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The Source with Kaitlan Collins
Man Attacks Rep. Ilhan Omar During Town Hall; Trump Says Pretti Shouldn't Have Been Carrying A Gun; Thune Joins GOP Calls For "Full And Impartial Investigation" Into Alex Pretti Shooting. Aired 9-10p ET
Aired January 27, 2026 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: A spokesperson told us, quote, "VA employees are welcome to memorialize Alex Pretti in their own way as long as they are respectful and it does not interfere with their work duties. To that end, Minneapolis VA Health Care System is working to schedule a memorial event. As with most organizations, VA policy requires employees to direct media inquiries to the appropriate public affairs officer."
I hope you'll join Sara Sidner and me, tomorrow night. We're having a special town hall. A CNN Town Hall, "State of Emergency: Confronting the Crisis in Minnesota." That's tomorrow at 08:00 p.m. Eastern, here on CNN and on the CNN app.
That's it for us. The news continues. "THE SOURCE WITH KAITLAN COLLINS" starts now. I'll see you, tomorrow.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN HOST: Congresswoman Ilhan Omar just attacked, while speaking at a town hall in Minnesota and calling for the resignation of the DHS Secretary. What we know about what happened?
I'm Kaitlan Collins. And this is THE SOURCE.
And we start with breaking news that we're following out of Minneapolis, where Democratic congresswoman, Ilhan Omar, was just attacked while speaking at a town hall event.
In this video, online, seconds after Omar was calling on the Department of Homeland Security Secretary, Kristi Noem, to resign, you see a man approaches her, spraying an unknown liquid on her while holding a syringe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ILHAN OMAR (D-MN): Kristi Noem must resign or face impeachment.
(APPLAUSE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you must resign.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Whoa.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Spraying her (ph). UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (bleep) what is that?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He sprayed something--
OMAR: I don't know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: CNN's Sara Sidner was covering that town hall. It just ended.
And Sara, obviously, as you're watching this moment. It's scary to watch.
SARA SIDNER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is.
COLLINS: We don't know what it is that that man sprayed on the Congresswoman.
SIDNER: Yes.
COLLINS: What did you see inside the room?
SIDNER: We were inside the room, fairly close to her. There were people sitting, sort of all around her. And a man in sort of the second row, it appeared, jumped up out of his seat. It appears he has a syringe of some sort in his hand and pushed some kind of liquid out towards her. You could smell it immediately in the room. It smelled kind of like vinegar.
At that moment, of course, there was a lot of fear and consternation as to what exactly he was doing, and why he sprayed, or what he sprayed, towards the Congresswoman.
And then she, in her reaction to that, actually lunged at him. Then her security detail jumped on him, grabbed him, held him to the ground, and eventually got him up, and took him out of the town hall.
She has these town halls once a month, and we are told by her staff that this never happens. Yes, she has faced threats. Like so many other people in Congress, she has faced death threats. But never actually had someone attack her in this way at one of these town halls.
I should also mention that as she was leaving, we were able to talk to her just for a few minutes as she left the room, and I asked her if she was OK. And she says, I'm OK. And she continued, by the way, the town hall, saying she wasn't going to let anybody intimidate her.
Let me let you sort of listen to what she said. Now, granted, our photographer, Jerry Simonson, caught all of this on camera. He caught the face of the man involved. He caught the incident, as it was happening.
And then afterwards, as she -- he was following her out, I grabbed my cellphone, and you'll hear what she says after I ask her how she's doing. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SIDNER: Representative Omar, are you OK?
OMAR: You know, I'm going to go figure if I am, but I feel OK. I feel that it is important for people, whether they are in elected office or not, to allow these people to intimidate us, to make us not fight for our constituents and for the country we love. And as I said, you know, I've survived war, and I'm definitely going to survive intimidation and whatever these people think they can throw at me, because I'm built that way. Thank you.
SIDNER: Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIDNER: Because I'm built that way. Someone who has survived war, says she will not let anything like this intimidate her and stop her from sending the message that she wants and the message that her constituents have been telling her to send.
And she was here, of course, because of the ICE action in Minneapolis. Of course, that was the topic of this town hall, although she does do these once a month.
We know she is getting checked out. They're trying to make sure that she is indeed OK.
We do not know what that substance is. And there was quite concern about what it might be, since we could all smell it very strongly in that room.
Kaitlan.
COLLINS: Yes. And amazing how she just went after that man immediately in that moment.
SIDNER: Yes.
COLLINS: Obviously, before her security in the room also tackled him and detained him.
