TV News LIES

Minnesota officials are rebuffing a series of demands from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, as the state continues its clash with the Trump administration over the surge of federal immigration enforcement in the North Star state.

In a letter to Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Bondi wrote: "You and your office must restore the rule of law, support ICE officers, and bring an end to the chaos in Minnesota."

The letter was dated Saturday, the same day Alex Pretti, a nurse and U.S. citizen, was shot and killed by immigration officers — the second fatal shooting by federal agents this month.

Bondi urged Walz to embrace what she called "common sense solutions," including repealing what the Trump administration terms "sanctuary policies" and cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Minnesota state officials say the Trump administration is making false claims about its cooperation with ICE.

Walz, who's called on the Trump administration to end its operation in Minnesota, dismissed the letter in a news conference Sunday.

The letter also calls on the state to "share all of Minnesota's records" relating to Medicaid and food assistance programs, including SNAP, with the federal government.

The Trump administration has cited allegations of fraud, especially relating to immigrants of Somali descent, in its immigration crackdown.

Minnesota is one of more than 20 states that has so far refused to comply with a demand from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to turn over personal information about people who have applied for or received SNAP benefits over the last six years. The states have argued the demand is unlawful and a federal judge in California issued a preliminary ruling indicating they were likely to prevail in that claim.

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A top Republican candidate for Minnesota governor has dropped out of the race, sharply criticizing what he called a “federal retribution on the citizens of our state” amid the Trump administration’s intensified immigration enforcement operations – which sparked public outrage after US agents’ killings ofAlex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis.

On Monday, the Minneapolis-based attorney Chris Madel made his announcement, saying in a video online: “I cannot support the … stated retribution on the citizens of our state, nor can I count myself a member of a party that would do so.”

Donald Trump, like Madel, is a Republican. Madel expressed support for federal immigration agents’ purported original aim of deporting undocumented immigrants involved in major criminal activity.

But he said Operation Metro Surge had “expanded far beyond its stated focus on true public safety threats”.

“United States citizens, particularly those of color, live in fear,” Madel said, referring to the immigration enforcement operation, in which roughly 3,000 federal agents have been deployed in and around Minneapolis since December, reportedly carrying out thousands of arrests.

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Gregory Bovino, the Border Patrol’s commander of at-large operations, has been demoted from his post overseeing embeds with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement following an agent-involved shooting in Minneapolis over the weekend, according to six federal sources.

Bovino was notified that he would be headed back to his job overseeing Border Patrol operations in El Centro, California, effective Tuesday.

The move comes two days after a Border Patrol agent fatally shot protester Alex Pretti while carrying out immigration enforcement.

President Donald Trump sent White House border czar Tom Homan and other senior advisers across the Department of Homeland Security to Minneapolis on Monday and spoke by phone with Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) in an effort to find an off-ramp to the tense situation.

Bovino was tapped last June to oversee a temporary surge of agents into Los Angeles.

Five people previously told the Washington Examiner that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem made that decision and had told Bovino he would report directly to her, an unprecedented move to have Bovino go around U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott and Border Patrol’s national chief, Mike Banks.

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New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani denounced the “horrific” crisis playing out in Minnesota while vowing to do “everything in my power” to ensure New York City is not the target of similar immigration crackdowns by President Donald Trump’s administration.

During an interview on Sunday’s episode of “This Week” that was conducted before Minneapolis resident Alex Pretti was killed by U.S. Border Patrol agents, Mamdani accused the White House of gaslighting Americans about why an immigration enforcement officer fatally shot another person earlier this month.

Federal officials have accused that victim, Renée Good, of attempting to ram Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers with her vehicle in an act of domestic terrorism, despite extensive video evidence and witness accounts appearing to show Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel were in no imminent danger.

“I think that there are too many Americans who are being asked to not believe their own eyes, not believe their own ears, not believe their own realities,” Mamdani told ABC’s Jonathan Karl. “And people want to hear the truth.

“They want to see the truth. And that’s why I described that as a murder because there’s no other way to watch that video and come to a different conclusion.”

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Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) urged President Trump’s MAGA base to “take off their political blinders” as she expressed skepticism about the use of force deployed during the latest shooting in Minnesota involving a federal immigration agent.

In a post on the social platform X, Greene touted her support for law enforcement and immigration enforcement, but she also defended the right to legally carry firearms, indirectly pushing back on claims that 37-year-old Alex Pretti posed a threat to federal officers because he was armed.

In a post on the social platform X, Greene touted her support for law enforcement and immigration enforcement, but she also defended the right to legally carry firearms, indirectly pushing back on claims that 37-year-old Alex Pretti posed a threat to federal officers because he was armed. 

“I unapologetically believe in border security and deporting criminal illegal aliens and I support law enforcement. However, I also unapologetically support the 2nd amendment,” Greene wrote. “Legally carrying a firearm is not the same as brandishing a firearm.”

“I support American’s 1st and 4th amendment rights,” she continued. “There is nothing wrong with legally peacefully protesting and videoing.”

The Trump administration has defended the shooting, saying the agent fired “defensive shots” at Pretti, who had a gun that was recovered by federal authorities. Others have accused the agent of acting with excessive force, pointing to video footage showing Pretti recording Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers with his phone before the incident escalated.

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Over $500,000 has been raised through an online fundraiser for the loved ones of Alex Pretti, the 37-year-old ICU nurse shot and killed by a U.S. Border Patrol agent in Minneapolis on Jan. 24.

The funds, which totaled over $530,000 early in the afternoon on Jan. 25, are intended to support the "immediate and ongoing needs" of family Pretti leaves behind, according to the fundraiser's description. Organizer Keith Edwards said Pretti's father has been added as the beneficiary, so their family now has direct access to the money raised.

"Thank you to everyone who has been so generous either donating or sharing the fundraiser — you are what America can look like at our best," Edwards wrote. USA TODAY has reached out to GoFundMe and Edwards to determine whether the fundraiser has been verified.

Pretti, a U.S. citizen and registered nurse who treated veterans, was shot and killed by a federal agent after confronting immigration authorities in the Midwestern city. Federal officials alleged Pretti was carrying a gun he intended to use to "kill law enforcement." Videos from bystanders − and a witness account in court filings − do not show Pretti brandishing a weapon when he approached agents.

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