White House blames Democrats and distances Trump from Alex Pretti ‘assassin’ remarks

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the shooting and killing by a federal immigration officer of Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti “occurred as a result of a deliberate and hostile resistance by Democrat leaders in Minnesota.” Leavitt’s remarks showed the administration still seeks to blame the violence on its political rivals, even as President Donald Trump said Monday (26 January) he had a productive phone conversation with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz aimed at easing tensions. The White House claims resistance to Trump’s agenda led to the killings of Pretti and Renee Good amid Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in Minnesota. Leavitt also made an effort to distance Trump from comments by several administration officials that criminalized Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti, who was shot and killed Saturday by a Border Patrol officer. Leavitt said she had “not heard the president characterise” Pretti as a domestic terrorist, a label Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem used a day earlier.