I should note, we were actually scheduled to speak with Congresswoman Ilhan Omar before this happened, here on the show tonight. Understandably, as you said, she is getting checked out, making sure everything is OK. Obviously, we'll keep everyone updated if we speak with her.
[21:05:00]
Sara, I'm glad you're there, just covering this, period, but also there tonight.
SIDNER: My pleasure.
COLLINS: And thank you for joining us tonight. As we continue to track what is happening, and we'll keep you updated on what we hear from Congresswoman Omar's office.
There's also more breaking news coming out of Minneapolis tonight, as CNN was first to report that not one but two federal officers fired their guns in that fatal encounter with Alex Pretti, according to an initial report that is coming out of the Department of Homeland Security.
Here in Washington, as his administration is under intense scrutiny over the response to Alex Pretti's killing, President Trump notably declined to echo comments that had been made by his Deputy Chief of Staff, one of his most trusted aides, Stephen Miller, who initially had labeled Pretti, a would-be assassin.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: Do you think he was acting as an assassin in Minneapolis?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Who was that?
REPORTER: Mr. Pretti. Your Deputy Chief of Staff said that.
TRUMP: No, not as an -- no.
REPORTER: Do you agree with the assessment from some of your own officials that Alex Pretti is a domestic terrorist or an assassin?
TRUMP: Well, I haven't heard that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: In a statement to CNN tonight, Stephen Miller acknowledged to my colleague, Kristen Holmes, that federal agents may not have been following proper protocol before shooting Pretti. There was no apology in that statement, yet it was still an extraordinary one from Stephen Miller itself.
And it comes as the President sent his own Border Czar, into Minneapolis, to do cleanup around the response here, replacing Border Patrol's Greg Bovino, who was often seen in the middle of altercations with protesters, in Minnesota, in the last several weeks.
Instead, Tom Homan is now on the ground. He sat down with Governor Walz, and Minneapolis mayor, Jacob Frey, right off the bat. He described those initial meetings as a productive starting point.
This comes, as the President himself was asked about those staffing changes on the ground, in Minneapolis, and downplayed them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I do that all the time. I shake up teams.
Everybody here, these are a lot of owners of farms and places, and you shake up your team, if they can't do the crops fast enough, they got -- look, we have an incredible team.
We have Tom Homan there now, we put him in there. He's great. And they met with the Governor, the Mayor, everybody else. And we'll -- we're going to de-escalate a little bit.
It's not a question of retreat. We want -- we want safe cities, whether it's -- if we -- you know, we took a lot of the bad, the crime, out of there. We want safe cities and states. We want a safe country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: This comes as the President is standing by the Department of Homeland Security Secretary, Kristi Noem, tonight, telling reporters that he believes she is still doing a very good job. Which is, quite different from what some Senate Republicans have been saying.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. LISA MURKOWSKI (R-AK): I have said that I've lost confidence in her.
REPORTER: Do you think that President Trump should remove her from the position? Do you think she should resign?
MURKOWSKI: That's obviously up to the President.
But I think we would be -- we would be better-served with new leadership at the department.
SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): If I were in her position, I can't think of any point of pride over the last year. She's got to make her own decision, or the President does. But she has taken this administration into the ground on an issue that we should own. We should own the issue of border security and immigration. But they have destroyed that for Republicans. Something that got the President elected, they have destroyed it through their incompetence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: My lead source tonight is one of the seven Democrats who voted to confirm Kristi Noem, but is now calling for her to go. Pennsylvania senator, John Fetterman, joins me now.
And thank you, Senator, for being here.
Why do you believe that Secretary Noem should be fired?
SEN. JOHN FETTERMAN (D-PA): Well, I mean for multiple reasons right now. I mean, I voted for her because I'm on the Homeland Security, and I'm also the Ranking Member on the Border Security Subcommittee. So, I hoped to have a relationship and work together, because we -- I thought we believed we would -- believe in securing our border, and deporting the criminals, and having an ongoing dialog. That's the way things work in Washington, D.C. And clearly, the way things continue to deteriorate, and actually what happened in Minneapolis, it's been very clear. They've created a dangerous and ungovernable situation that made civilians, law enforcement and agents unsafe, and created, now, and resulted in, now, two deaths of American citizens at this point.
COLLINS: If President Trump doesn't fire her, would you--
FETTERMAN: I think that it's--
COLLINS: --would you support those efforts that are underway to impeach her and remove her?
FETTERMAN: I mean, you can impeach a ham sandwich. That's not -- that's not going to go anywhere where there won't be any votes. The same thing happened with Mayorkas. And Mayorkas, again, I thought he was -- he was incompetent, and I think he should have been fired, honestly, for us.
