, "Both Governor Walz and I want to make it better".

So let's contrast the president, his spokeswoman, with Trump's secretary of homeland security, who immediately after the shooting did not use Alex Pretti's name and called him a domestic terrorist.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTI NOEM, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Individual went and impeded their law enforcement operations, attacked those officers, had a weapon on him, and multiple -- dozens of rounds of ammunition, wishing to inflict harm on these officers coming, brandishing like that and impeding their work that they were doing. When you perpetuate violence against a government because of ideological reasons and for reasons to resist and perpetuate violence, that is the definition of domestic terrorism.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: So, what actually happened? Because here's the thing, despite plenty of people trying to tell you otherwise, you can believe your own eyes. We here at CNN have reviewed footage of this fatal shooting from multiple angles. And simply put, what the government claimed happened is clearly contradicted by what you can see with your own eyes.

The man that they killed, Alex Pretti, does not appear to brandish his weapon, which local police say he owned and he carried legally. He doesn't brandish it in this video. He doesn't act violently in this video. In fact, he appears unarmed when he was killed.

And a warning, of course, that everything that you're about to see is disturbing. Let's watch here.

Federal agents surround Pretti, the one in gray you can see reaches toward his waistband. He takes away what appears to be his gun. And then -- and then you hear gunshots.

[16:05:03]

All right. We're going to look at this from another angle. We're going to slow it down for you. Here it is again. You see that agent in gray leave the scene with what appears to be Pretti's gun before his fellow officers opened fire. Here's another angle across the street again. You can see Pretti on

the ground as officers surround him, one striking him in the head and then the officer leaves, holding what appears to be Pretti's gun again before the shots rang out.

So we're going to show you an image of that moment. And again, I'm warning you, I keep warning you, it's disturbing because it is incredibly hard to look at, though I will also say that for Alex and for all of us, none of us should look away.

So, this is Alex Pretti, a nurse who took care of our veterans who had been helping a woman up off the ground. He's on his knees in the street, seemingly disarmed a gun aimed at his back, one shot already fired, about to be shot as many as nine times by federal agents in America -- in America.

All right. Let's get off the sidelines and head into THE ARENA. My panel is going to be here, but we're going to start with CNN senior crime and justice correspondent Shimon Prokupecz and CNN senior White House correspondent Kristen Holmes.

Kristen, I want to go to you first because, of course, they've said that Gregory Bovino is going to leave Minneapolis. Tom Homan is headed to Minneapolis. And if you listen to Karoline Leavitt, if you listen to the president, it seems pretty clear that they realize the politics of this, the reaction to this, what has actually happened here has become an enormous -- it's -- it feels like a huge understatement to say that it's an enormous problem for them, but it does seem to be like there is some political recognition by the White House of what -- what really the stakes are here.

What more are you learning?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, and President Trump seems to understand when he is not facing a support from a number of people, even his own base. And this is a clear indication of that, because of course, as you know, Bovino, who has largely been the face of the response to the shooting of Alex Pretti, is leaving tomorrow. He will have vacated with some of his agents, Minneapolis. He will be on to doing Customs and Border Control across the country, essentially, is what Karoline Leavitt said.

And Tom Homan is going to be taking his place. Now, a lot of Republican lawmakers, both privately and publicly, were breathing a sigh of relief that they were bringing Homan in. They believe him to be a seasoned lawmaker who can take control of this situation.

When it comes to Bovino, we know President Trump and the administration were frustrated at his response. In particular, I want to play one clip of Bovino responding in the hours after the shooting. That really angered a lot of people within Trump's orbit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANA BASH, CNN HOST: It doesn't look anything like he's trying to massacre law enforcement. In fact, he was filming, and then it looked like he was trying to help another individual there who was pushed down by law enforcement. And then they went after him. In fact, I believe that the fantastic training that our law enforcement partners have, the fact that they're highly trained, prevented any specific shootings of law enforcement. So good job for our law enforcement in taking him down before he was able to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: It's all around this idea that he was going to commit a massacre. And Dana followed up with him multiple times on how he knew that and he could give no evidence during this interview, but had doubled down on this narrative. And one of the things to note, President Trump was watching all of this coverage. He was clear to him that he was not. He and the administration were not coming off well around this event, around this shooting of Alex Pretti.

