Minneapolis – The Trump administration said Wednesday that two immigration agents involved in the fatal shooting of a civilian in Minneapolis had been placed on leave, as the president slammed the city’s mayor despite a promise to de-escalate the situation.
🚨 JUST IN: President Trump exposes Tim Walz & Mayor Frey GROVELING on the phone, begging, “How do we do something?! Please!”
“Not a retreat,” Trump says. “It’s bad for THEM, not us!”
ICE is FULLY ACTIVE on Minnesota streets RIGHT NOW
pic.twitter.com/TZ61EhPNpG— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) January 27, 2026
“I want them preventing homicides, not hunting down a working dad,” he added, referring to the Ecuadoran father of five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, both of whom are being held in a Texas facility after being detained by federal agents in Minneapolis.
Saturday’s fatal shooting of Pretti, an intensive care nurse, was widely condemned across the political aisle despite initial efforts by White House officials to justify the killing.
In a bid to stem the backlash, Trump shuffled the leadership of immigration agents deployed in Minneapolis.
He replaced the confrontational Greg Bovino, famed for reveling in aggressive, televised immigration crackdowns, with the policy-focused “border czar” Tom Homan.
Another high-ranking official, Attorney General Pam Bondi, was in Minneapolis on Wednesday as she announced the arrests of 16 Minnesota “rioters” for allegedly assaulting federal law enforcement.
Fury
While the White House insists that it is targeting hardened criminals, the use of masked, heavily armed men to snatch people from streets, homes and workplaces has caused widespread shock.
That turned to fury this month after immigration agents shot dead two Minneapolis protesters at point-blank range in separate incidents – Pretti and Renee Good, both US citizens.
Top Trump aide Stephen Miller initially justified Pretti’s killing by branding him a “would-be assassin” – despite video evidence clearly showing the 37-year-old man posed no threat when he was shot in the back while pinned down on the ground.
Late Tuesday, Miller said the Customs and Border Patrol agents who killed Pretti “may not have been following that protocol.”
Meanwhile, US networks aired video reportedly showing Pretti in another violent scuffle with agents more than a week before his killing. The footage could not be immediately verified.
Clashes between protesters and Trump’s armed, masked federal immigration officers who are deployed to Democratic cities are increasingly common.
In Minneapolis, 39-year-old community activist Jennifer Arnold told AFP little has changed since Trump’s promise to ease tensions in the city.
“The Trump administration is saying that they’re going to change tactics…but we are not experiencing anything different on the ground, people are still being snatched off the streets,” said Arnold.
Immigrant politician attacked
The political battle could soon move to Congress where Democrats are threatening to hold up authorization for swaths of US government funding if reforms are not made to rein in the sprawling military-style immigration agencies.
Trump’s focus on Minnesota is linked to a probe into alleged corruption by Somali immigrants in the state, which he and right-wing allies have amplified as an example of what they say is a fight against criminal immigrants.
The president has persistently targeted Somali-born congresswoman Ilhan Omar for insults and mockery, saying she should be sent back to Somalia.
In the latest sign of a deteriorating political climate, a man sprayed Omar with an unknown liquid while she was giving a speech late Tuesday, before being tackled by security.
The suspect, 55-year-old Anthony Kazmierczak, was arrested on suspicion of assault.
BREAKING: Trump calls the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good at the hands of federal agents a lot of “hoopla” and a “distraction.” The people of Minneapolis are not distracted. They are outraged by what Trump has done to their city. pic.twitter.com/wkfkmRnOv3
— Trump Lie Tracker (Commentary Account) (@MAGALieTracker) January 27, 2026
Speaking to reporters in Minneapolis Wednesday evening, Omar said Trump’s attacks against her helped fuel the incident.
“I wouldn’t be where I am at today, having to pay for security, having the government to think about providing me security, if Donald Trump wasn’t in office, and if he wasn’t so obsessed with me,” Omar said.
She added, however, that such intimidation “hasn’t worked thus far, and it’s not going to work in the future.”
Follow African Insider on Facebook, X and Instagram
Picture: X/@ChyMik
For more African news, visit Africaninsider.com
Source: AFP
