US President Donald Trump has accused Minnesota’s Democratic leadership of “inciting insurrection” after federal immigration officers fatally shot a man during an enforcement operation in Minneapolis, escalating tensions between the White House and state authorities.
The incident involved the killing of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old Minneapolis resident and US citizen, by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. Local officials later confirmed that Pretti was legally carrying a handgun and held a valid permit.
Reacting within hours on his social media platform, Social Truth, Trump criticised Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, alleging they obstructed federal law enforcement and fuelled unrest.
“The Mayor and the Governor are inciting Insurrection, with their pompous, dangerous, and arrogant rhetoric! Instead, these sanctimonious political fools should be looking for the Billions of Dollars that has been stolen from the people of Minnesota, and the United States of America,” Trump wrote.
Trump questioned why local police were not deployed during the operation and suggested ICE officers were left to defend themselves.
“This is the gunman’s gun, loaded (with two additional full magazines!), and ready to go – What is that all about? Where are the local Police? Why weren’t they allowed to protect ICE Officers? The Mayor and the Governor called them off?” he said.
Calling ICE agents “patriots,” Trump urged Americans to allow federal officers to carry out their duties and alleged large-scale corruption in Minnesota, claims for which he provided no evidence.
“Those Fraudsters who stole the money are going to jail, where they belong! This is no different than a really big Bank Robbery,” he wrote, adding that criticism of federal enforcement actions was “a cover up for this theft and fraud.”
He ended his post by repeating his accusation that state and city leaders were “inciting insurrection” and wrote in capital letters: “LET OUR ICE PATRIOTS DO THEIR JOB!”
Federal and local authorities offered a different account of the shooting. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara confirmed the victim was a US citizen and a lawful gun owner.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said ICE officers fired “defensive shots” after a man approached them with a handgun and violently resisted attempts to disarm him. Senior White House adviser Stephen Miller echoed that version, saying officers acted in self-defence.
Democratic leaders sharply criticised the federal operation. Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar described the shooting as “an execution by immigration enforcement” and accused the Trump administration of intimidating communities rather than protecting them. Other Democrats, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Zohran Mamdani, voiced similar concerns.
Governor Walz condemned the federal actions and called for an immediate halt to the immigration operation.
“This is sickening. The President must end this operation. Pull the thousands of violent, untrained officers out of Minnesota. Now,” Walz wrote on X.
Walz later said federal authorities could not be trusted to investigate the incident.
“The federal government cannot be trusted to lead this investigation. The state will handle it period,” he said, accusing the operation of “sowing chaos and violence.”
The shooting has further inflamed tensions in Minneapolis, where protests have been ongoing since January 7, when 37-year-old Renee Good was killed after an ICE officer fired into her vehicle during a separate federal operation.
The latest incident has intensified political confrontation between Minnesota officials and the Trump administration as immigration enforcement expands in the state amid growing public backlash.
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