And I was told by the White House that this was a, quote, mutual agreement that the White House did not order Bovino out, but instead that they mutually agreed he should leave. And I will note our Khalil Abdullah, the photojournalist on the line with me here at the White House, just saw Tom Homan leaving the White House. We are told hell be going to Minneapolis either later tonight or first thing tomorrow morning.

HUNT: All right. So, Shimon, you're on the ground there. What has the reaction been to this news that Bovino will be leaving Minneapolis and Homan taking over?

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: So I cannot state what a significant, significant moment this is for people here in Minneapolis, for people in Chicago, for people in other parts of this country who have had to endure the heavy handedness, the tactics, the way in which border patrol agents under the leadership, under the leadership of Greg Bovino what they have had to deal with.

[16:10:04]

This will be such a welcome relief by people here and really, finally, some, perhaps some acknowledgment from this administration that the tactics here have not been working. We spent an entire, what, week, week and a half having to listen to Greg Bovino tell us that everything that we are seeing on the streets of Minneapolis and what we were seeing in the streets of Illinois, where agents were pulling guns on people, protesters and observers, was okay, was not what we were seeing, that this was all part of their training.

And finally, now, finally, now, it would appear that there is an acknowledgment that it's not working. And so already here I have been asking people, everyone in this city knows who he is because he would drive around in his caravan and stop at places like Target or gas stations, claiming he needed to use the bathroom with observers and protesters following him, which would then incite an escalate every situation. Instead of de-escalating, it was being escalated.

This is a form. His leaving is a form of de-escalation. I can tell you already, Kasie, as you said, I've been talking to quickly, was able to ask people their reaction. They didn't know the first time they're hearing of this is from us. It's from me.

One woman, an older woman, said to me, basically, that would be fantastic. Another woman was shocked. Her face. She said to me, hooray! And then she said, he's a jerk. And then another woman said to me, this can't come soon enough, but they want all of these agents and all of these border patrol agents and ICE officers out of here. They need things to deescalate. And certainly, in the last two days, Kasie, we have been seeing this.

Just also this investigation, there are a lot of questions that need to be answered. And already there are indications that the investigation has been compromised. And so we'll see where that goes and how that unfolds in the coming days and weeks.

HUNT: All right. Shimon Prokupecz, really important perspective. Kristen Holmes, thank you very much for your reporting as well.

My panel is here in THE ARENA. The former chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence, Marc Short; CNN legal analyst, former federal prosecutor, Elliot Williams; former senior policy adviser in the Obama White House, Ashley Allison and Republican strategist Brad Todd. They're both CNN political commentators.

Thank you all for being here. And this has been a pretty difficult weekend for the country in a lot of ways.

And, Marc Short, I'd like to start with you. Just because you've been in rooms with the president over the years, you understand how he makes decisions. He's not a guy who likes to change his mind, likes to cave. You know, the administration previously had really been not backing down. In fact, Tom Homan had initially, when Renee Good was shot, gone out and said, well, there will be an investigation and then sort of had to toe a sharper line after that.

This clearly seems to signal that they understand that things. And how many times have we sat here and said, okay, the American people supported securing the border, but these ICE tactics, are they there? Are they not? It seems very clear that they are not. I mean, what is your takeaway from how the administration is changing things right now?

MARC SHORT, FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF TO VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE: Well, Kasie, I do think there's a de-escalation. I think that the president's conversation with the governor is a significant step. I think that putting Tom Homan in this position is also significant. Tom Homan is very experienced, and he's incredibly competent.

