President Donald Trump blamed Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey for inciting violence while reviving broad fraud allegations in the state Saturday after federal immigration officers shot and killed a man during an operation in Minneapolis, an incident that drew protests and the use of tear gas, according to the Department of Homeland Security and city police.
Trump posted his comments on Truth Social on Saturday:
"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? It is stated that many of these Police were not allowed to do their job, that ICE had to protect themselves — Not an easy thing to do!
"Why does Ilhan Omar have $34 Million Dollars in her account? And where are the Tens of Billions of Dollars that have been stolen from the once Great State of Minnesota? We are there because of massive Monetary Fraud, with Billions of Dollars missing, and Illegal Criminals that were allowed to infiltrate the State through the Democrats' Open Border Policy.
"We want the money back, and we want it back, NOW. Those Fraudsters who stole the money are going to jail, where they belong! This is no different than a really big Bank Robbery. Much of what you're witnessing is a COVER UP for this Theft and Fraud.
"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. LET OUR ICE PATRIOTS DO THEIR JOB!
"12,000 Illegal Alien Criminals, many of them violent, have been arrested and taken out of Minnesota. If they were still there, you would see something far worse than you are witnessing today!"
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said the man who was killed was 37, a U.S. citizen, and a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry, while declining to identify him.
The man was identified as Alex Jeffrey Pretti, The Star Tribune reported, citing sources familiar with the investigation.
DHS said the shooting happened during a targeted operation in Minneapolis and that officers fired "defensive shots" after a man approached Border Patrol officers with a 9mm handgun and "violently resisted" when they tried to disarm him.
DHS said the man also had two magazines and no identification, and it described crowd control measures after what it said was a response by about 200 "rioters."
Federal officers used tear gas after the shooting as crowds confronted officers at the scene.
Separately from Saturday's shooting, federal prosecutors have publicly described major Minnesota fraud cases involving federal funds, including the Feeding Our Future case.
A federal prosecutor alleged in December that half or more of the roughly $18 billion in federal funds supporting 14 Minnesota-run programs since 2018 may have been stolen through fraud.
In the Feeding Our Future case, the U.S. attorney's office has described a $250 million scheme tied to a federally funded child nutrition program.
Newsmax's Jim Thomas and The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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