Gun rights extend to protests, advocates say, rejecting Trump aides’ stance after Pretti killing

WASHINGTON – Gun rights groups are fiercely disputing the Trump administration’s efforts to justify the killing of Alex Pretti by Border Patrol agents on grounds that he was armed, noting that attending a protest doesn’t limit Second Amendment rights.

“You cannot bring a firearm loaded with multiple magazines to any sort of protest that you want. It’s that simple,” FBI Director Kash Patel said Sunday.

But Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse, had a state-issued concealed carry permit. Minnesota law allows gun owners to be armed in public, including at protests. Video of the confrontation Saturday in Minneapolis shows agents didn’t realize Pretti had a handgun at his waist until he’d already been tackled and pinned to the ground.

The killing – and claims from top Trump administration officials about limits on gun rights – hit home for gun owners in Arizona, one of 29 states that allow law-abiding residents to carry a firearm without a license, openly or concealed.

“It is difficult to comment from a distance, but it appears that someone, and probably not the person who was killed, didn’t obey the rules of gun safety,” said Charles Heller, the media coordinator and a co-founder of Arizona Citizens Defense League, which promotes gun rights.

Concerns about confrontations between immigration authorities and armed U.S. citizens predate Pretti’s death.

Last week, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said she worried that such interactions could turn deadly in part because of Arizona’s “stand your ground” law.

Unlike about a dozen other states that require a person to retreat if possible, Arizona allows the use of deadly force for self-defense – though not against law enforcement. Republicans accused Mayes of calling for violence against ICE, which she denied, though her law enforcement liaison resigned amid the uproar.

Arizona has some of the most permissive gun laws in the country, allowing gun owners to bring weapons into the state Capitol and to demonstrations, though not to protests on college campuses or at K-12 schools, according to Everytown.

Arizona does issue concealed carry permits for residents who want that right in states that require such a permit and recognize those issued elsewhere.

MORE: US citizen detained by ICE amid multiple brawls at Phoenix protest

Patel, who made his comments on Fox News, wasn’t the only Trump administration official pointing a finger at Pretti.

On Monday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt referred to Pretti as one of the “left-wing agitators” who “stalk, record, confront and obstruct federal officers who are just trying to lawfully perform their duties.”

“It is President Trump’s hope and wish and demand for the resistance and chaos to end today,” she said.

On Sunday, Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino told CNN’s “State of the Union” that “we respect that Second Amendment right, but those rights don’t count when you riot and assault, delay, obstruct and impede law enforcement officers.”

“The suspect put himself in that situation,” he said, referring to Pretti, though there has been no indication he was under suspicion by law enforcement. “The victims are the Border Patrol agents there.”

There is no evidence that Pretti participated in violence.

Video of his fatal encounter with border agents show him using a cellphone to record them from a distance before rushing to the aid of a woman shoved to the ground by an agent. Agents then tackled Pretti and, seconds later, shot him multiple times.

Numerous gun groups have condemned federal authorities’ comments suggesting limitations to Second Amendment rights.

The NRA called it “dangerous and wrong” after the top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles said armed protesters are more likely to be injured or killed by law enforcement. The group also called on officials to stop “demonizing law-abiding citizens.”

“It is not a crime to carry a firearm with a permit at a protest. Period,” the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus posted on X.

Some gun rights advocates echoed the Trump administration stance that Pretti put himself in harm’s way, though.

“You might want to just leave the area and go home,” said David Laird, vice president of the Arizona Citizens Defense League Foundation.

“People need to understand that law enforcement has a job to do, and they need to quit trying to interfere,” he said. “And if you’re in possession of a firearm, you need to be even more compliant.”

This article first appeared on Cronkite News and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.