But I think that to your point, this was an issue that I think was one of the central issues that helped propel Donald Trump back into the presidency, because I think people were so frustrated with the Biden administration's handling of the border. But they've taken this from a winning issue now into a failing issue. And the reality is that he didn't just say that he's replacing Bovino out of town and bringing home. And he at home directly reporting to him in the White House. Not that Homan's report to Secretary Noem, but Homan's report to him. Not anybody else in the White House either, who's typically in charge of these issues or the secretary. And so, I think this is a pretty dramatic action on his part.

HUNT: Does that tell you that the president has lost confidence in Secretary Noem?

SHORT: I don't know that, Kasie. But again, it does signal to me that this would not be a position of saying, hey, I want somebody else there reporting to Kristi Noem again, he's taking the action to say, I want this person reporting directly to me here in the White House.

HUNT: Elliot Williams, you, of course, worked at ICE, and you've known Tom Homan for many years. How do you think -- we heard some actually really fascinating texture reporting from Shimon there about what its been like to have Bovino on the ground. How do you think that's going to be different from having Homan?

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: It's really interesting because I you know, I do think and this might surprise people. Tom Homan is quite politically savvy when working with a Democratic administration versus Republican administration. And it is a shift from the leadership that's there now.

But let's be clear: Tom Homan is still the face of the president's immigration policy has been border czar since the beginning. And many, many people are not me having worked with him for a long time, are going to see him as a reminder of many of the abuses of the administration since the very, very beginning.

[16:15:06]

And so, it'll -- it'll really be interesting to see just how it plays out. You know, I think to pick up on one thing that market said, I would also note, it's no secret that Tom Homan and Kristi Noem, the secretary, do not get along. Priscilla Alvarez here at CNN has reported that to just, you know, prior to this program, too.

And so there's some interpersonal dynamics to but also, I think some trust issues going on there. So, who knows how the public is going to see it.

HUNT: Ashley Allison, I mean, this is something where, you know, you have Democrats already coming out and saying that they regret -- Tom Suozzi, a Democrat from New York, says that he regrets voting for DHS funding. Bill Clinton has put out a statement. I mean, we do not actually often see former presidents weigh in on their successors. Their sort of historic, I mean, pre-Trump anyway, there was this sort of unwritten rule that you tried to let the new guy do his job, even if you weren't in the same party.

But Bill Clinton says over the course of a lifetime, we face only a few moments where the decisions we make and the actions we take shape our history for years to come. And this is one of them. Barack and Michelle Obama put out a statement over the weekend as well.

How is this being taken in? What would you say?

ASHLEY ALLISON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yeah, I am really trying to remove the politics out of this because I hope and pray that whether you're a Democrat or Republican, we don't want to see these images coming out of America. It has to be bigger than politics at this moment. This is supposed to be the land of the free, and you should not be a ICU nurse for the Veterans Affairs and be murdered in the streets of any city in America.

I do think, though, this is terrible for the Republican Party and for the administration. And Donald Trump knows that, and he knows that if the midterms were handled right now and they tried to run on immigration, they would probably lose. I will say, though, I do hear that people in Minneapolis are excited that Bovino is leaving and Homan is coming in. But what the people in Minneapolis are actually asking for is a different shift in policy. They want Bovino gone, and they want the 3,000 agents in their city right now that they feel like are terrorizing them, gone as well.

And so, if Homan goes in and he tries to deescalate and tries to work with local law enforcement, perhaps, but without the withdrawal of those ICE agents in the city, you will still hear whistles blowing. You will still hear horns honking, because people in Minneapolis want to protect their neighbors.

HUNT: On that, on that point, Brad Todd, I want to play something that Congressman James Comer said over the weekend on "Fox News Sunday, someone who has been with a couple exceptions related to Jeffrey Epstein. But by and large, very much, you know, someone who has been loyal to President Trump. Let's watch what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JAMES COMER (R-KY): If I were President Trump, I would almost think about, okay, if the mayor and the governor are going to put our ICE officials in harm's way and there's a chance of losing more innocent lives or whatever, then maybe go to another city. I think the situation is only going to get worse. And I really think that there are so many cities in the United States that have issues with criminal illegals that I think there would be -- they would be better received in other cities.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Has the dam broken with this?