[21:10:00]
But now, whether you impeach or not, there won't be votes, and it's just going to be more of a statement. I think, calling the President to fire her, that's about as strong as it probably gets that. I mean, I don't think it's necessarily illegal, but it's just incompetence, gross incompetence, whether we had what I believe with Mayorkas, again, what happens, now with Noem.
COLLINS: If she stays on as the Homeland Security Secretary, and given your role on those committees, what's your concern about the future of DHS?
FETTERMAN: I'm sorry, what? There's a tick--
COLLINS: If she stays on as the Secretary, if Kristi Noem does, what's your concern about her leadership at DHS?
FETTERMAN: Well, yes, of course. I mean, of course, there's ongoing concern. And then this is what I've said in my tweet to the President. It's like, it's trashing your -- it's trashing your legacy.
As a Democrat, that I believe in immigration, I believe we deserve to -- secure our border. I believe we should deport all of the criminals in our nation. What I don't believe is we should be targeting otherwise hard-working immigrants, and I don't support those things.
So, for me, that's what -- it's a breakdown in Minneapolis. They weren't deporting all the criminals. Certainly wasn't making our border any more secure. And it turned into like an out of control (inaudible) and it's getting increasingly more and more deadly and chaotic.
COLLINS: Do you think the federal agents should all leave Minneapolis?
FETTERMAN: I do -- I do think you need a reset at this point. I don't think, at this point, anything more -- anything more productive can continue as -- because you can't -- you can't control it, you can't govern it. And so, why would you, at this point, maintain and push such a very bad situation? I think there needs an effective reset, and work with local officials, and now figure out, does it really make any sense, at this point, and now, given the tragedy, what's happened here.
COLLINS: With Secretary Noem, what she said was not that different than what we also heard from the FBI director, or from Stephen Miller, or -- you know, he said that he was an assassin, something that the Vice President also retweeted.
Do you believe the President should take action beyond just Kristi Noem, when it comes to his senior staff?
FETTERMAN: We had technical issue. I did not see that question. I didn't hear it. What?
COLLINS: Kristi Noem called Alex Pretti a domestic terrorist. Those are similar sentiments to what we saw--
FETTERMAN: Well, he is not -- yes.
COLLINS: --from Stephen Miller and others.
FETTERMAN: You know, he was not -- he was not a terrorist or anything. That's absurd. And that's the kind of rhetoric, and the way she's behaved after that tragedy. That's one of the reasons why I think it's entirely appropriate you should -- she should be fired for those things. She's lost the confidence. And I think if there's more Republicans being honest, they would agree with me on this.
I mean, I know there's plenty of Democrats, with Mayorkas, he was incompetent, and he really should go, but they were afraid to really speak out. So, when someone's unable, and they have failed, they should be removed at this point. And I warned that it would cost us the election, because the border was a failure.
So (inaudible) degrading the Trump's legacy with about securing our border, one of the things that he won and what he has made a priority in his administration.
COLLINS: There's a fight here in Washington, when it comes to funding ICE in the DHS funding bill. I know you said you don't want to shut the government down over this. You do want changes made to how ICE operates. How do you force those changes without holding up this funding bill?
FETTERMAN: Well, I mean, I want -- I want everybody to know that that vote will not have any impact on the funding for ICE, at this point. They have had many, many, many billions available, after the big, beautiful bill. They have all of the necessary funding to operate for a while.
And that big, beautiful bill, I did not vote for that. Not a single Democrat in D.C. voted for those things. So for now (ph), I do hope they're able to unbundle all those bills, and 90 -- I think virtually everyone would quickly pass five of them, and it's all going to come down to that one bill. But it seem more and more unlikely that that's going to happen.
[21:15:00]
And now, so for me, do we really want to stop paying our military twice time -- two times in two months at this point? So, I would remind everybody, that does not defund ICE. And for me, as a Democrat, I absolutely reject to abolish or defund ICE. ICE is necessary, but it needs to make some changes at this point. So that's -- here we are.
So, shutting the government down and punishing and not paying the military and all of the other critical parts of our government will now shut down, if this is shut down. It is not going to defund or do anything (inaudible) ICE, because there have -- there's billions and billions after the big, beautiful bill.
COLLINS: Yes, Democrats have said they want to tie it to changes they want to see at ICE, which you said you want to see as well.
Can I ask you, in 2016, when you were the lieutenant governor, you said that you believe sanctuary cities make everybody safer. Given that has been the administration's argument against what's happening in Minneapolis, do you still agree with that tonight? Is that still your position that sanctuary cities make people safer?
