Trump: I'll Be 'Watching Over' Investigation of Pretti Killing

'I want a very honorable and honest investigation'
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jan 27, 2026 5:07 PM CST
Trump Says He Wants 'Honest' Investigation of Pretti Killing
A memorial honoring Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System, is displayed outside the Minneapolis VA hospital on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in Minneapolis.   (Kerem Y?cel/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)

President Trump said Tuesday a "big investigation" was underway into the killing of protester and ICU nurse Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis. "I want to see the investigation. I'm going to be watching over it, and I want a very honorable and honest investigation. I have to see it myself," the president said as he left the White House. He was also asked about Pretti's family and said: "I love everybody. I love all of our people. I love his family. And it's a very sad situation."

  • The comment is the latest marker of Trump's sudden turnabout on the issue as his administration confronts growing pushback—including from some Republicans and Second Amendment advocates—on federal agents' tactics in the second fatal shooting from the aggressive immigration operation in Minnesota, the AP reports.

  • A day earlier, the White House made an effort to distance Trump from some early comments by high-ranking administration officials who had branded Pretti as a domestic terrorist despite videos of the encounter contradicting their narrative.
  • As he greeted diners in a Des Moines-area restaurant on Tuesday, Trump again weighed in on the Minnesota shooting. "We view that as a very unfortunate incident, OK?," he said, adding that everyone "unless you're a stupid person" viewed it that way. In comments that were likely to further irritate his backers who are also strong Second Amendment supporters, he said: "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."
  • In an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Sunday, Trump wouldn't give a direct answer when asked if he thought the agent who shot Pretti had done the right thing. "We're looking, we're reviewing everything and will come out with a determination," he said.

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