Whoopi Goldberg says 'you can't justify' Alex Pretti shooting
- - Whoopi Goldberg says 'you can't justify' Alex Pretti shooting
Brendan Morrow, USA TODAY January 26, 2026 at 10:02 PM
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The hosts of "The View" believe the killing of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis may represent an "inflection point" in the history of the United States.
The ABC daytime talk show began its Jan. 26 episode with a segment covering the news that Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, was fatally shot by a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent in Minnesota over the weekend.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who's accused Pretti of being a domestic terrorist, has said that Border Patrol officers acted in self-defense during protests against ongoing immigration enforcement operations. The agency has claimed that in the fatal incident, Pretti allegedly approached officers while armed with a handgun, "reacted violently," Noem said, and intended to kill law enforcement.
Videos of the shooting, which spread widely and sparked outrage, did not show Pretti — who had a permit to carry a gun — wielding a weapon, and he was seen holding his phone up toward agents. A witness said in a sworn declaration that he "did not see him attack the agents or brandish a weapon of any kind."
A rosary adorns a framed photo Alex Pretti that was left at a makeshift memorial in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 25, 2026.
After the video of the shooting was played on "The View," host Whoopi Goldberg noted that federal officials' account of what happened is "vastly different than what a lot of other folks actually saw," and she grew angry as she asked, "How long can they continue this? They murdered a man!"
USA TODAY has reached out to the White House, DHS and CPB for comment.
In a Jan. 24 statement, DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said, "The officers attempted to disarm the suspect but the armed suspect violently resisted. ... Fearing for his life and the lives and safety of fellow officers, an agent fired defensive shots."
1 / 10Vigils held for Alex Pretti, killed in Border Patrol related shootingMourners kneel at a makeshift memorial in the area where Alex Pretti was shot dead a day earlier by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 25, 2026. On January 24, federal agents shot dead US citizen Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, while scuffling with him on an icy roadway, less than three weeks after an immigration officer shot and killed Renee Good, also 37, in her car.Whoopi Goldberg calls Alex Pretti's death 'straight up murder'
Goldberg later described Pretti's death as the second "straight up murder" of an American in Minneapolis, the other being Renee Good, who was shot and killed by an ICE officer in Minnesota earlier this month.
Goldberg also called out Noem and U.S. Border Patrol head Greg Bovino for their statements justifying the killing of Pretti.
"If you don't see it, it's willful because you're not looking," she said. "You can't sit by this. Kristi Noem, you can't justify this. Mr. Bovino, you can't justify this. You can't justify either one. And we all see it. And we see you for what you are. You all have blood on your hands."
Cohost Sara Haines similarly objected to federal officials who have characterized Pretti as a domestic terrorist, arguing that "the people that seem to be bringing the violence are the ICE agents themselves." She added that "people are being killed completely unjustly" and that "there's not a lot of grey area" when watching the videos.
Whoopi Goldberg attends the Ad Council's 71st Annual Public Service Award Dinner at The Glasshouse on Dec. 4, 2025, in New York City.
Stephen Miller, deputy White House chief of staff, called Pretti a "would-be assassin" and said the nurse was attempting to "murder federal agents."
Bovino has characterized the incident as "only the latest attack on law enforcement," adding that "Across the country, the men and women of DHS have been attacked, shot at, doxxed, had their family members threatened."
In a Jan. 26 statement, the DHS alleged a 8,000% uptick in death threats against law enforcement officers and a 1,300% increase in assaults, which McLaughlin attributed to incitement from "sanctuary politicians through their repeated vilification and demonization of law enforcement."
'The View' host Ana Navarro accuses Trump administration of 'lying' about Alex Pretti
Ana Navarro, meanwhile, accused the Trump administration of "lying about Alex Pretti" and "gaslighting the American people," and she expressed sympathy for Pretti's parents, saying she "can only imagine the pain of seeing your son killed, and then seeing your government lie about him."
Sunny Hostin, a former prosecutor, said she was feeling "fragile" after a weekend of watching the Pretti videos, and she slammed the "two unjustified killings" in Minneapolis.
"I've always believed in the rule of law," she said. "I've dedicated my life to enforcing the rule of law, studying the law. When I was a prosecutor, I pledged to the Constitution, to uphold the Constitution. And to see the lawlessness by the United States government is something that is deeply disturbing."
Alex Pretti's death will be 'inflection point,' host Sunny Hostin says
But Hostin speculated Pretti's death will be an "inflection point" that "may, indeed, lead to some kind of change, because I have never seen this type of groundswell from Americans."
Alyssa Farah Griffin, a Republican who served as White House director of strategic communications during the first Trump administration in 2020, also said she woke up "angry" about Pretti's death.
"This is the world I'm bringing a child into," Griffin, who is pregnant, said. "It's an America I don't recognize today. And I'm so sick of my party saying to people, if you care about border security and you care about getting criminal undocumented migrants out of this country, you have to tolerate this. That's not true. This is incompetence by law enforcement, and it's cruelty by law enforcement."
A person on Jan. 25, 2026, takes a picture of a sign in Minneapolis honoring nurse Alex Pretti, died at the hands of federal immigration officers.
She continued, "The administration can say whatever the hell it wants. We have our eyes, and we have our ears, and we know what we saw. This is a tide shift."
Officials in Minnesota and Illinois have sued the Trump administration over its immigration enforcement actions, which they say violate the constitutional right to police within their own states.
Olivia Rodrigo, Jamie Lee Curtis, more celebs react to Alex Pretti's death
Numerous stars, including Olivia Rodrigo and Jamie Lee Curtis, have spoken out to condemn Pretti's killing. "ICEs actions are unconscionable but we are not powerless," Rodrigo posted on Instagram. "Our actions matter. I stand with Minnesota."
In an Instagram story, Billie Eilish called out those stars who have remained silent.
After sharing a video from her brother Finneas O'Connell, who passionately argued the shooting was not justified, Eilish wrote, "Hey my fellow celebrities u gonna speak up?"
Contributing: Joey Garrison, KiMi Robinson and Eduardo Cuevas, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Whoopi Goldberg, 'The View' hosts weigh in on Alex Pretti killing
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