FETTERMAN: I think, at that time. The dynamic has changed much differently, and the border has become more and more increasingly more difficult. So, for me now, I think it's entirely appropriate to make the adjustments. And I do think -- I do think, at this point, we should be turning over all the criminals that are in custody in all these jurisdictions.
COLLINS: Does that -- I mean, for Minneapolis -- obviously, you're the Senator from Pennsylvania. But in Minnesota, Jacob Frey, the Mayor, says he doesn't believe that they should cooperate with those federal enforcement laws.
So, you do believe that they should be cooperating more with the Trump administration?
FETTERMAN: What I do -- what I do believe is that if there are law enforcement that have these people in custody that are behaving in criminal behavior, then yes, they should -- they should cooperate with that. And those individuals, if they're convicted, should be deported.
COLLINS: And so, your stance on sanctuary cities has changed then. Is that right, Senator?
FETTERMAN: I think it's, yes, I think it's -- I think it's evolved because the dynamics and the circumstances, with respect to our border, has.
COLLINS: Senator John Fetterman, thank you for joining us tonight. Always appreciate having you on the show, and thanks for your time. Up next here on THE SOURCE. Republican lawmakers are balking at the President's immigration enforcement strategy. That is a rare place for them to be. Somewhere that has always been a winning issue, typically for the President, now maybe becoming a liability to a degree. We'll dig into that.
As the President signaled this today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We have Tom Homan there now, we put him in there. He's great. And they met with the Governor, the Mayor, everybody else. And we'll -- we're going to de-escalate a little bit.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[21:20:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: President Trump, who repeatedly ran on a promise to defend the Second Amendment, said today that Alex Pretti should not have been carrying a gun when he was killed by federal agents.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I don't like that he had a gun. I don't like that he had two fully loaded magazines. That's a lot of bad stuff. And despite that, I say that's a very unfortunate incident.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Now, many people have compared that comment today, and in the last few days, to what happened, and what the President said, when Kyle Rittenhouse not only brought a gun to that protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, but also used it to kill two people and wound another, in what a jury later determined was self-defense.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: That was an interesting situation. You saw the same tape as I saw. And he was trying to get away from them, I guess, it looks like, and he fell, and then they very violently attacked him. And it was something that we're looking at right now, and it's under investigation. But I guess, he was in very big trouble. He would have been -- he probably would have been killed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: My next source was the Acting Secretary of Homeland Security when those protests were happening in Kenosha. He is also the Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer at the America First Policy Institute. Chad Wolf is back here on the show.
And thank you, Chad, for being here.
When you hear the President's comments today, how is that consistent with the Second Amendment?
CHAD WOLF, FORMER ACTING SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY, EXECUTIVE VP & CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER, AMERICA FIRST POLICY INSTITUTE: Well, Kaitlan, thanks for having me.
The comments that I heard the President make, clearly is in reference to an individual coming and interfering with a law enforcement operation. I think that's a very different thing than just showing up, perhaps to a protest and having a concealed carry firearm with you. But once you inject yourself into a law enforcement operation, then the dynamics and the situation changes completely.
COLLINS: But does that mean that you think what those agents did was the right move that day?
WOLF: No, I'm not saying it's justified. I'm going to let the investigation play out.
But I will tell you though, having obviously been at the department, and having been overseeing a lot of -- or not a lot of, but several officer-involved shootings. Any time an individual, again, interferes and inserts themselves in a law enforcement operation, in a very chaotic environment, I might add? Those law enforcement officers don't know that an individual may have a concealed carry, they don't know a lot of different things that we now know after the fact that we've had days to analyze. And so, it's very chaotic.
[21:25:00]
And I would say it's OK, obviously, if you're going to stand on the sidelines and protest, and yell at ICE, and call them all sorts of names. But once you start to interfere with officers and engage officers, that's a very different dynamic, and I think at least how I interpreted the President's comments, and certainly what I would be concerned with would be that.
And I know those law enforcement officers are also concerned with anyone that interferes and has a weapon, as they're interfering with their operations.
COLLINS: But it's -- I mean, you watched those videos, as a lot of people have. On the videos we've seen, Alex Pretti does not brandish that weapon or unholster it, while he is there interacting with the officers. I mean, he has one hand up at one point, and he's holding his phone with his other hand.
WOLF: I have seen the videos, and I will be the first to tell you that three camera videos don't tell you the whole picture.
