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Man Shot And Killed By Federal Agents In Minneapolis, DHS Says He Was Armed; Interview With Former Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo; Interview With Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez; DHS Secretary Kristi Noem Speaks; DHS Secretary Noem Addresses Minnesota Shooting By Federal Agents. Aired 5-6p ET
Aired January 24, 2026 - 17:00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:59:41]
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: With us now to discuss, former Minneapolis police chief Medaria Arradondo. He's the author of the book "Securing Justice for the Murder of George Floyd".
Chief, thanks so much for being here. What's your reaction to today's shooting? As far as you can tell from the angles you've seen, what's your take on it?
I can't hear you. Is his audio on?
Ok. Chief, we're going to figure out your audio issues. I think you can hear me, but I can't hear you. And I don't think any of our viewers can.
We want to hear you. So we're going to fix that.
Stay with me. We're going to squeeze in a quick break. We'll be right back.
[17:00:24]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TAPPER: Back with us now is former Minneapolis police chief Medaria Arradondo, the author of the book "Securing Justice for the Murder of George Floyd".
Chief, as a former Minneapolis police chief, what was your reaction to today's shooting?
MEDARIA ARRADONDO, FORMER MINNEAPOLIS POLICE CHIEF: Yes, Jake. Thank you for Having me. Just -- it's tragic on a couple of different fronts.
You know, Minneapolis, the city itself has been obviously over the last two and a half weeks since the shooting death of Miss Good has really gone through a lot of trauma.
This latest incident this morning in south Minneapolis has, what Shimon earlier reported, people are questioning the legitimacy. They're questioning the trust and the credibility of what the actions are now within these federal agents here in Minneapolis.
You know, for a long time, certainly over the last couple of weeks, their tactics have certainly been called into question. Their protocols, their training.
And so, you know, people are going to want to have transparency. They're going to want to have legitimacy. And right now, these incidents are really challenging that.
TAPPER: I've seen a lot of online analysis of the shooting. And I'm wondering while obviously we all hope, I mean, it used to be that we would know that there would be an investigation and hope that it would be one that we could trust.
But in this current environment, I'm not sure that there will be an investigation. There wasn't one for the shooting of Renee Good.
But based on what you've seen, do you think that the federal agents there had reason to use lethal force?
ARRADONDO: So Jake, I'm actually going by what the DHS statement came out earlier. You know, they're making the statement that there was a gun that Mr. Pretti had. Now, that's what they're saying. You know, they sent out the picture that you have shown to the viewers.
But there's -- I will tell you, there's a lot more questions. You know, earlier, within hours, within an hour they had mentioned that Mr. Pretti his intentions were to do a massacre with law enforcement officers.
Typically in an investigation, Jake, you know, you're going through cell phone records, you're going through his social media accounts. You're talking to neighbors. You're talking to friends in order to come to that sort of conclusion.
That's unusual to make that sort of conclusion and that statement within an hour of an incident like that happening. You know, you have to interview tons of people.
And so -- and also too, Jake, as I sit here right now, I don't know who's actually handling this investigation. I know that DPS Commissioner Jacobson said that BCA was out at the scene. They had to leave in advance from finishing up that crime scene because of the volatility out at the scene. That's crucial when an agency is trying to collect evidence.
And so there's a lot of moving parts here. But I think that people right now, certainly Jake in Minneapolis and in the state, they're questioning the credibility of these actions right now. And they're questioning the credibility of an investigation if one is going to take place.
TAPPER: Minnesota is a concealed carry state, right? I mean, you can -- somebody can get a permit and legally carry a firearm on them. And the police chief, the current police chief and the governor, Tim Walz, have said that Mr. Pretti, Alex Pretti, the ICU nurse who was killed earlier today by federal agents, that he had such a permit.
So, so as a former police chief of Minneapolis, is it enough that somebody is carrying a gun for the use of lethal force by a law enforcement officer to be found justified? Or do they have to be brandishing the weapon or even have their hand on the weapon? Because as, as of now, just -- and again, this is this what I see in the three videos I've seen of this -- I didn't see him in those videos, and maybe there are other videos, I don't know.
But I didn't see him in those videos touch his gun, reach for his gun. And it looked as though he might have been disarmed before he was shot.
ARRADONDO: Yes, Jake. To your first question, there are thousands of carrying concealed permit holders in Hennepin County, which is the county that Minneapolis resides in.
So just from an investigative standpoint, just because someone has that permit or has that weapon on them does not necessarily justify deadly force.
And so -- but that is -- that is to the crux of this. The investigation is going to matter. Did the ICE agents, or excuse me, the border patrol agents and those other agents out at the scene at 26 and Nicollet, were they wearing body-worn cameras?