BRAD TODD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I think certainly that, you know, everyone has had the same reaction, regardless of your politics, to this. It's a human tragedy and no one wants to see this happen on the streets of any city, whether it's a city that's governed by a Democrat or a city that's governed by a Republican. I think that the president has accepted that, too. And I think you will see him that you are seeing adjustments made.

I will also point out you cannot have a winning Republican coalition when we do not have an advantage on immigration in the public. That means the public trusting us to enforce immigration policy. That's why Joe Biden lost, because independents lost trust in Democrats to enforce immigration policy. I fear that the Democrats in Congress are now saying defund ICE or

don't fund DHS. They're going to make the same mistake Kamala Harris did and say, oh, you can't trust us with immigration policy either. So, there is a danger that Democrats will learn the wrong lesson from here. The question is whether the administration can learn the right ones before the Democrats do.

HUNT: All right. Coming up next, here in THE ARENA, the deadly shooting of Alex Pretti is, of course, now scrambling talks on Capitol Hill around funding. We're going to talk with two lawmakers here live this hour. Republican Congressman Mike Lawler will be here, and Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego as lawmakers race to find a deal on DHS funding or trigger a government shutdown.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEAVITT: Policy discussions on immigration in Minnesota are happening. Look, the president is leading those discussions, as evidenced by his correspondence with governor Walz this morning. But that should not be at the expense of government funding for the American people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:24:11]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): What I think the administration could do better is, is the tone with which they're describing this, that immediately when an incident like this happens, they come out guns blazing, that we took out a violent terrorist. Hooray!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: That was Republican Senator Ted Cruz weighing in on the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by a federal agent. As a growing number of Republicans now calling for a thorough investigation into the incident, Republican Senator from Louisiana, Bill Cassidy, writing this, quote, "The credibility of ICE and DHS are at stake".

Joining me now in THE ARENA to discuss, Republican Congressman Mike Lawler of New York.

Congressman, thank you very much for being here today. I really appreciate your time.

[16:25:00]

We just showed at the top of the show what happened to Alex Pretti in Minneapolis from a number of angles in slow motion. He appeared to be unarmed. Someone takes the gun that he had a legal license to carry away from him, and then he is shot in the back. As many as nine additional times. Is this what you can see here? What you, I'm sure, have seen with your own eyes, something that should have happened in America.

REP. MIKE LAWLER (R-NY): No, this absolutely should not have happened. It is tragic as was -- you know, the incident with Renee Good just a few weeks ago. We don't want to see any Americans getting killed in the streets, regardless of, you know, what the facts are. It shouldn't happen. I think obviously, there needs to be a thorough and complete and transparent investigation with the cooperation of federal, state, and local officials. And I think that's a good sign that President Trump and Governor Walz spoke today.

I also think to Senator Cruz's point, the rhetoric needs to stop. This is not helpful to the American people. Whether it is -- you know, calling ICE gestapo or calling American citizens domestic terrorists, people do have a right to protest. Law enforcement also has a right to do their job without being impeded.

And I think a lot of things can be true all at once. And it's incumbent on elected officials on both sides of this equation to bring the temperature down. I think, you know, obviously, the president making the decision to send Tom Homan to Minneapolis and removing you know, the border patrol agent, Greg Bovino, I think is a -- is a positive step.

I think Tom Homan should be able to get this situation under control. But the one other thing I would say that I think is important here, the reason there is a surge of ICE agents and Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis, in large measure, is because of the sanctuary policies that have been enacted and the refusal to allow local law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration officials. That is something that I have said for years is wrong. It is counterproductive and counterintuitive and is actually contributed to this situation because you have had this surge, it would not be necessary. And in other parts of the country, you don't have this situation because there is cooperation.

