Democrats have launched a furious, profanity-laced tirade against Stephen Miller, accusing the White House aide of having blood on his hands for claiming slain nurse Alex Pretti was a “would-be assassin” after he was gunned down by Border Patrol agents.
Pretti, 37, was shot multiple times by federal agents who pepper-sprayed him in the face and then wrestled him to the ground as he filmed an immigration operation on his phone in Minneapolis on Saturday morning.
Democrats posted a video of the shooting on X, writing that “ICE agents shot and killed another person in Minneapolis this morning. Get ICE out of Minnesota NOW.”
In response, Miller, the architect of President Donald Trump’s deportation strategy, replied: “A would-be assassin tried to murder federal law enforcement and the official Democrat account sides with the terrorists.”
The party fired back with a furious reply:
“You’re a f---ing liar with blood on your hands,” it wrote.
The rare, expletive-laden statement underscores the growing national outrage over Pretti’s shooting, the heavy-handed tactics of ICE and Border Patrol agents, and the administration’s depiction of protesters as “domestic terrorists.”
The shooting was which is the latest to take place against an American citizen by immigration enforcement officers.
Earlier this month, Renee Good, an unarmed mother-of-three, was also killed during an immigration operation, prompting residents—including Pretti, who worked as an ICU nurse for veterans—to protest against ICE’s heavy-handed tactics.
Federal authorities claim Pretti approached officers with a 9 mm handgun, resisted attempts to disarm him, and was shot.
“This is a violent riot when you have someone showing up with weapons and are using them to assault law enforcement officers,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said.
But while the administration claims the agent acted in self-defense, fearing for his and his colleagues’ safety, video footage circulating online shows a different scene.
Images show agents tackling Pretti to the ground, spraying him with a chemical agent, then firing multiple shots while he appears restrained or unarmed.
Pretti’s handgun is not clearly visible in the recordings prior to the shooting, and some analyses suggest it was taken from him before shots were fired.
The Minneapolis police chief also said Pretti was believed to be a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry.
“The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting,” Pretti’s parents said in a statement on Saturday night.
“He cared about people deeply and he was very upset with what was happening in Minneapolis and throughout the United States with ICE, as millions of other people are upset.”
Pretti’s death is not the first time Miller has made comments widely criticized as misleading or inaccurate.
He previously claimed that ICE and Border Patrol agents have blanket immunity for their actions during arrests and deportations; distorted the Supreme Court’s rulings in the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was wrongly deported to El Salvador; and has made incendiary claims about birthright citizenship being a “massive welfare scam.”
On Saturday, in addition to labelling Pretti as a “would be assassin,” Miller also suggested he was a “domestic terrorist”.
The comment came in response to Minnesota Democrat Senator Amy Klobuchar, who wrote on X: “Donald Trump and all your lieutenants who ordered this ICE surge: watch the horrific video of the killing today. The world is watching. Thousands of citizens stopped and harassed. Local police no longer able to do their work. Kids hiding. Schools closed. Get ICE out of Minnesota NOW. And Republicans in congress: Stop your silence and stop being complicit.”
Miller responded: “A domestic terrorist tried to assassinate federal law enforcement and this is your response? You and the state’s entire Democrat leadership team have been flaming the flames of insurrection for the singular purpose of stopping the deportation of illegals who invaded the country.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.