[17:09:52]
ARRADONDO: I know that in Miss Good's shooting death the one agent was using his cell phone. But were those agents equipped with body-worn cameras?
That would be an important piece, obviously, as well as the other bystander video as an investigation takes place.
So to your question, just because an individual has a permit to carry and certainly in Minnesota, that doesn't necessarily immediately jump to the conclusion that deadly force may be justified.
TAPPER: All right. Chief Arradondo, thank you so much here.
Joining us now is New York Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez. Congresswoman, thanks for being here.
This -- I'm going to show the video again to our viewers who are just tuning in. We started a new hour ten minutes ago. And then I want to get your reaction.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, (EXPLETIVE DELETED). What the (EXPLETIVE DELETED). They killed him (EXPLETIVE DELETED). Did they (EXPLETIVE DELETED) kill that guy? Are you (EXPLETIVE DELETED) kidding me, dude?
(END VIDEO CLIP) TAPPER: That's one of the angles of the video that's out there, Congresswoman. And I guess I just want to get your basic reaction to what you have seen.
REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): Well, Jake, as you mentioned, that's just one of several videos that are out there. There is an angle -- there is a second angle that appears to be circulating much closer to the incident, where you see the victim, I believe his name is Alex Pretti.
TAPPER: Alex Pretti. Alex Pretti.
OCASIO-CORTEZ: Alex Pretti, thank you. Alex Pretti.
And immediately preceding -- the preceding that incident, an ICE officer had pushed violently a woman to the ground, and he had come over to help get her up.
And that is what precipitated this incident that very quickly led to an execution -- a deadly shooting in the street.
What we are seeing here is a momentous, pivotal moment for the United States. And I cannot underscore enough how precipitous this moment is. ICE and CBP, what we're seeing here, we will see which agencies were responsible.
But at the end of the day, under this so-called excuse of border security, where Minneapolis is over 300 miles from the United States border, we have an unleashing of federal agents and violence, exerting a tremendous amount of violence and lost life against the American people who are well within their First Amendment rights. And in this case, it seems as though well within their Second Amendment rights.
As you mentioned earlier in this video, you do not see immediate evidence of anyone reaching for a firearm. He -- it has been reported that he had a legal permit. And this administration's response is that the very fact that he was a legal firearm owner was a reason for them to shoot him in the street.
You see, directly from DHS' own accounts, they themselves do not claim anything in their accounts or their evidence about these actions, about any precipitating action. Just the fact that he was armed.
This is a pivotal moment. And if we do not do something now to contain this abuse of power and violence, which the administration has already indicated earlier this week in discussions about using the Insurrection Act, in which Karoline Leavitt confirmed that it will be utilized.
And they were looking at utilizing against it -- against Americans based on their political affiliation. If we do not do something now, I do not know what can happen afterwards.
We have to contain this chaos. This administration is declaring an openness and a justification for violence against American citizens based on their organizing, based on their political affiliation. And they are using the guise of DHS to do it.
We have to draw a line in the sand now across sectors -- politically, economically, in our media and more.
TAPPER: I want to ask you what measures you want to take in a second, but I also want to get your response to what we saw from President Trump on social media.
And just to note we're all obviously and you'll notice the congresswoman, you'll notice me, like we're all saying, we don't know exactly what happened. We're waiting for this, but based on x, y, z.
But that is not what we're hearing from the Trump administration. We've seen people in the Trump administration call the man who was shot, Alex Pretti, a domestic terrorist, saying that he intended to massacre people.
[17:14:52]
TAPPER: President Trump posted on social media. He says "the mayor and the governor are inciting insurrection with their pompous, dangerous and arrogant rhetoric", unquote.
Just for younger people out there who might not know this, generally speaking, when there is what is called an officer-involved shooting, meaning law enforcement kills somebody, there's an investigation, and people try to temper their remarks, not rush to judgment. And when I say people, I mean people in power, presidents, et cetera.
What is your response to the Trump administration saying what they're saying about Alex Pretti?
OCASIO-CORTEZ: Well, it seems as though -- and I, from all the actions before us, it seems as though this administration is trying to precipitate a flashpoint so that they can go into cities and municipalities and states based on political affiliation, and exert and escalate. They are using the rhetoric of martial law and civil conflict. And it is fundamentally un-American.
This is a moment, as you said, where we must cool tempers. It is time for ICE to stand down. It is time for DHS to stand down. We are seeing mothers that are being killed in the street.
We are seeing -- when you look at this victim, early reports seem to show that he was an ICU nurse. I'm also seeing some circulating that he may have even been at the V.A. --
TAPPER: Yes.
OCASIO-CORTEZ: -- and ICU nurse.
TAPPER: That's right. That's right.
