Trump AGREES to pull ICE agents out of Minnesota and allow cops to investigate shooting, Governor Tim Walz says

Donald Trump has agreed to pull ICE agents out of Minnesota and allow local cops to investigate a protester’s killing by federal agents, Governor Tim Walz said.

The President held a phone call with the Minnesota governor on Monday following the death of 37-year-old Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse who was shot dead by agents during protests against Trump’s immigration crackdown in Minneapolis on Saturday. 

Walz’s office said in a statement: ‘The President agreed that he would talk to his Department of Homeland Security about ensuring the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is able to conduct an independent investigation, as would ordinarily be the case.

‘The President also agreed to look into reducing the number of federal agents in Minnesota and working with the state in a more coordinated fashion on immigration enforcement regarding violent criminals.’

Trump’s call with Walz comes after the President last night blamed Pretti’s death on ‘Democrat ensued chaos’. He has accused Walz of standing by while violent mobs attack ICE agents and threatened to deploy troops under the Insurrection Act.

But the President has privately expressed concerns about Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, reports say, and on Monday he sidelined the MAGA loyalist as he ordered Tom Homan to lead the ICE operation in Minnesota. 

‘I am sending Tom Homan to Minnesota tonight. He has not been involved in that area, but knows and likes many of the people there,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday. ‘Tom is tough but fair, and will report directly to me.’ 

Riots erupted on Sunday night outside a Hilton hotel in Minneapolis, where ICE agents are believed to be staying. Protesters bashed windows and spray-painted the hotel’s facade, videos showed. Others chanted and paced in front of the building. 

It came after weeks of violent outbreaks following the killing of anti-ICE protester Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three. 

Republican lawmakers have raised concerns that Noem’s operation has spiraled out of control, and Democratic leaders at the national and state levels are demanding that federal agents leave Minnesota.

Vermont Governor Phil Scott joined a growing number of GOPlawmakers outraged by the shooting of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, on Saturday.

‘At best, these federal immigration operations are a complete failure of coordination of acceptable public safety and law enforcement practices, training, and leadership,’ the Republican wrote on X.

‘At worst, it’s a deliberate federal intimidation and incitement of American citizens that’s resulting in the murder of Americans. Again, enough is enough.’ 

Senator Pete Ricketts, a close ally of the President, called for a ‘prioritized, transparent investigation.’

‘My support for funding ICE remains the same,’ the Nebraska Republican, who is up for reelection, said online. ‘But we must also maintain our core values as a nation, including the right to protest and assemble.’

Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt told CNN that the shooting was a ‘real tragedy’ and Trump needs to define an ‘end game.’

‘Nobody likes the feds coming to their states,’ Stitt said. ‘And so what is the goal right now? Is it to deport every single non-US citizen? I don´t think that´s what Americans want.’

Echoing criticism that local law enforcement isn’t cooperating with federal officials, Republican Representative James Comer, of Kentucky, suggested the administration focus its immigration efforts elsewhere.

‘If I were President Trump, I would almost think about if the mayor and the governor are going to put our ICE officials in harm’s way and there’s a chance of losing more innocent lives or whatever, then maybe go to another city and let the people of Minneapolis decide do we want to continue to have all these illegals?’ he told Fox News.

‘I think the people of Minnesota would rebel against their leadership.’

Trump administration officials were quick to cast Pretti as the instigator. 

Noem said Pretti ‘approached’ immigration officers with a gun and acted violently. 

Videos from the scene show the 37-year-old being pushed by an officer before a half-dozen agents descend on him. 

During the scuffle, he is holding a phone but is never seen brandishing the 9mm semiautomatic handgun police say he was licensed to carry.

Trump and other administration officials remained firm in their defense of the hardline immigration enforcement tactics in Minneapolis, blaming Democrats in the state and local law enforcement for not working with them. 

In a lengthy social media post on Sunday evening, Trump called on Minnesota’s Democratic leadership to ‘formally cooperate’ with his administration and pressed Congress to ban so-called sanctuary cities.

Trump has enjoyed nearly complete loyalty from fellow Republicans during his first year back in the White House.

But the positions staked out in the wake of the shooting signal the administration will face at least some pushback within the party in its swift effort to define Pretti, who protested Trump’s immigration crackdown, as a violent demonstrator.

Deputy White House chief of staff Stephen Miller issued social media posts referencing an ‘assassin’ and ‘domestic terrorist’ while Noem said Pretti showed up to ‘impede a law enforcement operation.’

Pretti’s killing comes at a sensitive moment for the GOP as the party prepares for a challenging midterm election year. Trump has fomented a sense of chaos on the world stage, bringing the NATO alliance to the brink last week. Domestically, Trump has struggled to respond to widespread affordability concerns.

Approval of his handling of immigration – long a political asset for the president and the GOP – has tumbled. Just 38 percent of US adults approved of how Trump was handling immigration in January, down from 49 percent in March, an AP-NORC poll found.