Kristi Noem says she was ‘just doing her job’ after Alex Pretti’s shooting

The Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem defended her initial, controversial statements regarding the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti this past weekend, claiming she was using the “best information we had at the time.” The Hill has reported that Noem is facing intense political backlash after she rushed to compare Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, to a “domestic terrorist” immediately after he was killed by a Border Patrol agent in Minneapolis. 

Noem claimed that Pretti brandished a gun at officers and wanted to “inflict maximum damage on individuals and to kill law enforcement.” She doubled down on the terrorism claim last Saturday, stating, “Violence against a government because of ideological reasons and for reasons to resist and to perpetuate violence. That is the definition of domestic terrorism.”

However, that aggressive narrative has been thoroughly disputed by video footage of the incident. When asked about the controversy, Noem described the scene in the aftermath of the shooting as “very chaotic.” She told one interviewer that she was simply “being relayed information from [agents and officers] on the ground” and insisted she was “seeking to be transparent with the American people, and get them what we knew to be true on the ground.”

Noem’s comments came after her last attempts at distraction failed

This incident is particularly troubling because it marks the second time this month that a U.S. citizen, Renee Good, has been killed by federal law enforcement in Minneapolis. When pressed about why she used the term “domestic terrorism” to describe the actions in both cases, Noem dodged the question, stating they are “continuing to gather information, and the FBI leading this investigation is important to make sure that we talk about both these situations appropriately.”

The political fallout for Noem has been swift and harsh. Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are chiding her for her rhetoric and are pushing for a deeper investigation into the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement tactics in Minnesota. Some, like Republican Senator Thom Tillis, have demanded her resignation or impeachment. He stated, “What she’s done in Minnesota should be disqualifying. It’s terrible. It’s making the president look bad on policy that he won on.”

Noem, for her part, seems completely unfazed by the demands for her removal. She dismissed her critics as “radicals” who are attacking her for “just doing my job.” Instead, she has been making attempts to project strength and trying to blame others for the situation. It hasn’t worked.