He was -- he was an ICU nurse at the -- at the Minneapolis V.A. That's right. OCASIO-CORTEZ: So we are talking about Donald Trump accusing a Veterans Affairs ICU nurse as being a terrorist against the United States. A man who was treating service members to our country's veterans, service members to our country, who was dedicating his life to serving Americans who in his final act on this earth, was helping a woman pushed to the ground.
And they are calling him a domestic terrorist in order to defend their gross abuse of power, their absolute breaching of the law, and in order to also precipitate greater conflict.
And it is fundamentally against the leadership and what we must -- what we need right now, and what the American people need right now.
It is dangerous. And again, if this administration does not put it to a stop, we must put it to a stop.
TAPPER: Well, let's talk about that, because I know you're not talking about violence. But I am curious as to -- as to what you think lawmakers, Democrats, citizens should do because obviously nobody wants this to get worse.
OCASIO-CORTEZ: Of course not.
TAPPER: Nobody wants -- nobody wants.
So do you think, for example, there is a government funding bill right now, and I've seen a lot of Democrats, I think you included saying that there cannot be any more funding for ICE. Tell me what you think Democrats need to do.
OCASIO-CORTEZ: Well, right now Jake, you're correct that -- that there is a funding bill in the Senate. And I want to be clear that this really isn't just about Democrats. This is about Democrats, Republicans and Independents.
And I think right now, in this moment, there has been this permission structure where we have all universally accepted that the Republican Party will simply just have no morals or fall in line with the presidents of the United States. And we have to challenge that logic and rhetoric every single time.
I believe that oftentimes they're given a free pass and that this accepted logic just allows them to continue to vote without any resistance from their constituencies because we've accepted some foregone conclusion.
But again, Democrats do have the ability. There are ten -- Republicans do need ten Democratic votes in the United States Senate to pass continued unfettered ICE voting with no guardrails as it stands.
And I think that regardless of where you are in the Democratic Party, this moment and this incident proves that the status quo cannot stand.
And I would implore my Democratic colleagues in the Senate to vote "no" against maintaining this DHS funding as it stands. I think if you are an everyday person, what is happening right now is that there is an environment of political intimidation at play.
They don't want us to use our First Amendment rights. They don't want us to exercise our freedom of assembly or freedom of speech. They want to -- they want to make sure that we are afraid to act as people, as employers, as a free nation.
[17:19:46]
OCASIO-CORTEZ: And I cannot stress enough how important it is for everyday Americans to not be intimidated out of using their First Amendment rights, which is to continue to say that when you see something wrong, we must organize and mobilize against it. We must use our freedom of assembly.
And what we are seeing here right now is an administration that is deeply afraid of its own unpopularity. We must remember that we outnumber them.
Donald Trump is less popular than he has ever been before. The Republican Party is on its back heels. They are afraid on multiple different fronts. The economy is doing worse than it has ever -- than it has ever been doing in recently.
They are afraid because they are exposed -- they are afraid of being genuinely exposed by what is happening in the Epstein files. You have the economy and they are trying to use these as flash points to divide us instead of all of the things that unite us.
We must put a stop to them, and we must focus on the things that bring us together so that we fight for a better future for all of us.
TAPPER: Congresswoman, stick around. I'm going to squeeze in a quick break, and then we're going to come right back to you.
Thanks so much for watching CNN on this Saturday afternoon. We'll be right back with more from Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TAPPER: DHS Secretary Kristi Noem is speaking right now. Let's listen in.
(LIVE EVENT)
KRISTIE NOEM, U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: -- officials and officers were conducting targeted operations in Minneapolis against an illegal alien whose criminal history included domestic assault with intentionally inflicting bodily harm, disorderly conduct, and driving without a valid license.
An individual approached U.S. Border patrol officers with a nine- millimeter semi-automatic handgun. The officers attempted to disarm this individual, but the armed suspect reacted violently.
Fearing for his life and for the lives of his fellow officers around him, an agent fired defensive shots. Medics were on the scene immediately and attempted to deliver medical aid to the subject, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
[17:24:49]
NOEM: The suspect also had two magazines with ammunition in them that held dozens of rounds. He also had no ID.
This looks like a situation where an individual arrived at the scene to inflict maximum damage on individuals and to kill law enforcement.
About hundreds of protesters then showed up at the scene. They began to obstruct and to assault law enforcement officers. We saw objects being thrown at them, including ice and other objects. And a rampant assault began and even an HIS officer agent's finger was bitten off. Crowd control measures were deployed to bring safety to the public and to law enforcement at the scene.
And once again, I want to remind everybody that this situation and this tragedy did not have to happen. Our law enforcement are doing everything that they can to protect the public. We're praying for this deceased loved ones, family and friends.
But we also recognize that the Minnesota governor and the Minneapolis mayor need to take a long, hard look in the mirror. They need to evaluate their rhetoric, their conversations, and their encouragement of such violence against our citizens and our law enforcement officers.
