White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller sheepishly admitted Tuesday that border agents “may not have been following” proper protocol when they shot and killed ICU nurse Alex Pretti — who Miller previously described as an “assassin” and a “domestic terrorist.”
“[T]he White House provided clear guidance to [the Department of Homeland Security] that the extra personnel that had been sent to Minnesota for force protection should be used for conducting fugitive operations to create a physical barrier between the arrest teams and the disruptors,” Miller told The Post in a statement. “We are evaluating why the [Customs and Border Protection] team may not have been following that protocol.”
Miller’s about-face followed bipartisan outcry over the shooting of 37-year-old Pretti Jan. 24, the second killing of an anti-immigration enforcement protester in 17 days in Minnesota.
An initial DHS review found that Pretti, who was carrying a loaded Sig Sauer pistol, and an unidentified woman refused to move out of the street after receiving “several verbal requests” to do so. When CBP officers tried to take Pretti into custody, he “resisted” and “a struggle ensued” during which a Border Patrol agent began shouting, “He’s got a gun!”
Seconds later, a Border Patrol agent began firing his handgun at Pretti, along with a CBP officer. Video of the killing shows that at least 10 shots in total were fired, though it’s unclear if Pretti’s gun also misfired.
Miller also claimed Tuesay that his initial disparaging remarks about Pretti — as well as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s claim that the victim “arrived at the scene to inflict maximum damage on individuals and kill law enforcement” — “was based on reports from CBP on the ground.”