So, I think as we move forward, one of the things that needs to change, there needs to be greater communication, coordination and cooperation between federal, state and local law enforcement so that there is not this type of escalation, that there is crowd control measures when an operation is underway. I don't want to see death anywhere. And I think this moment is a moment for all of us to come together and address the policy head on as Republicans and Democrats and make sure this is a policy that works for the American people and that we are actually addressing the challenges facing the country.

HUNT: Considering just how intense things have become in Minneapolis, would you urge President Trump to de-escalate, to have ICE stop what they are doing in Minneapolis for right now, to deescalate what has become an incredibly difficult situation?

LAWLER: Well, there's no question we need a de-escalation. And that starts with the rhetoric. I think it was a good step forward that the governor and the president spoke today. I think they need to continue to speak again.

I think there needs to be greater communication, cooperation and coordination between federal, state and local law enforcement to control the situation on the ground. But no, I think ICE has a job to do. And the fact is they have been removing criminal aliens off the streets in Minneapolis. They have been taking people off the streets that do not belong in the United States. And beginning the deportation process.

I think if the objective of some of my colleagues is to abolish ICE and to stop that process, I do not support that. I think the effort to somehow tie this to government funding and, not passing the appropriations for homeland security, which, by the way, includes FEMA, includes the Coast Guard that is a mistake.

And I -- and I think we need to evaluate the situation separate and apart from government funding.

[16:30:04]

HUNT: Very briefly, sir, before I let you go, Alex Pretti was legally carrying a firearm. Should legally carrying a firearm make it more likely that you are shot by federal law enforcement as some have suggested?

LAWLER: No, it should not. And in fact, if you look at the statistics around people who have a concealed carry, very rarely are they committing a crime. Somebody who has a concealed carry license and has gone through that process, that rigorous process, especially in a state like New York, they are not involved in criminal activities. And the stats are very clear on that.

I think in this instance, obviously, there needs to be a full and thorough investigation, and I look forward to the results of that. But just by virtue of carrying lawfully does not in any way warrant a arrest, were certainly not to be shot and killed.

HUNT: All right. New York Congressman Mike Lawler, thanks very much for spending some time with us today, sir. I appreciate it.

LAWLER: Thank you.

HUNT: All right. Coming up next here in THE ARENA, what the White House is saying today after some very rare and very public criticism from some of the nation's biggest and most powerful gun rights organizations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOVINO: We respect that Second Amendment right. But those rights don't -- those rights don't count. When you riot and assault, delay, obstruct and impede law enforcement officers. And most especially when you mean to do that beforehand.

DANA BASH, CNN HOST: How do you know that?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [16:36:02]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOVINO: We respect that Second Amendment right. But those rights don't -- those rights don't count. When you riot and assault, delay, obstruct and impede law enforcement officers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Welcome back.

That was Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino on CNN. He was asked if it was okay for Alex Pretti to be carrying his legal firearm in the moments before he was fatally shot. You heard Bovino say Second Amendment rights, quote, don't count when someone is assaulting law enforcement or engaged in a riot, something that Alex Pretti was not doing. You can see that in the video we showed you.

Now, the National Rifle Association and other gun rights activists who have typically been aligned with the Trump administration, are pushing back. So, first, in a Twitter post, a top prosecutor in the U.S. attorney's office wrote -- in Los Angeles wrote, quote, "If you approach law enforcement with a gun, there is a high likelihood they will be legally justified in shooting you." The NRA called those comments, quote, "dangerous and wrong writing," quote, "responsible public voices should be awaiting a full investigation, not making generalizations and demonizing law abiding citizens."

Our panel is back, and we're also joined by CNN chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst John Miller.

So, John, I want to start with you, because that claim that was made there, that these gun rights activist groups are not pleased about. Again, we see Pretti being disarmed. He was legally allowed to carry, what is actually -- what are your legal rights in the event that you find yourself in a situation where you are lawfully carrying a weapon and you encounter law enforcement.