I'll remind you that Governor Walz today in his press conference said that our officers were not even law enforcement, which is a lie. He's called them the Gestapo. He's encouraged residents and citizens and violent rioters to resist. He's doxed their identities, putting themselves and their families' lives in jeopardy.
He's refused to turn over murderers to federal law enforcement officers. He's protected illegal criminals and protected them from being brought to justice and even overseeing a historic, unprecedented theft of American taxpayer dollars.
Tens of billions of dollars were stolen under his watch. And he allowed it to happen, and in some instances, may have even facilitated it.
In other cities and states across the country, we don't see this happen. Local, state and officials work with us to make sure that were making their streets safer.
I'll point to the city of Memphis, which is where there is a Democrat mayor in place. He worked with us and our federal law enforcement officers, and we saw murder rates drop by 50 percent because of that partnership.
We've seen historic lows in the criminal acts that have happened in that city. We've had the same amount of law enforcement officers there, but a very different result because of the leadership in place.
Last week, ICE did over 2,000 different operations, and we saw people be brought to justice and the American people made safer because of that work.
We don't have this problem in Texas or in Florida because those individuals in those states work with us, and they make sure that they keep peace and calm while they bring criminals to justice.
In Minneapolis, Governor Walz and Mayor Frey, they instead choose violence. They instead choose to encourage the destruction of their city and the crime against their people.
It appears that they want this lawlessness to continue. It appears that they want chaos to distract from the theft and the fraud and the corruption of their city.
I'll remind you that this city has been corrupt for years with what we've seen, with people that have been stealing taxpayer money, all under the leadership of Governor Walz and Mayor Frey.
I'm asking for all the authorities in Minneapolis and the leaders to work with us. And there are two things that we have repeatedly asked the governor and the mayor to do.
Number one, all we want them to do is that when they are going to release a dangerous criminal from their jails, turn them over to us so we can get them out of this country as soon as possible. Since we have been back in the White House with President Trump's leadership, they have released over 490 criminals onto their streets rather than allow us to get them out of the country to keep families safe.
The second thing that we have asked the governor and the mayor to do is to help us keep people safe. Just give us backup on the streets while we do our targeted operations to get illegal criminals out of our country. And then we wouldn't have to be there facing these types of situations that we face with violent rioters who are impacting and attacking our law enforcement officers.
That's all. Those are the two requests that we've asked of them. We've asked them to help us do that so that we can continue to see success in Minneapolis like we see in so many other cities and communities across the country.
But they have refused because they want us talking about attacking law enforcement officers instead of the fraud and the theft that they facilitated in Minnesota.
One thing I'd like to do before I take your questions on that situation on the storm is give you a few facts about the storm and what we're facing here in the coming days.
This storm is going to produce heavy snow. It's going to produce dangerous freezing rain and ice and life-threatening wind chills that will be sustained for days. Power outages, road closures and other impacts have already started to impact the Midwest, the South and the East Coast.
NOEM: The most important thing that people can do across this country is to please stay off the roads, to stay home when possible, unless you absolutely have to be out and about.
[17:29:56]
That will not only ensure that you and your family are safe, but that emergency responders are not out there trying to rescue you when they could be out doing other work to proactively keep people safe and at home.
Stay alert by listening to different announcements from your local officials and from your state. We want to remind everybody that in these emergency disaster situations, it's your local officials and local emergency managers that bring -- that go out and execute response to these disasters.
Your states manage it, and the federal government is here to support. We are here and have been opened and visiting and talking with all of the governors and local leaders to make sure they have everything that they need ahead of time and that we can be as prepared as possible for what is going to unfold in the coming days.
I want you to make sure that you get the chance to visit the web site ready.gov to see recommendations and advice for how you can protect your family and be prepared for the storm that is coming.
We have 17 different states and the District of Columbia that have already declared states of emergency. President Trump has already approved emergency declarations at the federal level for these following states: For South Carolina, the Commonwealth of Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, Maryland, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Indiana, and West Virginia.
I'm sure there will be more coming, and we are turning those around immediately to make sure that states have the resources from the federal government that they have requested.
I have spoken several times on conference calls, but also called personally governors and local leaders to facilitate the partnership that we need to help keep this federal response streamlined with their state responses. The Department of Homeland Security, FEMA, CISA, our cyber security team focused on the electrical grid and our critical infrastructure.
The Coast Guard and our other federal partners are all embedded in state operators -- operation centers across the country.
Governors remain in the lead on these responses, and we are continuously talking to them to see what they need to continue to take care of their citizens and make sure that people are safe.
I activated the National Response Coordination Center, which is where you are right now, two days ago, and we are monitoring the storm and coordinating federal support for the affected areas.
