First Lady Melania Trump offered her concern for Minneapolis following a series of shootings involving federal agents there, most recently that of ICU nurse Alex Pretti.
“I’m calling for unity,” she said during an appearance on Fox & Friends Tuesday. “I know my husband, the president, had a great call with the governor and the mayor. And they’re working together to make it peaceful.”
Local and state officials, including Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Gov. Tim Walz, have been at odds with the Trump administration since agents descended on Minnesota in December. And tensions have only intensified since Renee Nicole Good was killed on January 7 by ICE agent Jonathan Ross and, more recently, the killing of Pretti on Saturday.
In the wake of the Good’s death, President Trump called her “very disorderly” in a post on his Truth Social platform.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem added that Ross was only defending himself from Good, who “weaponized her car” in a “domestic terror attack” against federal agents. She also defended agents involved in the fatal shooting of Pretti on Saturday, alleging the 37-year-old nurse “attacked” federal law enforcement while “brandishing” a firearm and labeling the incident an example of “domestic terrorism.”
None of the bystander videos shows Pretti brandishing his gun, but he can be seen holding his phone, seemingly recording agents. In the clips, a federal officer can also be seen repeatedly pepper-spraying Pretti and then pulling him into the street. A group of agents then pin him down, as one officer walks away, holding what appears to match the weapon federal officials say belonged to Pretti. That’s when a series of gunshots ring out — a total of 10 in just a matter of seconds.
Pretti was declared dead on the scene.
Octavio JONES / AFP via Getty Images
A picture of Alex Pretti is left at a makeshift memorial in the area where Pretti was shot dead a day earlier by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 25, 2026. (Photo by Octavio JONES / AFP via Getty Images)
A federal officer also shot a man in the leg after being attacked in Minneapolis with a shovel and broom handle while attempting to arrest a Venezuelan who was in the country illegally.
“I’m against the violence, so please, if you protest, protest in peace,” the First Lady said Tuesday. “And we need to unify in this time.”
Some agents, as well as Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino, are expected to leave the Twin Cities this week.
With New Wire Services
