Minnesota Governor Tim Walz called in the National Guard on Saturday to help local police as Minneapolis spiraled into chaos following a deadly shooting by federal agents.
The decision came after the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office asked for backup to handle growing crowds at the Whipple Federal Building, where protesters have gathered daily since the killing of Renee Good earlier this month.
Tensions exploded Saturday morning when a U.S. Border Patrol agent shot and killed 37-year-old Alex Pretti near Nicollet Avenue and East 26th Street.
While federal officials described Pretti as an armed threat who “violently resisted” arrest, his parents identified him as an intensive care unit nurse. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara stated that investigators believe Pretti was a “lawful gun owner with a permit to carry.”
READ: Bovino Says Armed Man Wanted To ‘Massacre’ Agents As Minnesota Governor Wants Feds Gone
The violence on the streets quickly turned gruesome. The Assistant Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Tricia McLaughlin, posted on X that the situation had turned into an attack on agents.
“In Minneapolis, these rioters attacked our law enforcement officer, and one of them bit off our HSI officer’s finger. He will lose his finger,” McLaughlin wrote, sharing graphic photos of the injury as proof of the danger agents were facing, as well as two suspects who were detained.
President Donald Trump used the unrest to blast state leaders, accusing Governor Walz and Mayor Jacob Frey of “inciting insurrection.”
On Truth Social, Trump shared photos of the gun allegedly found on Pretti, asking why local police weren’t protecting federal agents. He claimed the protests are a “cover-up” for billions in stolen money and financial fraud in the state. “Let our ICE patriots do their job,” Trump demanded.
Governor Walz, however, condemned the federal operation entirely. “Minnesota has had it. This is sickening,” he wrote, demanding the “violent, untrained officers” leave the state immediately.
With the National Guard now deployed on the streets, an officer maimed, and a nurse dead just a mile from where Renee Good was killed 17 days ago, Minneapolis remains in a volatile standoff.
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