How Trump officials’ narrative of a gun-carrying protester in Minneapolis kindled rage in corners of the right
Following the shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, Second Amendment advocates have pushed back on statements from Trump officials immediately following the Saturday shooting.
One of those critics is Cam Edwards, a longtime Second Amendment advocate and an editor at BearingArms.com.
As this is an ongoing investigation, it is important to note that Edwards shared his thoughts with Fox News Digital on Tuesday, Jan. 27.
Edwards said he had a gun on him at places ranging from protests to traffic stops but made it clear that having a gun doesn't automatically mean a threat is present. This is in response to statements from DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, and FBI Director Kash Patel regarding statements made regarding Pretti having a gun at the time he was shot.
Noem said on Saturday following the shooting, "This individual, who came with weapons and ammunition to stop a law enforcement operation of federal law enforcement officers committed an act of domestic terrorism." She added, "That’s the facts."
"I don't know of any peaceful protester that shows up with a gun and ammunition rather than a sign," Noem said.
FBI Director Kash Patel said on "Sunday Mornings with Maria," "No one who wants to be peaceful shows up to a protest with a firearm that is loaded with two magazines. That is not a peaceful protest."
Following this, Edwards said, "I think, looking back, there was a lot of generalizations being made in these statements when maybe there could have been more specific talking points about where you're carrying and what you're doing while you're carrying."
Second Amendment advocate and radio show host Dana Loesch also pushed back on comments made by Trump officials. In a tweet responding to statements from Patel, Loesch said on X: "You admin people need to watch yourselves with this language. Let's make something CRYSTAL clear: It is absolutely 100% legal to attend a protest armed. I've done it frequently. The issue is INSERTING YOURSELF INTO A FEDERAL OP. Either get the language right or stop doing press."
The NRA also spoke out, saying on X, Jan. 27, "The NRA unequivocally believes that all law-abiding citizens have a right to keep and bear arms anywhere they have a legal right to be."
The National Association for Gun Rights also weighed in on X, "The President is simply wrong. While we agree you can’t interfere with law enforcement, you absolutely have the right to carry the tools for self-defense while lawfully protesting. In fact, that’s precisely the kind of place where exercising that right matters most. Unfortunately, this isn’t just a misstatement by the President; it reflects a broader problem with the messaging of other highly ranked Administration officials."
Gun Owners of America posted on X, "Peaceful protests while armed isn’t radical—it’s American. The First and Second Amendments protect those rights, and they always have. GOA will hold any administration accountable."
In an article by The New York Times, Jordan Levine, who runs an online gun rights advocacy company called A Better Way 2A, said "what happened in Minneapolis shows that ICE will treat the mere presence of a legal firearm as justification for lethal force. Carrying a gun is not a crime, yet it was readily used as proof of dangerous intent once Alex Pretti was dead and unable to contest that narrative."
NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION COUNTERS TRUMP ON CARRYING GUN AT PROTEST
A Senior Fellow for Advancing American Freedom, Amy Swearer said on X on Jan. 24, "Under no circumstances should the mere act of lawfully carrying a concealed firearm in public increase the likelihood that law enforcement reasonably perceives you as a legitimate threat, without substantially more occurring."
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., said on his official account on Jan. 25, "Carrying a firearm is not a death sentence, it’s a constitutionally protected God-given right."
And Kyle Rittenhouse, shared on X on Jan. 26, "Carry everywhere. It is your right. #ShallNotBeInfringed."
Trey Gowdy said during his show "Sunday Night in America with Trey Gowdy" that Alex Pretti's gun was lawfully carried.
"And we certainly should not be labeling him a domestic terrorist who was going to execute cops, there is no evidence to support that," he said.
Following this, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in response to a question during a press hearing Monday, "The president supports the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens."
She added that Americans are not allowed to impede on law enforcement operations. When Fox News Digital reached out to The White House for comment, they reiterated this statement and shared this X post:
Edwards said it is important to choose words carefully.
"Those initial statements suggesting that it's dangerous to carry at a protest somebody might be carrying two magazines, that shows intent to cause violence," he said. "I think that's just flat out wrong."
Edwards urged throughout the interview that it is crucial to wait for the full investigation before arriving at conclusions.
"There tends to be this rush to judgment before a lot of facts are known," he said.