At my direction, FEMA has already pre-positioned commodities in many locations across the country. We have embedded partners in state emergency operation centers, and we have deployed -- I'm at teams (PH), incident management assistant teams, with dozens more ready to deploy at any moment, besides those that have already been pre- positioned.
We have dozens of urban search and rescue teams that are ready to go out and to save lives in partnership with our local and state authorities, should that become necessary.
We do have tens of thousands of people in affected states in the south that have lost power. We have utility crews that are working to restore that as quick as possible, and we expect to continue to see that as ice builds on power lines and trees are affected, and we see more damage, but we have partnered with our energy companies and rural electric communities to make sure that we are able to facilitate the repairs as soon as possible to get the power on, especially in light of the cold temperatures that we see coming for days on end.
We just ask that everyone would be smart, stay home if possible, take care of your family members, check on your neighbors, and continue to work with your local officials to get through this difficult storm. And we will continue to pray for God to bless this great country and all of the families and the public servants who get up and work to keep people safe.
With that, I'll take any questions that you may have.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Secretary Noem -- Secretary Noem.
NOEM: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is DHS leading the investigation into this shooting? And if so, will there be a criminal investigation, and also, will we see body camera released from the officers involved?
NOEM: We are conducting this investigation just like we do all other officer-involved shootings, and we'll continue to do that. So, that is unfolding, and we'll give you more details as those are released.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Secretary Noem --
NOEM: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you so much for doing this, and would welcome also any other guidance from Chief Scott. Did the 37-year-old who had a license to carry? Did he brandish a gun, and at what point did law enforcement retrieve the gun and also the magazines from him? Can you offer clarity on where does were found?
(CROSSTALK)
NOEM: This individual showed up to impede a law enforcement operation and assaulted our officers. They responded according to their training, and took action to defend the officer's life and those of the public around him. And I don't know of any peaceful protester that shows up with a gun and ammunition rather than a sign.
This is a violent riot when you have someone showing up with weapons and are using them to assault law enforcement officers.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- because video appears to show he's disarmed before shots are fired. So, I just want clarity on that.
And beyond that, I just want to follow up and ask who within the federal government is leading the criminal investigation, understanding that CBP-OPR has opened up an internal investigation.
[17:35:01]
And beyond that, why did federal agents tell Minneapolis Police Department to leave the scene?
NOEM: We are continuing to follow the exact same protocols that we always have. And so, this investigation is ongoing. We are continuing to gather the facts as they unfold throughout that, and we'll do it just like we did under the entire Trump administration and previous administrations. Nothing has changed, and we'll continue to release details as we have them.
But I want you to not distract away from the facts of this situation. Our law enforcement officers were there doing a targeted operation against an individual who was in this country illegally and had a criminal conviction for domestic assault with intent to do bodily harm and other convictions as well.
This 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.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) this.
NOEM: We'll continue to allow -- that is a different incident that happened at the same situation after the tragedy unfolded.
But yes, that's the kind of assaults and violence that our law enforcement officers are facing out on the streets, and that the local leaders are encouraging.
Remember, what Mayor Frey has said that he wanted ice out of the city. We have been working and had a presence in that city for years. We are there to enforce the law and to make sure that the public is safe. Just since we have been there, we have arrested thousands of individuals that have criminal convictions and are in this country illegally, and gotten them off the streets of Minneapolis.
The two things that we've asked the mayor and the governor for is that they would partner with us, and before they let somebody dangerous out of their jails, that they would let us know so we can deport them out of our country. I do not know why they continue to choose the side of law breakers, criminals, murderers, and rapists over the citizens of Minneapolis. And this situation that we have today is a tragedy that we don't have to have. We have it because we have a mayor and a governor who encourage this violence and encourage this type of rioting.
And remember, these are the individuals that were in charge when Minneapolis burned in 2020. They facilitated it, they encouraged it, and they saw the destruction, and we all watched the destruction of that city back then. It doesn't have to happen again.
It appears that they're following the same playbook, and the reason that they are doing it is to distract from the corruption that they have facilitated in fraud and theft from the American taxpayers.
Tens of billions of dollars, they have been funneled into criminal pockets in order -- and stolen from vulnerable people that needed these programs to take care of their children, to go out and provide services to individuals that were developmentally disabled, people that needed programs that the federal government has to take care of those that are less fortunate and need it.
And instead, Governor Walz and Mayor Frey allowed that kind of theft to continue, and now, they want to perpetuate violence against our law enforcement officers to cover it up.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Secretary Noem --
NOEM: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You just made claims that the individual posed a threat to law enforcement --
(CROSSTALK)
NOEM: That is no -- that is no claim. It is the facts. The facts of this situation, this individual showed up to an -- law enforcement operation with a weapon and dozens of rounds of ammunition. He wasn't there to peacefully protest. He was there to perpetuate violence, and he was asked to show up and to continue to resist by a governor who is irresponsible and has a long history of corruption and lying.