I think eye witness testimony, I think understanding the commands that were given to Alex, what he may have said in return, I think all of this really matters though, before we draw any conclusions, to understand, did he -- did he tell the officers that he was carrying a firearm, which, everyone that has a concealed carry knows that that's exactly what you're supposed to do, and other things. So, again, I'm going to let the investigation unfold. All I can tell you is that anytime anyone, whether you have a weapon or not, if you interfere with a law enforcement operation, those officers, in a very chaotic situation, have seconds to make decisions. And I would say, there's little reason to do that.
Somehow, we've gotten to the point where everyday citizens think it's OK to interfere with law enforcement. You don't do that with an FBI operation. You don't do that with a DEA operation. And you shouldn't do it with an ICE operation.
COLLINS: Well, I mean, obviously what we've heard from the eyewitnesses on the ground is they were there, protesting, and recording those agents that day.
I mean, one of the witnesses, you talked about eye witnesses, as this investigation goes on, who recorded that interaction that we've seen, she just told Anderson Cooper that the federal government has not reached out to her.
I mean, is that standard protocol, based on what you know from when you ran the Department of Homeland Security, that they haven't reached out to her yet?
WOLF: Well, again, I don't know where they're at in the investigation. Obviously, I'm not at the department, I don't have access to any of that information. I will say that most of times these investigations do -- do--
COLLINS: I mean, it has been three days, I think, is the point.
WOLF: Yes, I mean, they obviously do drag out.
Again, I don't know if she's known to them, if she's made herself known to them. There's a lot of unknowns there. But yes, I mean, they should be collecting all of the eyewitness testimony, camera video, and everything else that is possible, at that scene, at that time, and then going out and doing those investigations as well.
So absolutely she -- you know, again, if she's made herself known, perhaps they will -- they will get to her. Again, I don't know, but I'm sure that they -- this will be a very lengthy investigation, and probably a very comprehensive one.
COLLINS: Would you have called Alex Pretti a domestic terrorist, if you were running the Department of Homeland Security, on Saturday?
WOLF: Again, just knowing what I know, having served at the department, having been involved in officer-involved incidents, as well as shootings, I know that there's a lot that has to play out. So, my first -- my first instinct would not to be to characterize what the motive or motives of a potential suspect was or wasn't. I would let the investigation play out. Try to understand what was going on. Talk to the officers.
A lot of times, the information that you get firsthand, or that you get maybe minutes or hours, after an incident like this, changes, once it's been verified, or it's been checked, or a variety of things could happen. So, I think it's very important that you let that investigation unfold. I know President Trump has said that, as well as others. So, I would do it -- you know, I would -- I would certainly let it -- do it that way, and then make comments based off of the facts and the findings of that investigation.
COLLINS: I mean, just given that they have produced nothing to back up these claims that he was a domestic terrorist. Do you believe that Secretary Noem should apologize to the Pretti family?
WOLF: Well, I'll let -- I'll let Secretary Noem speak for herself on that.
COLLINS: Yes, but I'm asking you to speak for yourself on that.
WOLF: Again, I don't have all the information that they have, so.
COLLINS: What do you think?
WOLF: Yes, again -- again, I would not have made that comment. I've been very clear about that. I would let the investigation unfold, and see where it goes from there. So, my best advice, and not that they've asked, but my best advice is, again, to let that investigation play out, at this point.
Comments that -- whether the Secretary have made, or others have made, on both sides. And again, Mayor Frey and Governor Walz have made some outrageous statements as well. Some of these statements on either side could be true at the end of this investigation. We just don't know yet. And so, again--
COLLINS: Yes, but--
WOLF: --I know I sound like a broken record. But it's very clear, in a law enforcement investigation like this, that you don't -- you don't make statements that don't -- that you don't have the facts to. And so I, again, would let that investigation play out.
COLLINS: Sure. And you can criticize a Democrat for making a comment that they made.
But Secretary Noem runs the Department of Homeland Security. It was agents who work at the Department of Homeland Security who shot and killed Alex Pretti that day. So her statements obviously carry a lot more weight, when she comes out, on Saturday, and says he intended to do mass harm, and calls him a domestic terrorist.
Don't you agree?
[21:30:00]
WOLF: Well, I don't disagree with you that she -- that she runs the department.
What I would also say, though, is that the Mayor's comments, and the Governor's comments, about DHS not being a law enforcement agency, and all the other terrible things that they have said, I think, encourages a lot of people to do what I was just talking about earlier, which is to interfere in law enforcement operations, and put themselves in a very dangerous place. So, I think it's right to obviously call out some of the outrageous statements that they have made as well.