TRUMP CONFIRMS FEDERAL REVIEW OF MINNEAPOLIS SHOOTING THAT KILLED NURSE: 'REVIEWING EVERYTHING'
However, Edwards said he heard reasonable arguments that officers felt their lives were at risk when Pretti was shot.
The officer's operation was targeting Jose Huerta-Chuma, an illegal immigrant with a criminal history including domestic assault for intentional conflict bodily harm, disorderly conduct and driving without a valid license.
Federal officials initially claimed Pretti approached agents with a 9mm handgun and resisted disarmament.
Edwards admits that it is possible that mistakes were made by both Border Patrol officers and Pretti, but could have simply been a "lawful but awful" situation.
Edwards said the U.S. Constitution must always be defended.
"I think that the consistent position of Second Amendment organizations and Second Amendment advocates to take is to defend the right to keep and bear arms."
Edwards emphasized that "We The People" goes for all, not just those he agrees with.
"I think that there's a traditional mistrust of big overarching government among the Second Amendment community. I think that's fair to say. And I don't think that administration officials did themselves any favors with some of the comments that we've seen over the weekend."
Although Second Amendment advocates have been critical of statements coming from the Trump administration, Edwards emphasized that the administration has been better at defending Second Amendment rights than previous administrations. He mentioned the Obama and Biden administrations have specifically been worse on the Second Amendment than the Trump administration.
"I don't think that these comments were helpful, but they also, so far, have not led to any policy changes."
Edwards said this was a communications failure rather than a policy failure.
"I think it's something else entirely if we saw the president say, I want to see Congress pass a law that says you can only carry one magazine at a time. I want to see Congress pass a law saying that you don't have the right to carry out a protest. And we simply haven't seen anything like that from the administration. So at this point, I think what we're looking at is a communications failure, not necessarily a policy failure."
Furthermore, Edwards supports people's right to make their voices heard, but if they choose to protest, to do so peacefully and he emphasized the importance of being a responsible gun owner.
"If you're walking down the street carrying a concealed firearm, that's not evidence that you're about to commit a crime," said Edwards. "If you're breaking through the doors of a hotel where, you know, border patrol or ICE agents are inside, and you've got a gun that's visible to those officers, that's going to raise their level of concern."
Edwards elaborated, "If you take that gun out of your holster, you point it at officers, then you've presented a direct threat to them. That's obviously something very different. So, you know, there is, I think, a sliding scale of what an officer is going to reasonably consider a threat."
At the end of the day, Edwards stands by rights granted to all Americans in the U.S. Constitution.
"We don't give up our First Amendment rights during a police operation. We don't give up our Fourth Amendment rights. So I don't think that our Second Amendment rights should be forfeited in those circumstances either."
A DHS spokesperson responded to Fox News Digital following Edwards' comments.
"Of course, Secretary Noem supports every American’s Second Amendment right. Americans have the right to show up to a protest with a gun, but you must follow the law, the spokesperson said. "Our law enforcement officers were conducting an operation to arrest Jose Huerta-Chuma, whose criminal history includes domestic assault to intentionally inflict bodily harm, disorderly conduct, and driving without a valid license. This individual chose to commit a federal crime while armed—obstructing law enforcement in the course of an active investigation—incredibly dangerous."
The FBI also responded to Fox News Digital:
"This FBI will always defend Americans’ First Amendment right to free speech as well as their Second Amendment right to bear arms — whether attending protests or otherwise. What we do not support is those who target, attack, or impede law enforcement lawfully executing their duties," said Ben Williamson, Assistant Director of the FBI Office of Public Affairs.
New video from Wednesday appears to show Alex Pretti spitting at federal agents and damaging a government SUV days before he was fatally shot by U.S. Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis.
The man is seen shouting and spitting at federal agents before kicking the taillight of a federal SUV, causing it to break.
As he shouts "f--- you" repeatedly and flashes double middle fingers, agents exit the vehicle, approach him and take him to the ground.
Alex Pretti’s family confirmed to The Minnesota Star Tribune that the person seen in the video is Alex Pretti.
Border czar Tom Homan met with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey Tuesday as the Trump administration shakes up its federal immigration crackdown following two fatal shootings and subsequent protests in the Twin Cities.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Fox News' Michael Sinkewicz, Greg Wehner, Matt Finn and Emma Bussey contributed to this report.