And we won't stand for it anymore. These law enforcement officers take an oath. They get up every single day and they go out to protect the public. Many of these individuals live in their communities. And this mayor and this governor have doxed them. They have allowed people to threaten them and their families and expose their identities in order to instill fear and violence. And that's not what America is about. We are going to continue to tell the truth about Minnesota, Minneapolis, what happened here, the theft over the last many years that these leaders have facilitated, and we're going to continue to do our work to get to the bottom of the investigations.
And the one question you should be asking is, the mayor, the governor, and the attorney general have all confirmed that they have been subpoenaed to come in front of a criminal federal grand jury. So, they are covering up and are being in -- a part of a system where they are going to be brought to justice for anything that they had to do with this investigation.
They have confirmed they've been subpoenaed and they will be in front of a grand jury to get that criminal investigation unfolding and to disclose the kind of fraud that they have allowed to happen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Secretary Noem --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- Minneapolis.
NOEM: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The White House has labeled the man who was killed in Minnesota as a domestic terrorist. Is that something you agree with? And have you seen any evidence to that with that claim?
NOEM: 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. This individual who came with weapons and ammunition to stop a law enforcement operation of federal law enforcement officers committed an act of domestic terrorism. That's the facts.
[17:40:09]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where is the evidence of his ideology, though?
NOEM: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Drew Evans of superintendent of Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension had said during a news conference today that when federal -- that federal agent blocked his agency from the shooting scene. When they went, got a judicial warrant, they returned, they were still blocked. Why were they blocked?
NOEM: We have asked these state officials to help partner with us on law enforcement operations for months. Ever since President Trump came into the White House, we have asked them for their partnership to stand alongside of us so we could do targeted operations against criminal illegal aliens, and to help us make their streets safer.
They have refused over and over and over again, and they have perpetuated a narrative that is absolutely false. And our federal law enforcement officers will continue to do their work, and they will do that to make America safe again.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Secretary Noem.
NOEM: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sorry, this is the second DHS law enforcement operation shooting that's happened this year. There was another incident in Portland. Five people have also died in immigration detention so far this year. Why is immigration enforcement becoming so deadly under your tenure?
NOEM: Immigration enforcement is exactly what the American people asked for. When we had a Democrat administration in the White House that facilitated an invasion of millions of people over our southern border and let people come into this country that were completely unvetted.
We know for a fact that we had hundreds, if not thousands of terrorists, suspected terrorists, criminal organizations and gangs that came in and have been committing criminal activities against American citizens for years now that the American people said enough is enough.
We want them out of our country. We want them brought to justice, and they trusted President Trump to go out there and to make America safe again. It is absolutely false to say that there is more incidents with our law enforcement than there was in history before.
In fact, our accuracy and our operations are being conducted in a -- in a manner that is historic for accuracy in taking care of people and doing so safely.
So, the narrative with the press that they have perpetuated that we have more individuals that have been jeopardized, or that our detention centers are not at the highest standards is absolutely false. Our detention standards and the people that are being taken care of there are at the highest level they have ever been. They exceed state and local standards, and we'll continue to do that and make sure that people have the facts around how people are treated when they are brought into detention, and then, we take them home.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Secretary Noem --
NOEM: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- storm.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Secretary Noem, we have seen reports about witnesses being taken to the Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis. Could you explain why the witnesses of the shooting this morning have been taken to that building?
NOEM: The witnesses to -- are you talking about the ones that have been detained, that are illegal aliens?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, the witnesses, I think, to the event in Minneapolis.
NOEM: I won't speak to the investigation and the details and those will continue to unfold, but I do know that we are continuing to follow the same protocols that we always have.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Secretary Noem --
NOEM: Was there a question back here on the storm?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Anyone have a question on the storm? We are at FEMA headquarters.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Secretary Noem --
(CROSSTALK)
NOEM: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If these are targeted arrests, why are these immigration agents going after civilian protests out of their way? And second, are -- and your agency --
(CROSSTALK)
NOEM: This individual impeded the law enforcement officers and attacked them. State the facts as they unfolded on the street today. We were doing a targeted operation against an illegal criminal, and this individual came with a weapon and dozens of rounds of ammunition and attacked them. And these agents took action to defend their lives and to defend the lives of the people around them, and acted according to their training, and we will continue to let this process go forward and not allow people like Governor Walz and Mayor Frey to lie about what actually unfolded on that street.
Now, they have deemed this situation an unlawful assembly, and these leaders are not even cleaning up the situation that they have as far as the violent riots that we see unfolding in Minneapolis right now.
