January 28, 2026
CBS Paints a Pretti Picture
Timothy Birdnow
It wasn't just one agent who opened fire on Alex Pretti but two of them.
What does that tell us class?
One agent may become skittish and fire in panic, but two? Doubtful. And remember the agent who fired was in fact an eight year veteran, not a poorly trained rookie.
These agents believed they were in immanent peril.
Here is something else interesting:
"The [CBP officer] pushed them both away and one of the females ran to a male, later identified as 37-year-old Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a US citizen," the report said. "The [CBP officer] attempted to move the woman and Pretti out of the roadway. The woman and Pretti did not move. The [CBP officer] deployed his oleoresin capsicum (OC) spray towards both Pretti and the woman."
CBP agents then "attempted to take Pretti into custody," according to the report.
"Pretti resisted CBP personnel's efforts and a struggle ensued. During the struggle, a BPA yelled, 'He's got a gun!' multiple times," the report said.
"Approximately five seconds later, a [Border Patrol agent] discharged his CBP-issued Glock 19 and a [CBP officer] also discharged his CBP-issued Glock 47 at Pretti. After the shooting, a BPA advised he had possession of Pretti's firearm," CBP added. "The BPA subsequently cleared and secured Pretti's firearm in his vehicle."
The new information provided by CBP differs from the initial accounts offered by the Department of Homeland Security, which said in a statement over the weekend that one Border Patrol agent had fired "defensive shots."
In that statement, DHS also said Pretti "approached" the CBP agents with a 9mm semi-automatic firearm. But CBP's report to Congress makes no claim that Pretti tried to reach for his firearm
Notice that FIVE SECONDS LATER the Border Patrol Agent came up with the gun, not before the shooting. That is critical; it means there was a live firearm in the possession of the struggling Pretti when he was shot.
This article tries very hard to divert your attention from that fact by discussing the claim the report does not mention Pretti pointing the gun but the very fact he was struggling and had the gun is ebough to satisfy the law that this was a justified shooting by the Border Patrol. (CBS News is using the magician's trick of misdirection in this article to make it appear the agents did something wrong. If you are armed and struggling with law enforcement it is assumed BY LAW that you are guilty and pose a danger, but See B.S. doesn't want you to know that.)
The article also lies by omission:
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara has said Pretti was a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry.
This is a subtle lie but a lie nonetheless. Yes, Pretti had a concealed carry permit (I assume; haven't actually been able to verify that) but so what? He is required BY MINNESOTA LAW to have that permit on his person while carrying, and he did not do so. Also, there are strict protocols he is supposed to follow in an interaction with law enforcement. He neglected to do so.
Also he was carrying two clips, enough to kill a lot of people.
Then there is this:
It also revealed that U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel removed and stored Pretti's firearm in a government vehicle, a decision now raising broader concerns about the integrity of the investigation.
According to a CBP report sent to congressional officials, a Border Patrol agent reported taking possession of Pretti's gun immediately after the shooting and later clearing and securing the firearm inside a vehicle. The report does not specify whether the weapon was photographed in place or logged with a documented chain of custody at the scene.
CBS News previously reported that federal investigators have no documented chain of custody for Pretti's handgun, with officials saying the firearm was placed on the seat of a vehicle rather than sealed in a required plastic evidence bag and labeled with standard identifying details such as date, item description, and handler name.
I suppose they were supposed to stop life-saving efforts on Pretti while they tagged and bagged the gun on the scene, a chaotic scene?
The fact is CBS news has no way of knowing whether this is true or not; they are simply making allegations here. They know there is now way to verify this claim.
CBS is trying to gin up rage, to make this look like the Boston Massacre that, well, didn't start the Revolutionary War but certainly added to the anger that led to it. And they are lying.
As far as I can tell these agents acted lawfully and made the best decision they could in a life-or-death situation that required a split second to make. It is only an issue because so many want it to be. Had the Minneapolis police been present they could have dealt with Pretti and the woman he was helping to violate the agent's lawful orders when he was shot, but the Governor and the police chief issued stand down orders. If any authority is to blame it's Walz. Pretti's blood is on HIS hands, not on the hands of the agents involved.
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at
10:14 AM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 865 words, total size 6 kb.
27kb generated in CPU 0.1209, elapsed 0.2599 seconds.
35 queries taking 0.2521 seconds, 182 records returned.
Powered by Minx 1.1.6c-pink.
35 queries taking 0.2521 seconds, 182 records returned.
Powered by Minx 1.1.6c-pink.
