GOP lawmakers demand investigations, suggest agents leave Minneapolis
- - GOP lawmakers demand investigations, suggest agents leave Minneapolis
Kathryn Palmer and N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA TODAYJanuary 26, 2026 at 2:13 AM
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A growing number of Republican lawmakers are weighing in on the fatal shooting in Minneapolis as concern over the conflicting accounts of the incident from administration officials spill across the partisan aisle.
A little more than 24 hours after a Border Patrol agent shot and killed 37-year-old nurse Alex Pretti, several GOP congressmen are either calling for a thorough investigation, or proposing federal immigration agents pull out of the Twin Cities altogether.
"The events in Minneapolis are incredibly disturbing," Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy said in a statement on social media Jan. 24. "The credibility of ICE and DHS are at stake."
has been fatally shot by federal law enforcement in Minneapolis, officials said on Jan. 24. The shooting comes just over two weeks after 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good was shot in the head by a federal immigration officer in a residential neighborhood south of downtown. See the scene of a shooting.
" style=padding-bottom:56%>Another person has been fatally shot by federal law enforcement in Minneapolis, officials said on Jan. 24. The shooting comes just over two weeks after 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good was shot in the head by a federal immigration officer in a residential neighborhood south of downtown. See the scene of a shooting.
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Another person has been fatally shot by federal law enforcement in Minneapolis, officials said on Jan. 24. The shooting comes just over two weeks after 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good was shot in the head by a federal immigration officer in a residential neighborhood south of downtown. See the scene of a shooting.
">Another person has been fatally shot by federal law enforcement in Minneapolis, officials said on Jan. 24. The shooting comes just over two weeks after 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good was shot in the head by a federal immigration officer in a residential neighborhood south of downtown. See the scene of a shooting.
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1 / 15Man fatally shot by federal officers in Minneapolis. Photos show the scene
Another person has been fatally shot by federal law enforcement in Minneapolis, officials said on Jan. 24. The shooting comes just over two weeks after 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good was shot in the head by a federal immigration officer in a residential neighborhood south of downtown. See the scene of a shooting.
North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis joined Cassidy in calling for an investigation of the incident that has roiled Minneapolis and turned the city into an epicenter of unrest and outrage over President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement efforts. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents have been in the Twin Cities area for months as part of the administration's operation.
Pretti was the third person to be shot by federal agents this month, and the second to be killed, following an ICE agent's fatal shooting of 37-year-old mother of three, Renee Nicole Good.
As with Good's shooting, multiple eyewitness and video accounts of the shooting appear to contradict statements from the Department of Homeland Security, as top administration officials, including the president, have called both victims domestic terrorists.
More: Will another deadly shooting bring another government shutdown?
Federal officials said Pretti was carrying a gun he intended to use to "kill law enforcement." Videos from bystanders ā and a witness account in court filings ā do not show Pretti brandishing a weapon when he approached agents.
Republicans demand inquiry, some suggest agents leave Twin Cities
In the wake of the shooting, New York Republican Rep. Andrew Garbarino formally requested that the heads of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services testify at a full hearing before the House Committee on Homeland Security.
While some within Trump's party demand a full investigation into the shooting, others have said the president's immigration enforcement options should hit pause.
Republican governor of Vermont Phil Scott called on the president to halt immigration enforcement operations and de-escalate tensions, and Rep. James Comer, R-Kentucky, said Trump should consider sending federal agents to other cities that may be more willing to cooperate with the administration.
People gather at a makeshift memorial at the site where a man identified as Alex Pretti was fatally shot by federal immigration agents trying to detain him, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S., January 25, 2026.
"If I were President Trump, I would think about if the mayor and the governor are gonna put our ICE officials in harm's way, and there's a chance of losing more innocent lives or whatever, then maybe go to another city and let the people of Minneapolis decide," Comer said in a Jan. 25 interview with Fox Business.
Comer suggested the "people of Minnesota would rebel" against state and local leadership if federal agents were to leave, despite the weeks of protests demanding they leave and voicing fury over the killings of Good and Pretti. While expressing support for the immigration enforcement operations, Comer also said the situation in Minneapolis is bad and is "only going to get worse."
Senator Angus King, an Independent representing Maine, indicated in an interview with CBS on Jan. 25 that he may join with Democrats to block a bipartisan spending package over its Department of Homeland Security funding measure. Congress is facing an end-of-week deadline to pass an appropriations package and avert a partial shutdown.
āArmed people with masks and telling people they canāt photograph what they are doing and intimidating protesters ā thatās not American,ā King said. āThese people are acting outside the Constitution. They are ignoring our laws and we just cannot keep supporting that.ā
People gather at the scene of a shooting involving federal agents, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, January 24, 2026.GOP criticism builds over officials' statements regarding Pretti's gun
In the hours and days after Pretti's death, officials with the Department of Homeland Security have said federal agents may have been justified in killing him because he was armed and intended to "kill law enforcement." Top officials for both Border Patrol and DHS have not yet supplied evidence supporting the statements.
Pretti had a permit to carry a gun, according to local authorities, and is seen in video footage holding a phone, not his weapon.
More: Gun rights groups slam feds' comments after Minneapolis shooting
Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie registered his discontent with the language on social media, responding to a post from U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli that appeared to reference Pretti's death and his gun.
"Carrying a firearm is not a death sentence, itās a Constitutionally protected God-given right, and if you donāt understand this, you have no business in law enforcement or government," Massie wrote on social media.
Contributing: Christopher Cann
Kathryn Palmer is a politics reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at [emailĀ protected] and on X @KathrynPlmr. Sign up for her daily politics newsletter here.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Republicans critical after Pretti shooting in Minneapolis
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