The Justice Department announced Friday it has opened a federal civil rights investigation into the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old Minneapolis protester killed last weekend by two federal immigration officers during President Trump's aggressive deportation enforcement operations.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche attempted to downplay the move as "routine" rather than an extraordinary escalation, but the timing raises serious questions about the Biden holdovers still embedded in the DOJ undermining Trump's immigration agenda.
Pretti was reportedly shot during a confrontation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers conducting operations in Minneapolis as part of Trump's promised mass deportation campaign. Details remain murky, but early reports suggest Pretti was among protesters attempting to interfere with lawful immigration enforcement.
Deep State Sabotage?
This investigation comes just 10 days into Trump's second term, as his administration works to fulfill campaign promises of securing America's borders and removing illegal aliens. The swift DOJ response raises red flags about whether career bureaucrats are deliberately targeting Trump's immigration officers to create a chilling effect on enforcement.
"This looks like the same deep state playbook we saw in Trump's first term - weaponize the DOJ against anyone trying to enforce our immigration laws,"
said one immigration hawk close to the administration.
The timing is particularly suspicious given that Trump recently pardoned January 6th prisoners who faced federal persecution for years, while his own immigration officers are now being investigated within days of a confrontation with left-wing protesters.
Chilling Effect on Enforcement
Immigration officers across the country are watching this case closely. Will the Trump administration's own DOJ turn against the men and women risking their lives to secure our borders? Or will Attorney General Pam Bondi ensure this investigation doesn't become another witch hunt against law enforcement?
Americans voted for mass deportations and secure borders. They didn't vote for federal agents to be second-guessed every time protesters try to obstruct immigration enforcement. The question now is whether Trump's DOJ will stand with border security or cave to the radical left's intimidation tactics.