A researcher for the Firearms Policy Coalition called out about a dozen Democratic attorneys general in a social media post on Saturday following the Border Patrol shooting of an armed man who appeared to be interfering with agents in Minneapolis who were attempting to arrest a criminal alien.
In an X post, Rob Romano noted that the agents filed court action in 2024 seeking to bar individuals from showing up to protests armed. “The AGs of DC, IL, CT, DE, HI, MD, MA, MI, MN, NV, NJ, NY, OR, PA, RI, VT, and WA argued in 2024 that there’s no 2A right to carry guns at ‘events involving political speech, like political rallies and protests because they are ‘often targets of violence,’” Romano wrote in a post containing a screengrab of the court filing.
The post comes amid cries from Democrats and the left that the man who was killed by Border Patrol, Alex Pretti, 37, an ICU nurse for the VA, was exercising his First and Second Amendment rights when he confronted agents and was involved in a physical altercation with them before being shot.
Several people on social media also pointed out the hypocrisy of Democrats who have long favored more gun control now advocating for Pretti because they simply dislike the current administration.
Meanwhile, Vice President J.D. Vance on Sunday described the unrest in Minneapolis following a deadly federal law-enforcement shooting as “engineered chaos,” placing blame on what he called anti-law-enforcement agitators and lack of cooperation from local officials.
Vance, speaking in the aftermath of protests tied to the Jan. 24 fatal shooting of a man by a U.S. Border Patrol agent during a Department of Homeland Security operation, said the turmoil was predictable given resistance to immigration enforcement.
Vance accused “far-left agitators working with local authorities” of creating the conditions that led to the confrontation between Pretti and the border patrol agents. He urged local leaders to ease tensions by cooperating with federal authorities and assisting efforts to restore order.
“This level of engineered chaos is unique to Minneapolis,” Vance said in a post on X. “It is the direct consequence of far left agitators, working with local authorities.”
The VP’s comments came as some Republican lawmakers called for increased oversight of DHS agencies following the shooting, while others criticized media coverage of the unrest. Meanwhile, GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana broke with President Trump’s handling of the incident, calling for a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding the deadly encounter.
Lawmakers, including Rep. Andrew Garbarino, also renewed calls for congressional oversight hearings with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officials to explain federal actions in Minneapolis and across the region.
The shooting has intensified political divisions over immigration enforcement and law-enforcement authority, with federal officials defending agents’ actions and critics raising questions about the handling of community engagement. Attorney General Pam Bondi and other federal officials have warned that attacks on law enforcement and obstruction of federal operations are crimes, as the Justice Department increases its presence in the state amid ongoing protests.
Senate Democrats have also reacted to the unfolding situation, threatening to oppose funding for the Department of Homeland Security as part of wider budget negotiations unless reforms are addressed.
Gov. Tim Walz called on the Department of Homeland Security and the Trump administration to pull Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from the city.
Walz said in a post on X that he spoke with the White House “after another horrific shooting by federal agents this morning.”
“Minnesota has had it,” Walz said. “This is sickening. The President must end this operation. Pull the thousands of violent, untrained officers out of Minnesota. Now.”
