Donald Trump on Friday called Alex Pretti an "agitator and, perhaps, insurrectionist," marking an increase in the intensity of his rhetoric toward the ICU nurse fatally shot by federal agents after the president recently said he wanted to "de-escalate a little bit" in Minnesota.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said that Pretti’s "stock has gone way down with the just released video of him screaming and spitting in the face of a very calm and under control ICE Officer, and then crazily kicking in a new and very expensive government vehicle, so hard and violent, in fact, that the taillight broke off in pieces.'
NBC News previously reported on the video, shared online this week, that appeared to show Pretti in an altercation with agents just days before he was fatally shot. In the video taken Jan. 13, the intensive care unit nurse is seen yelling at federal immigration agents and kicking the back of a vehicle used by agents, breaking a taillight. It is not clear what happened before the interaction.
“It was quite a display of abuse and anger, for all to see, crazed and out of control. The ICE Officer was calm and cool, not an easy thing to be under those circumstances! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN,” Trump said in the post Friday.
Pretti’s family attorney, Steve Schleicher, said in a statement to NBC News that “the family’s focus is on a fair and impartial investigation that examines the facts around his murder.”
The Justice Department has opened a federal civil rights probe into Pretti’s death, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a press conference Friday. He added that he does not know where Pretti’s phone is or the gun that he had on him before his death.
“We’re looking at everything that would shed light on what happened that day and in the days and weeks leading up to what happened,” Blanche said.
Earlier this month, Renee Good was also fatally shot by a federal officer while in her car.
Initially, top Trump administration officials defended the immigration operations in Minneapolis and sought to cast blame on Pretti by noting that he was carrying a gun, which he was legally permitted to do. Trump called him a "gunman," while others in his administration branded him a “domestic terrorist” and "would-be assassin."
After facing significant criticism, including from Republicans, the administration backed away from these characterizations.
Pretti’s family was quick to condemn officials for their comments about Pretti, who was a nurse at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Minneapolis and had a permit to carry a concealed weapon.
Earlier this week, however, Trump said he wanted to “de-escalate” the situation in Minnesota and called Pretti’s death a “very unfortunate” incident.
As previously reported by NBC News, Trump removed confrontational Border Patrol commander-at-large Greg Bovino from the scene in Minneapolis on Monday and sent in border czar Tom Homan. He also spoke by phone with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, Democrats he has harshly criticized in the past, about turning down the temperature.
On Thursday, Homan admitted that operations in the state could be improved and called on local leaders to work together with federal agents to “tone down the dangerous rhetoric.”
"There are many ways your voice can be heard, express your feelings and affect change in the country across that line," Homan said. "Political and other disagreements in this room should not at the expense of public safety and safety of federal law enforcement officers."
A White House spokesperson did not have further comment beyond the president's Truth Social post.