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, one of the things that you could do is say, I am carrying a weapon. I am licensed to carry it. But in this dynamic where first year pepper sprayed, then you're dragged to the ground with law enforcement, that could be de-escalating the situation but has chosen to escalate it markedly. Now you're in a situation where you're about to be arrested and you're struggling. You know, when that gun becomes a factor there, which somebody spots it and says, gun, gun, gun. And then you see someone removes that gun from the melee and gets it a safe distance away. And then after the individual has been disarmed, Mr. Pretti. A gun goes off and shoots him.

Now, we don't know if that was an accidental discharge after he was disarmed or that was a purposeful shot, but either way, by now we are deep into a set of flawed tactics. When the gun was removed, did the agent who removed it call it out? I've got the weapon. I'm moving out. Were they still under the impression it was there? This was -- this was very tactically flawed and ended that way because

of it.

HUNT: Brad Todd, you have spent years around trying to elect Republican candidates. Many of these groups that are pro-Second Amendment are a very important piece of coalition that Republican will try to put together if they're elected. It's been really a litmus test issue on the right.

And to have that, you know, attorney say that out loud and to have Bovino say what he said, I want to bring back a tweet from Charlie Kirk in 2018. He says this, "The Second Amendment is not for hunting. It's not for self protection. It is there to ensure that free people can defend themselves if, God forbid, government became tyrannical and turned against its citizens."

And I think a lot of people are pointing to this because, I mean, what we saw in the streets.

TODD: If -- the Second Amendment says that you have the right to keep and bear arms, which means you can have it anywhere you are legally and lawfully allowed to be, unless you've proven to be a threat to yourself or others already. I think you also have to go back to what Kristi Noem said yesterday, that he was brandishing the weapon. That's absolutely not true. Unless it happened before the video we saw then. He was not brandishing the weapon. And that's a pretty key fact of how law enforcement are going to treat you.

[16:40:01]

Now, he did have a right to be carrying in the time it is inadvisable to be engaging with law enforcement while you are carrying, unless you're going to be telling them up front that you have a permit and you are carrying. So that's inadvisable. It doesn't get you shot. The penalty for being doing something inadvisable should not be to get you shot.

However, when you introduce a gun to a confrontation with the law enforcement officers and you introduced that before you get there, you have to be aware of the fact that that changes their calculus and risk.

ALLISON: I think two things. One, thank God there was video, and there is video from multiple angles because what we have seen from this administration is that what they said happened did not actually happen. And we have video to prove it because we can see it with our own eyes.

But I also think it's the hypocrisy of this particular incident compared with other things that have historically happened. This is an administration that has defended Kyle Rittenhouse, this I worked in the Obama White House and worked on the Philando Castile murder when he had a permit to carry and was murdered by police officers in his car --

TODD: In Minneapolis. ALLISON: -- in front of his child and his fiancee. So, there seems to sometimes be it is convenient when it is one set of facts and convenient when there's another set of facts. And I think that is the backdrop that maybe everyone isn't talking about. But plenty of people are feeling like this administration is not only lying, but is playing two sides of the fence.

TODD: Well, every gun rights group came out against those comments yesterday and including every gun influencer I know, Tom Gresham, Kim Edwards, people who are -- Stephen Gostkowski, people who are prominent voices in the gun rights community. I think that was universal.

ALLISON: But this administration didn't.

HUNT: I want to -- I want to play a little bit of what a couple administration officials said about this. Kristi Noem and Scott Bessent, let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT BESSENT, TREASURY SECRETARY: I am sorry that this gentleman is dead, but he did bring a nine millimeter semiautomatic weapon with two cartridges to what was supposed to be a peaceful protest. I've been to a protest. Guess what? I didn't bring a gun. I brought a billboard.

KRISTI NOEM, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: I don't know of any peaceful protester that shows up with a gun and ammunition rather than a sign.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Marc Short, you're shaking your head.

