White House Chief Counsel Stephen Miller said Tuesday that authorities are looking into why CBP agents in Minneapolis “may not have followed” proper protocol in the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti.
In short:
- The White House is reviewing the Border Patrol’s handling of the shooting
- Stephen Miller admitted possible misconduct by agents
- The new video showed Pretti unarmed and surrounded
- Trump distanced himself from controversial statements about the incident
As noted by CNN, Miller is one of the most influential and uncompromising members of the US administration in the field of immigration law implementation. The admission of possible wrongdoing by CBP is therefore an important development in this case.
A significant admission of wrongdoing
In a statement to CNN, Miller said the White House has provided “clear instructions to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that personnel deployed to the state of Minnesota are to be used for fugitive apprehension operations and to create a physical barrier between arrest teams and violators.”
“We are evaluating why the CBP team may not have followed this protocol,” he added.
Miller’s statement represents one of the most significant shifts in the administration’s communications regarding the incident that claimed Pretti’s life. Miller initially called Pretti a “potential bomber,” and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem claimed Pretti “committed an act of domestic terrorism.”
New video footage from the incident
However, video footage showed that Pretti was surrounded and disarmed by security forces before the shooting. President Trump then disputed Miller’s comments, saying he hadn’t even heard of domestic terrorism in this case.
Miller added that the original DHS statement was based on reports from CBP agents on the scene.
On the day of the shooting, Noem was in almost constant contact with the White House, including Miller, and had instructions on how to present the incident during a press conference. According to sources, she was allegedly advised to say that Pretti was allegedly “brandishing a gun,” which was later proven false.
Change of CBP Operations Commander
Trump subsequently tried to distance himself from the controversial statements of Miller and Noemova and on Tuesday spoke moderately about the shooting in Minnesota. At the same time, he ordered the replacement of CBP’s on-site operations commander, Greg Bovin, to be replaced by Tom Homan.
Trump emphasized that this was a “small change” in the management of the situation, not a withdrawal of personnel, and that he considered Bovin capable, even if his approach was not appropriate in certain cases. At the same time, the President confirmed that Noemová will not resign and “does a very good job”.