But again, I'm happy to answer this for a third time. My preference would be to let the investigation unfold before definitive statements are made.
COLLINS: Chad Wolf, thank you for joining us tonight. Appreciate your time.
WOLF: All right. Thank you.
COLLINS: And we have more on our breaking news tonight that we started the hour with. An attack on Congresswoman Ilhan Omar during a town hall she was just holding tonight, moments after she called on Secretary Noem to resign. We have new information coming in. We'll bring you the latest right after this.
[21:35:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: And we are staying on the breaking news out of Minneapolis tonight, where a man who attacked Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, while she was holding a town hall tonight, we've learned, has now been charged with third-degree assault.
You see the video captured by our CNN camera, as he was being taken out of the room. That came after this moment, where he rushed to the podium, seconds after the Representative had called on the Homeland Security Secretary, Kristi Noem, to resign, spraying her with some unknown liquid.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OMAR: Kristi Noem must resign or face impeachment.
(APPLAUSE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you must resign.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Whoa.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Spraying her (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (bleep) what is that?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He sprayed something--
OMAR: I don't know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: She continued with her town hall. She told her staff she wanted to keep speaking.
Obviously, the actions of that man are reprehensible. And we're glad that she's OK tonight.
You can see these images that are just into CNN. The syringe that was used in the attack had been left on the floor of the room. It appears to contain some kind of brown liquid. Obviously, the authorities are working to determine what exactly that liquid is, and whether or not it poses a real danger to the Congresswoman.
She regrouped. She continued speaking.
Sara Sidner was there at that town hall and caught up with the Congresswoman, moments right after.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SIDNER: Representative Omar, are you OK?
OMAR: You know, I'm going to go figure if I am, but I feel OK. I feel that it is important for people, whether they are in elected office or not, to allow these people to intimidate us, to make us not fight for our constituents and for the country we love. And as I said, you know, I've survived war, and I'm definitely going to survive intimidation and whatever these people think they can throw at me, because I'm built that way. Thank you.
SIDNER: Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: My political sources are here tonight. David Axelrod. And Scott Jennings.
And Axe, I mean, I know we have a lot to talk about tonight. But just given this breaking news tonight, and what happened to the Congresswoman, what is your reaction to what you just saw play out?
DAVID AXELROD, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA: What my reaction is, is the same as it has been when we've seen other attacks in our politics. We've got to turn -- this is not the way we want to conduct our democracy.
And I will say, I want to direct this to the President himself, because he has, as late as yesterday, leveled charges that are, so far as we know, unproven, baseless, about Representative Omar. He's called her garbage. He said she comes from a worthless nation, she should go back there, and so on. So, he needs to take it down a notch here.
We can't just complain about the environment, when it's one of our own party who is under attack. So, I think this should be one more warning sign about bringing down the temperature in our country.
COLLINS: Scott, what do you make of that?
SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER TO MITCH MCCONNELL: Yes, look, number one, everybody ought to condemn any kind of political violence and political intimidation, whether it's happening to a Democrat or happening to a Republican. And so -- and that would go for the President, that would go for members of Congress. Everybody ought to condemn all political violence and all political intimidation. And so we should, in this case.
The other thing that jumps out to me tonight is, and we've talked about this before, in unfortunate circumstances, most members of Congress are out in the open. They do not have great security, and--
COLLINS: I mean, that is terrifying, how easily he could approach her.
JENNINGS: They're not treated like the President. We're used to seeing the President and all the Secret Service and all that. Most members of Congress, vast majority of them, have very little security at all. And they really are out in the open, and all it takes is one crazy person, or a hateful person, or whatever, to approach them. So, we should keep that in mind.
We have a lot of tough political debates and tough political fights. But we're all human beings here. And these human beings who are in elected office are often in very unsecure -- insecure environments.
[21:40:00]
COLLINS: Yes, I mean, and good for her, for her response there. I mean, she went after the guy, as you can see in that -- in that video.
But I do think, to Axe's point about -- I mean, just tonight, the President was speaking in Iowa, Scott, and he went after Congresswoman Omar. And, as Axe noted, was saying that there's a DOJ investigation into her, which The New York Times says it opened under Biden, appears to have stalled.
I mean, given the President's very personal attacks on her, do you think he should tone those down in light of actions like tonight?
JENNINGS: Look, she's made a lot of attacks on him too. I think the correct answer, at this moment, would be to condemn political violence, condemn political intimidation.