SHORT: Well, I mean, look, the Second Amendment doesn't have an asterisk that says you can't bring an armed bring weapon to a protest, particularly if you have a concealed carry permit.

But to the point of the inconsistency, I mean, there were 3,000 rounds of ammunition confiscated by Secret Service on January 6th. There were 180 weapons, deadly weapons confiscated that, we've been told was a peaceful protest. So, I think that the Second Amendment applies, that you're allowed to bring a weapon to a peaceful protest. And in this case, we don't even know that this was necessarily a protest.

So I don't think the White House should be going out and giving those sorts of talking points. And Brad said, I think that the Second Amendment groups quickly denounce them. And I've seen the president retract those comments today because they are an incredibly important part of his constituency, too.

HUNT: John Miller, you want to jump in?

MILLER: Well, yeah, I think we've also seen political double standard here. I mean, we all remember whether it was drag queen story hour where people were reading stories to kids, trans people reading stories to kids in libraries, you had the Proud Boys, you had the Oath Keepers showing up in full camouflage with AR-15 rifles, multiple magazines, military gear.

You know, we talked about Kyle Rittenhouse. One of the things in kind of the right wing branch of these kind of protests has been to show up armed, visibly armed, conspicuously armed, heavily armed, and that did not receive the same kind of criticism from administration officials who said very little about it.

So here you see a flip side of that where they're cutting into bone. They got an immediate response from the NRA. They're under pressure from the police chiefs association. So I think the -- I think the White House is realizing and that may be behind the Homan switch here, that they are cutting into base and they've got to pivot.

HUNT: All right. John Miller, thanks very much for that. Really appreciate it.

The rest of my panel is going to stand by here.

Coming up next, Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego will be here live with lawmakers now locked in a high stakes battle over federal funding just days before a partial government shutdown.

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[16:48:39]

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LEAVITT: Democrat leaders in Minnesota with sanctuary city policies have actively defied federal immigration law and the will of the people. And as a result of that defiance, two Minnesotans have now tragically lost their lives on the streets of Tim Walz's state.

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HUNT: After two fatal shootings by federal agents in Minneapolis in less than a month, the White House today placing the blame for the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good squarely on Democratic officials who don't do enough to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.

Joining us now in THE ARENA to discuss, Democratic senator from Arizona, Ruben Gallego. He sits on the Senate Homeland Security Committee.

Senator, thanks very much for being here.

There was some suggestion in the readout from the call between the Governor, Tim Walz, and the president that there may be some additional cooperation. Do you think that it would benefit the situation overall, that would help deescalate if Democratic officials did more to cooperate in some ways with the administration?

SEN. RUBEN GALLEGO (D-AZ): Well, I don't know what those ways are. Minnesota already turns over, you know, illegal aliens that have criminal records when they're in jail, when they meet police officers. The president has been all over the place just a couple of days ago. You know, the Attorney General Bondi asked for voter rolls. What has to do with immigration enforcement has nothing to do with it.

[16:50:03]

They're just, you know, going down some rabbit hole. And let's be clear, two American citizens are murdered and two American citizens have been murdered since this administration has sent more than 2,000 ICE agents to Minneapolis, a city that only has about 600 police officers full time on active duty.

So what's happening here is you have an agency that's gone rogue, that's not focused on immigration enforcement anymore. They're actually focused more on, you know, extending a political statement for the president and essentially become a private military for Stephen Miller and Donald Trump. The best way to do this is deescalate the situation. Focus back on professional immigration enforcement and not to suppression of the citizens of Minnesota that you're seeing right now.

HUNT: Do you have faith that Tom Homan can make the situation better? The administration announced he's going to go to Minneapolis.

GALLEGO: I don't. The best thing you could do to make the situation better is let's know -- let's do what we know works. Well, number one issue warrants. You should not be able to racially profile whoever you want, determine who they are by just their skin color, and then try to find a crime. They're detaining U.S. citizens and sometimes for days without even telling their families who they are, where they are.

