Newsmax's senior judicial analyst on Alex Pretti shooting: “To me, their shooting is indefensible”
Andrew Napolitano: “Secretary Noem did not have all the facts before her when she made that statement. He was not brandishing the gun. The gun was on his person lawfully. And then it was removed before he went down and before he was killed.”
Published
Citation
From the January 26, 2026, edition of Newsmax's National Report
SHAUN KRAISMAN (HOST): That was DHS Secretary Kristi Noem after federal agent shot and killed Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse at Minneapolis. The Department of Homeland Security said the agent acted in self-defense after attempting to disarm Pretti. The shooting comes amid an ongoing surge in immigration enforcement across the city of Minneapolis, in Minnesota, as well the state.
Judge Andrew Napolitano is our senior judicial analyst, joining us on set. There is a lot to examine, and for many on social media -- look, let's just have a frank conversation. It's an open and shut case for many people out there. And it shouldn't be, right, because they've seen the video, they've made their decisions. It's such a polarized topic at this point. So here's some of the video that we're seeing here. And it seems to show that an agent, again, going to secure the gun. If you watch this, it appears that maybe they secured the gun before shots were fired. But again an investigation is playing out. You heard DHS's side. You've obviously heard the rhetoric that has come out thus far. But overall, analyzing this situation, what is this investigation going to entail? Is it more than just the video?
ANDREW NAPOLITANO (SENIOR JUDICIAL ANALYST): Well, yes, it's more than just the video. It's the forensics of the angles of the ten bullets that entered his body. The bullets entered his body from his back because he had been temporarily blinded by pepper spray and was on his stomach on the frozen earth. The investigation will also interrogate eyewitnesses, and more importantly, it will interrogate the agents who were there. What were their mental impressions at the time? Why did they decide to shoot somebody after they had disarmed him and who was already on the ground? To me, their shooting is indefensible, but I understand that there's going to be an investigation --
KRAISMAN: Right.
NAPOLITANO: A federal investigation, not a state investigation, which will bring us to what I know you want to talk about next. Can the feds keep this information, killing on a street by police of a citizen away from the state whose principal job is to maintain safety on the streets? That will be litigated in a federal court, probably in the next half hour or so, whenever the court starts in Minnesota.
But a couple of things are clear. One is that Secretary Noem did not have all the facts before her when she made that statement. He was not brandishing the gun. The gun was on his person lawfully. And then it was removed before he went down and before he was killed. So I don't know what the threat was. She said he was shot defensively. I don't know what the threat was that these people felt, which is why their interrogation of him is important.