I don't expect Donald Trump or Ilhan Omar, either one, are going to continue -- are going to cease attacking each other, in very stark terms. But, but you can do that and say, We're going to have a sharp debate, and we're going to throw sharp elbows here in politics. But that does not include political violence, and it does not include political intimidation. That would be the correct response tonight.
COLLINS: I mean, Axelrod, just looking at what's happening, like everything that has happened in Minneapolis, every -- they're still dealing with the aftermath of the shooting of Alex Pretti. She was in the minute, in the moment, of talking about that, when this happened. And then to see this person who attended her town hall went to this.
And as Sara was saying, she hosts these town halls almost every month. This is something she does regularly. And her team was telling them, We've never seen anything like this happen.
I wonder what it just says to you, just about the state of our country, of Minneapolis, of everything right now.
AXELROD: Well, obviously Minneapolis -- you know, as a Chicagoan, I experienced the Bovino treatment, we all did, and it raises tensions in the city. It raises anxiety in the city. It creates mayhem and chaos in a city. So, that obviously elevates people's -- the sensitivity of people.
But, to Scott's point. I do think that everybody has to ratchet it down. The thing that we should do, though, is we should have disagreements that are honest disagreements, and we shouldn't shoot first and ask questions later.
What happened over the weekend, with Alex Pretti, was such a disgrace. I mean, it was bad enough that this young man was dead. But to have his name dragged through the mud, to be called an assassin and a domestic terrorist? All to be walked back when the facts became clear and people saw the video. That contributes to the kind of environment we see too.
Everybody ought to think before they speak. And it's not -- it shouldn't be a casual game to sully people in these kinds of terms. And we've seen too much of it.
COLLINS: Yes. And they're not even actually walking it back. They're just simply not repeating it, and not apologizing for it yet.
David Axelrod. Scott Jennings. Stick around, because I have more questions I want to ask both of you.
Coming up. There seems to be a Republican breaking point. Of course, they typically are right in line with the White House and in lockstep. But now, the administration finds itself on defense, racing to contain fallout from how they've responded to these shootings, and how they've handled this, even from within their own party.
[21:45:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Listen to what Republican lawmakers are saying. That there should be a full investigation into the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, after he was killed by federal agents in Minneapolis, on Saturday.
As earlier tonight, a notable addition happened. Senate Majority Leader, John Thune, said this, during his speech on the Senate floor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN THUNE (R-SD): The death of Alex Pretti was a tragedy, and there should be a full and impartial investigation into the shooting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: My political sources are back here with me. David Axelrod. And Scott Jennings.
And Scott, obviously, you hear this from Republicans.
The President said today he's going to be watching over the investigation. It's being carried out by DHS and FBI. What do you make of those Republicans coming out and saying that this should happen?
JENNINGS: Yes, I agree, and the President agrees. I think everybody thinks when something like this happens, that we should have an investigation. So, we'll have one.
I have every confidence, it will be carried out by the top investigators in our government. I mean, FBI, DHS, these people are professionals. And they ought to do it expeditiously and report to the nation, and report to the Congress, and report to the President, on exactly what happened here.
Ultimately, nobody wants to see anybody get killed, or get hurt, in the middle of these law enforcement actions. But when someone does, you have a duty to investigate it. And then, also, you have a duty to hold anyone responsible that needs to be held responsible. And you have a duty to learn from it, so that you can minimize the possibility of this happening in the future.
I want to know a lot about this, to be honest, not just the interaction in which he was killed. I want to know what happened in the hours leading up to it, and the days leading up to it. I want to know who he was in touch with. There's a lot of questions here that an investigation would illuminate.
COLLINS: Yes, I think people might raise questions if it would justify what we saw in the video.
You said, expeditiously. The woman who filmed that video that we saw, though, told Anderson tonight, no one has contacted her.
JENNINGS: Yes, look, I--
COLLINS: I find that to be pretty stunning, three days after, that they haven't spoken to a key eye witness on the scene, or at least contacted her attorney.
[21:50:00]
JENNINGS: Yes, I wouldn't be able to comment on how they carry out these investigations, or what the protocols are.
But every witness should be contacted. Every video should be collected. Anybody that has information about Pretti, what he was doing, anybody that was in the zone of influence here, of Pretti, or the situation, should be absolutely identified, and questioned, and made part of the report. I agree with that.
COLLINS: Axelrod, as you look at this, some people might be saying, OK, there is an investigation being carried out. That's what the President says. But it's the DHS and the FBI. And, of course, we heard from Secretary Noem and Director Patel on Sunday, and the comments they made that are -- have not been borne out.
Do you think people can trust the DHS investigation?