They need to be strong, take action, protect their citizens and partner with us to go after these criminals that perpetuate violence, and to keep our law enforcement officers safe.
Let's all be grateful for people who take an oath every day and they go out to enforce the laws. That is their job is to enforce the laws and to make sure that there is consequences for breaking the law in this country, and that it applies equally to everybody.
That is what they do. They do it every day. They do thousands of operations every single way -- week, and they do it with excellence. Don't let political corrupt leaders who are just trying to cover up their theft of American taxpayer dollars, try to distract you from the facts of the situation.
One more question, right here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Governor Tim Walz said he told Susie Wiles that Minnesota would take the lead on this investigation. Are you working with local law enforcement on the investigation?
NOEM: This is the same protocol we'll always follow. Who would trust Governor Walz at this point? The man has stood up and encouraged resistance. He has refused to partner with us. He sacrificed his citizens' safety and their well-being by choosing the side of people who break the law and who steal money, and to perpetuate violence.
[17:45:08]
He has chosen all of that. And back to an administration previously that allowed an invasion of our country, we need to partner with people who truly understand that the law is the law, and in the United States, we will keep people safe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Secretary Noem, what's your message --
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Secretary Noem --
(CROSSTALK)
NOEM: Thank you. Last question.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Secretary Noem, this is what the president -- closer to invoking the Insurrection Act?
TAPPER: All right. Let's pick up where we left off. You just heard the Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, talking about the shooting of 37-year-old ICU nurse, Alex Pretti.
And I want to bring back Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democratic Congresswoman from New York.
Congresswoman, I just want to read this part from Kristi Noem and get your reaction. This is how she describes the video that many Americans have seen with our own eyes from at least two or three different angles. This is what she said.
First of all, she said multiple times that this individual, Alex Pretti, attacked the officers. But here is her first official statement. She said an individual approached U.S. border patrol officers with a nine-millimeter semi-automatic handgun. The officers attempted to disarm this individual, but the armed suspect reacted violently. Fearing for his life and for the lives of his fellow officers around, an agent fired defensive shots. She also said that the suspect also had two magazines with ammunition in them that held dozens of rounds. He also had no I.D. This looks like a situation where an individual arrived at the scene to inflict maximum damage. Your reaction.
OCASIO-CORTEZ: Well, of course, what we are seeing is Secretary Noem and the Trump administration asking the American people to not believe their eyes, to not believe their ears, and to not believe what they are seeing right before them.
They are instead asking you to give up your belief in your own senses, and instead, hand over your belief into anything that they say.
I'm not asking the American people to believe me or her, but to believe themselves. Look at it for yourself, and what you will see is an innocent man being executed in the street. And it only goes further to show she is saying herself, that ICE and those officers, those federal agents prevented local law enforcement from securing the perimeter of that crime. From securing the perimeter of that for proper investigation.
Moreover, Jake, I want people to recognize and see the sequence of actions and claims that she is making in her statement, because in directing this around Mayor Frey, in directing the language that she was using about Governor Walz, claiming that they are "inciting". That their resistance and difference from this administration, that their political difference in policy from this administration, she is equating disagreement within with incitement.
And in doing so, in using the specific language and rhetoric that she is using, she is she is laying the groundwork in alignment with what President Trump said and what White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, because she is talking about and laying the rhetorical groundwork for the Insurrection Act in terms of their language earlier this week.
In fact, her contrast with the other states and municipalities that she talked about. She talked about Memphis, she talked about Florida, and she talked about Texas. Three states with Republican governors. And she contrasts that to try to lay the groundwork against action against Democratic states and governors.
And this isn't just a matter of political difference. This is talking about what Karoline Leavitt said earlier this week, that they want to use the Insurrection Act, specifically on states based on their political affiliation.
This is a dangerous, dangerous moment, and we have to debunk what the very clear lies that are before us. And that is the importance of fact checking them in real time, because we cannot allow them to blur the lines to then claim legal justification for illegal actions.
It is very important that we call a spade a spade right now that we see with clarity. She is claiming that they are breaking the law. Minneapolis has a city ordinance of a -- of a sanctuary city. It is the municipal law that we respect people's -- individual rights in the city. They may not like it, they may not agree with it.
But they are not taking issue with government -- with Governor Walz and Governor Frey.
[17:50:00]
They are taking issue with the people of Minneapolis and the people of Minnesota, who have duly elected their own elected officials to enact their will.
So, they may not like it, but that is what the people of Minnesota and the people of Minneapolis want. They want people's civil liberties and civil rights protected. They have passed a sanctuary city ordinance. Mayor Frey is executing on the municipal laws passed by that -- passed by duly elected officials by the people of Minneapolis.
That is what it means to live in a democracy, and that is precisely what they are trying to threaten and undermine in this moment.
