Stephen Miller admitted that Border Patrol agents may ‘not have been following protocol’ during the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti as Kristi Noem appeared to blame him for the fallout.
Miller’s remarks were a dramatic U-Turn just days after the immigration czar lambasted the 37-year-old nurse as ‘an assassin’ who ‘tried to murder federal agents.’
In a statement to The Daily Mail, Miller said ‘We are evaluating why the CBP team may not have been following that protocol.’
He added that the ‘White House provided clear guidance to DHS that the extra personnel that had been sent to Minnesota for force protection should be used for conducting fugitive operations to create a physical barrier between the arrest teams and the disruptors.’
Miller’s comments came as Noem appeared to blame him for claims by her Department of Homeland Security that Pretti intended to ‘massacre’ immigration agents.
‘Everything I’ve done, I’ve done at the direction of the president and Stephen,’ Noem told a person who relayed her remarks to Axios.
Miller tried to defend himself in his statement to The Daily Mail by claiming: ‘The initial statement from DHS was based on reports from CBP on the ground.’
He added that the extra personnel sent to Minnesota for DHS was to be used for ‘conducting fugitive operations to create a physical barrier between the arrest teams and the disruptors.’
Pretti was shot dead in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Saturday during a targeted immigration enforcement operation.
Stephen Miller (pictured) has shifted his position on the Border Patrol shooting of Alex Pretti after previously referring to the 37-year-old nurse as ‘an assassin’ who ‘tried to murder federal agents’
Pretti (pictured) was shot dead in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Saturday during a targeted immigration enforcement operation
Miller was not present Monday night when Trump held a two-hour meeting with key advisors at Noem’s request.
In the meeting, one source told Axios that Noem ‘made sure to emphasize she took direction from Miller and the president’ and said she feels hung out to dry.
However, one source explicitly said that Border Patrol Commander at Large Greg Bovino ‘should be blamed, not Stephen.’
They said that Bovino was the one giving information to the White House from the scene.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt added: ‘Stephen Miller is one of President Trump’s most trusted and longest-serving aides. The president loves Stephen.’
Vice President JD Vance reposted Miller’s initial claim, while Noem said Pretti attacked officers, calling him a ‘domestic terrorist.’
Trump has since distanced himself from Miller and Noem’s initial statements, saying Tuesday he flat out disagreed with Miller calling him ‘an assassin.’
On Sunday, the commander-in-chief appeared reluctant to fully defend the unidentified agent who shot Pretti in broad daylight as he expressed his dismay over the man’s death during a brief discussion with The Wall Street Journal.
Miller now potentially faces being the scapegoat for the Minneapolis mess, with sources within the administration putting the heat on him, including DHS Secretary Kristi Noem
However, one source explicitly said that Border Patrol Commander at Large Greg Bovino ‘should be blamed, not Stephen’
‘I don’t like any shooting. I don’t like it,’ Trump said. ‘But I don’t like it when somebody goes into a protest and he’s got a very powerful, fully-loaded gun with two magazines loaded up with bullets also. That doesn’t play good either.’
During a press briefing Monday, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said she had ‘not heard the president characterize’ Pretti as a domestic terrorist.
Trump appeared to show disapproval of Noem and Miller’s handling of the situation by removing Bovino from Minneapolis on Tuesday.
Bovino, who was backed by Noem, left as Border Czar Tom Homan arrived to take over the situation.
As he left the White House Tuesday, the president was asked whether Alex Pretti’s killing on Saturday was justified.
He responded by saying that a ‘big investigation’ was underway.
By sending Homan to Minnesota, ‘we’re going to de-escalate a little bit,’ Trump said during an interview on Fox News’ ‘Will Cain Show.’
That’s significant since White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, when questioned repeatedly Monday about Homan’s being dispatched to Minnesota, refused to say that doing so was an effort to calm the situation.
Trump has since distanced himself from Miller and Noem’s initial statements, saying Tuesday he flat out disagreed with Miller calling him ‘an assassin’
Medical workers, union members, and veterans gather for an ‘ICE OUT NOW!’ rally and memorial for Alex Pretti
Trump added of Homan, ‘Tom, as tough as he is, gets along’ with governors and mayors, even in Democratic areas.
His comments come as a new Border Patrol report says that two agents fired the ten shots at Alex Pretti that killed him and does not mention the gun owner taking out his gun.
The law requires the agency to inform relevant congressional committees about deaths in CBP custody within 72 hours.
Investigators from CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility conducted the analysis based on a review of body-worn camera footage and agency documentation, the notice said.
The agency is required to report in-custody and certain other deaths involving its agents and officers to Congress.
Officials said that at around 9am Saturday, CBP agents were faced with several protesters ‘yelling and blowing whistles’ at the officers, while also blocking the roadway at the intersection of 26th Street and Nicollet Avenue.
After making ‘several verbal requests’ for the protesters to stop, CBP claims two women confronted the agents while blowing whistles. They were ordered to get out of the roadway but refused.
They said that the women were then ‘pushed away’ and one of the ran to Pretti, with both again refusing to leave the roadways.
A new Border Patrol report says that two agents fired the ten shots at Alex Pretti that killed him and does not mention the gun owner taking out his gun
The officer then deployed pepper spray at both of them, while attempting to arrest Pretti.
‘CBP personnel attempted to take Pretti into custody. Pretti resisted CBP personnel’s efforts and a struggle ensued,’ the report claims.
‘During the struggle, a (Border Patrol agent) yelled, ‘He’s got a gun!’ multiple times.’
The report continues: ‘Approximately five seconds later, a (Border Patrol agent) discharged his CBP-issued Glock 19 and a (Customs and Border Protection officer) also discharged his CBP-issued Glock 47 at Pretti.’
Within five seconds, one agent and one officer discharged the shots, with one using a Glock 19 and the other a Glock 47.
An agent took possession of Pretti’s gun and cleared and secured it shortly after the shooting.
CBP tried to save Pretti’s life by putting chest seals on his wounds at 9:02am, with EMS and EMTs arriving three minutes later.
Pretti was taken in an ambulance to Hennepin County Medical Center at 9:14am, where he was pronounced dead at 9:32am.
Pretti was seen facing off with federal agents before being shot. His family claimed he was ‘clearly not holding a gun’, while federal officials have alleged he was ‘brandishing’ a firearm
A gun shot perforation in a window pane can be seen in a window in front of a makeshift memorial for Alex Pretti
A DHS investigation is ongoing and The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General has been notified.
‘These notifications reflect standard Customs and Border Protection protocol and are issued in accordance with existing procedures,’ a CBP spokesperson told The Daily Mail.
‘They provide an initial outline of an event that took place and do not convey any definitive conclusion or investigative findings. They are factual reports – not analytical judgments – and are provided to inform Congress and to promote transparency.’
Minneapolis police said Pretti had no serious criminal history and was a lawful gun owner with a valid permit.
On Monday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) were investigating the shooting.
DHS officials have maintained that Pretti approached the officers with a loaded 9mm semiautomatic handgun.
However, witness videos from the scene appeared to show Pretti holding his phone up to the agents – not a gun.
He was captured filming agents with his device as they arrested a female protester, before suddenly being tackled to the ground.
Footage suggested that one officer took Pretti’s weapon from his waistband and walked away with it just moments before he was killed.
Pretti was the second person killed this month by a federal officer in Minneapolis.
The notification came a day after President Donald Trump ordered border czar Tom Homan to take over his administration’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota following Pretti’s death, which was the second fatal shooting this month of a person at the hands of immigration law enforcement.
He was shot dead just over a mile from where Renee Good, 37, was killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer on January 7.