AXELROD: Look, I think that at this point, no -- and I'll -- yes, partly because the people who run the agency, and the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, declared that this was an act of domestic terrorism, and essentially exonerated the shooters.
The thing about -- Scott, the thing that you said that, that concerns me is, you said, We got to find out what Pretti was doing, about -- all about Pretti, about what he's doing the days before and so on.
How about the guys who pulled the trigger? How about the guys who every law enforcement person who watches that video says they did not follow protocol? Even Stephen Miller suggested tonight that they did not follow protocol.
We want a full and complete investigation. But the crime scene was corrupted because of the way it was handled, because investigators were sent away, because the weapon was carried away that Pretti apparently had. So, already, we're starting from behind -- but if it's going to be an open, honest and thorough investigation, let's allow for the possibility that what these guys did in shooting him was improper.
COLLINS: Scott?
JENNINGS: Yes, look, I -- I'm not prepared to play CSI: Axelrod tonight. But I do think anybody involved in this, law enforcement, Pretti, witnesses, bystanders, anybody who has any information ought to be talked to, looked at, investigated. Every possible angle of this ought to be looked at.
And the possibility exists that law enforcement made a mistake. The possibility exists that Pretti was not there to protest, but that he was, in fact, there to disrupt federal law enforcement. All of these possibilities exist. They ought to be fairly looked at, and we ought to get a full report on it, as soon as we can, understanding that there's a lot of people to talk to and a lot of evidence to collect.
COLLINS: Just from your perspective, Scott, as someone who knows this administration, and has been in the West Wing, do you think the agents who shot him should still be on the job, while the investigation is going on? I think that a lot of people have raised questions on that.
JENNINGS: Good question. If it were me, I would probably take the agents and put them on administrative leave, for everybody's protection. Because, obviously there are people who want to get them. They're on video. They were part of a situation that is under investigation. We don't know whether they acted properly or improperly. There's a lot to learn here.
And obviously, they've hired a bunch of agents recently. And so, I don't think it would hurt staffing, to take people and put them on leave while the investigation is going on. That sounds like a prudent thing to do.
Again, I'm not steeped in the protocol of how this normally works at DHS. But to me, just as a layperson, that sounds like a commonsense thing.
COLLINS: Yes.
And Axelrod, I was listening to Anderson's interview on the ground in Minneapolis with Governor Walz, earlier. And he told Anderson -- he was talking about his meetings with Tom Homan, which, you know, even Jeh Johnson, who was the Homeland Security Secretary under Obama, told me last night, he's pleased that Tom Homan is now on the ground. He knows Tom Homan. Obama gave him an award when he was working for him, obviously, on immigration.
He told him, though, that during his conversations with Tom Homan, that Homan never asked or inquired about Alex Pretti's family. And it's not clear that anyone's tried to call them.
AXELROD: Yes.
COLLINS: I just found that kind of stunning, I guess.
AXELROD: Yes, that's -- it's certainly, that's -- that's disappointing.
I was disappointed when the President said, I think it was today, that he went back to the shooting of Ms. Good, and he said, you know, he felt -- he felt particularly compelled by that, when he found out that her father was a big Trump supporter, and he went on about that for a while.
How about our just basic humanity? I mean, what happened to that? There was a horrific shooting that the whole world saw. The whole world saw it. And it's hard to watch that video without being really torn up. And that would have been the right thing.
[21:55:00]
But listen, at this point, I think what people in Minnesota probably want to hear is that this siege is going to end. And I think that, in some ways, that might be the best tribute to Alex Pretti, that the siege recedes.
COLLINS: Yes. John Fetterman, Senator from Pennsylvania, earlier was saying there needs to be a reset on the ground.
David Axelrod. Scott Jennings. Great to have you both here tonight, and thank you for joining us.
AXELROD: Thank you.
COLLINS: And up next here on CNN. We have details on a special CNN event you won't want to miss. We'll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[22:00:00]
COLLINS: Tomorrow night, we have a special CNN Town Hall event here. We're going to be live in Minneapolis, as residents have been questioning, and will question, tomorrow night, officials and community leaders, amid weeks of protests, and obviously tragedy on the ground.
My colleagues, Anderson Cooper and Sara Sidner, are going to moderate "State of Emergency: Confronting the Crisis in Minnesota." You don't want to miss that at 08:00 p.m. Eastern here, tomorrow night. And as soon as it's over, you'll see the key moments here on THE SOURCE with our top political experts.
I'll see you, tomorrow night. Thanks for joining us.
"CNN NEWSNIGHT WITH ABBY PHILLIP" starts right now.