TAPPER: One of the other items here that is interesting, and also provides some cognitive dissonance, is the issue of concealed carry laws. I don't know your opinion on them. I have my assumptions, but as a general rule, conserve -- concealed carry laws have been pushed in states and municipalities by conservatives, by Republicans in the name of the Second Amendment.
And what Secretary Noem is doing there by suggesting that Alex Pretti, who had a license, according to the chief of police and the governor, to carry a concealed weapon. What she is suggesting is -- because, again, I have seen no evidence, and I'm, you know, my mind is open, but I have seen no evidence that he even touched his gun. And I -- also, you heard a question about whether or not he was disarmed before he was shot, and that -- and that when she took questions, and that also appears to be the case again, waiting for the investigation.
But if the simple possession of a gun by somebody who has a concealed carry permit is grounds for lethal action to be taken against somebody.
And if it is being cited by a government official as evidence that somebody was going to use that weapon to kill a lot of people. Well, there are a lot of concealed weapon holders throughout the country that, that would probably be rather unwelcome news to.
OCASIO-CORTEZ: That's exactly right. And frankly, it doesn't -- one's opinion, in my view, one's opinion on concealed carry is irrelevant to the laws of this land in terms of the facts of what exists right now.
And it is the -- when you speak about cognitive dissonance, this is the intention of what Secretary Noem is discussing.
I mean, it is how rich is it that she is saying, showing up to the scene of a protest with a legally -- with a -- with a legally owned weapon should be grounds for a person's death, execution at the hands of the state by the same party and the same administration that praises Kyle Rittenhouse.
When she is talking about how merely showing up and inciting violence based on ideology against the government, when this administration has pardoned hundreds of January 6th rioters who have then gone out into the streets and recommitted crimes of violence over and over again.
What Secretary Noem is saying is not that you can't do these things, is not that you can't be armed, is not that you can't attack your government. She just thinks that you can't do that based on your political affiliation, and that is just, I mean, the uncorking of chaos that this administration is trying to attempt against the American people is escalatory, it is dangerous, and it is a complete abdication of leadership.
We cannot go down this road. We cannot have countrymen against countrymen, citizen against citizen. This is not the America that we believe in. It is not the America that we stand in, and we must unite together against this kind of a very dangerous splintering that they are seeking to incite against people and divide us.
TAPPER: So, obviously, I know you have to go, Congresswoman. So, last, last question for you, and we do appreciate your patience as we ran that press conference live.
You just said that the Trump administration, and President Trump, more specifically, is trying to uncork chaos. That's your words. Obviously, we hear the Trump administration saying they are doing this because they want to lock up violent criminals, people who are in this country illegally, who are child blasters and rapists, and I am sure that you don't have any issue with them doing that.
But you talk about the chaos that he is trying to uncork and the division he's trying to create.
[17:55:04]
I guess my question for you is, if you think he is doing that, why do you think he is doing that? What do you think is the strategy, if there is one?
OCASIO-CORTEZ: Because if you can keep people divided, if you can keep the American electorate deeply divided, then, you can continue to loot the economy, enrich yourself. You can continue to pass corrupt laws. I mean, it's no mistake here, it's no coincidence here that this explosion in ICE funding is also a complete giveaway to the surveillance tech companies like Palantir and many others that seek to create billion-dollar contracts and enrich themselves off of a surveillance state that attacks the American people more broadly.
If you can keep -- if you can keep the American people divided, then, they can continue on their program and their agenda of funneling billions of dollars and corruption, whether it's offshore accounts, whether it's these crypto coins, whether it's jacking up tariffs and costs on the American people, so that the billionaires that funded this administration and Donald Trump himself can get away with lining their own pockets. They want us divided here, so that they can swindle us in every other aspect of our lives.
They are -- they are trying to distract from the fact that prices have exploded that people's health insurance is being stripped. As we speak, a trillion dollars out of health care to fund this state violence.
This is what they are trying to do in dividing us, because they know that they are on their back feet. The Trump administration knows that they are failing, that their support is shrinking among the American people, that people are sick of their lives getting worse and worse, and they need to create flash points to distract and divide us so that we don't have the power to organize to make our own lives better.
That is the agenda, and this is part of a larger class war that they have incited among the one percent of this country, not even the one percent. The 0000. -- 0.0001 percent. And this is -- this is the strategy of a class war point, just like right out of the textbook, to divide us along these lines so that they can continue to erode our quality of life, our care, and continue to have to work longer and longer hours to afford less and less in our lives.
TAPPER: Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. Thank you so much for your time today. We really appreciate it.
OCASIO-CORTEZ: Of course. Thank you. TAPPER: Stay with CNN. Much more of our breaking news coverage continues. We're going to squeeze in a quick break. We'll be right back.
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