White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller pivoted from his earlier stance on the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, suggesting on Tuesday that Customs and Border Protection agents might not have followed their orders. He said the Trump administration was analyzing the events that transpired that day, culminating in Pretti’s death.
“The initial statement from DHS was based on reports from CBP on the ground,” Miller said in a statement to ABC News. “Additionally, the White House provided clear guidance to DHS that the extra personnel that had been sent to Minnesota for force protection should be used for conducting fugitive operations to create a physical barrier between the arrest teams and the disruptors.”
Miller’s statement comes after scrutiny of the Trump administration has intensified following the shooting. President Donald Trump has made several leadership changes in the illegal immigration enforcement operations happening in Minnesota after Pretti’s death. The president sent border czar Tom Homan to the state on Tuesday to meet with Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) and Democratic Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. Meanwhile, Miller said the Trump administration was still trying to determine what happened.
“We are evaluating why the CBP team may not have been following that protocol,” said the White House adviser.
Miller’s statement was in stark contrast to his original comments after news of Pretti’s shooting and death at the hands of Border Patrol agents. He categorized Pretti as the aggressor and labeled him as a “domestic terrorist” in multiple social media posts on the day Pretti was killed.
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“A would-be assassin tried to murder federal law enforcement and the official Democrat account sides with the terrorists,” Miller said on X in response to the official Democrats account.
In a separate post, responding to Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), Miller again categorized Pretti as an assassin.
“An assassin tried to murder federal agents and this is your response,” Miller posted.