This is -- this is what happens when you don't have warrants. To the street suppression of everyday American citizens where they're going down the street and picking fights with U.S. citizens, that has to stop. American citizens do not like feeling bullied. They don't like feeling government is, you know, unevenly treating them and treating their places like a battle zone.

Doing that and just, you know, stepping back and again, engaging in real professional immigration enforcement goes a long way. Sending border patrol back to the border. Border patrol is not trained to deal with U.S. citizens in mass and urban situations.

They're more effectively at the border. This is why you've seen some of the really harsh interactions, like you saw with Mr. Pretti, where, you know, six agents were basically beating up a man who already had had basically surrendered. There are little things like that that go a long way, you know, avoiding, you know, very sensitive sites, don't go to hospitals, don't go to schools.

Again, follow the basics that have worked for a long time. And you'd have people that actually be supportive of immigration enforcement and not necessarily out there fighting you every step of the way. When people, especially people, if you're doing it in a very just manner.

HUNT: Some of your colleagues in Congress have suggested that in the wake of what we've seen in Minneapolis, that ICE should be abolished. Do you think we should abolish ICE? GALLEGO: I think that's a term that people just don't really understand what it means. We're always going to have a deportation force. Every country has a deportation force. What you need to have the deportation force that does things in a professional manner. So, for example, what we should be focusing on right now with ICE agents is going after criminals, going after the gang members, going after the people with warrants.

If you do that, you'd actually have almost 100 percent agreement with almost every Democratic and Republican politician, every local governor, every local city council would be 100 percent supportive of that.

Having a professionalized immigration enforcement, that is one that is targeted at safety first would actually go the longest way to actually make sure that people feel comfortable giving power to an institution that's going to have the right of deportation.

HUNT: And finally, do you think the Democrats in the senate should hold up partial government funding because of ICE and the federal actions in Minneapolis

GALLEGO: I do think after two U.S. citizens were recently killed by federal agents on the orders of ICE of Homan -- under the orders of Homan, Secretary Noem and Bovino, that there needs to be a slowdown. We need to have restrictions on what ICE is doing. We want again to have professional immigration enforcement.

I want to see warrants. I want to make sure that U.S. citizens aren't being detained. You know, I want to see ICE, at least this huge presence they have outside of Minnesota and go back to focusing on targeted immigration enforcement of illegal aliens that have criminal records, that have warrants that are a danger to the community instead of this massive racial profiling they have right now.

HUNT: All right. Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego, thanks very much for your time. I really appreciate it.

GALLEGO: Thank you.

HUNT: All right. We'll be right back.

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[16:59:06]

HUNT: All right. Before we go, we wanted to tell you a little bit more about what we're learning about Alex Pretti, his loved ones described him as a kind hearted soul. He cared deeply, they say, for his family, for friends and for the veterans he cared for.

Here's a little bit of the statement that they put out about their loved one. Quote, "Alex wanted to make a difference in this world. Unfortunately, he will not be with us to see his impact. I do not throw around the hero term lightly. However, his last thought and act was to protect a woman." His family also added this plea please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man.

CNN has obtained video from 2024 of Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse for our veterans, paying tribute to a veteran who just passed away from lung cancer. Here is Alex Pretti again, the man who lost his life. He was killed by federal agents in Minneapolis.

But we have to imagine he would want to be remembered, in his own words, for doing things like this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEX PRETTI, ICU NURSE: Today, we remember that freedom is not free. We have to work at it, nurture it, protect it, and even sacrifice for it. May we never forget and always remember our brothers and sisters who have served so that we may enjoy the gift of freedom. So, in this moment we remember and give thanks for their dedication and selfless service to our nation in the cause of our freedom. In this solemn hour, we render our honor and our gratitude.

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HUNT: And Jake Tapper. It's a solemn hour for our country and a reminder there that freedom is not free.