A veteran’s nurse with a legal concealed carry permit was shot ten times by federal agents while holding nothing but a cellphone, yet Minnesota’s senior senator insists on framing him as merely documenting events—while conveniently omitting the holstered firearm that agents themselves removed from his waistband. When Facts Become Inconvenient Truths Senator Amy Klobuchar stood before cameras on January 24, hours after Alex Pretti bled out on a Minneapolis street, and painted a picture of federal overreach. Federal agents were “making us less safe,” she declared, demanding their removal from Minnesota. Her characterization of Pretti focused relentlessly on his cellphone documentation and protective intervention when agents shoved a woman. What she conspicuously avoided mentioning was equally documented: Pretti carried a concealed handgun, legally permitted by Minnesota authorities, holstered at his waistband throughout the encounter. This omission transforms legitimate criticism into something more troubling—a deliberate shaping of narrative that serves political ends while dodging inconvenient complexity. The Timeline Nobody Disputes The facts, captured on multiple bystander videos and verified by Reuters, The New York Times, and The Guardian, tell a precise story. At 9:05 a.m. on January 24, Pretti filmed federal agents attempting to enter a restaurant during protests at 26th Street and Nicollet Avenue. Twenty-eight seconds before the first shot, an agent pushed a legal observer. Pretti moved to assist, positioning himself between an agent and a woman being shoved. He was pepper-sprayed. He embraced the fallen woman. Six agents converged, wrestling him to the ground. One agent struck him. Another reached into his waistband and removed his holstered firearm. Eight seconds after pinning him, agents yelled “gun.” Ten shots followed over five seconds, fired while Pretti remained pinned and as he collapsed. The Weapon That Was Never Drawn The Department of Homeland Security claimed Pretti “approached with a handgun” intending to massacre law enforcement. This assertion crumbles under video scrutiny. Every reviewed frame shows Pretti holding only his cellphone during the confrontation. His firearm remained holstered throughout—removed not by Pretti, but by an agent, less than one second before shots rang out. Minnesota officials confirmed his concealed carry permit was valid and legal. Witnesses under oath described Pretti assisting protesters, displaying no aggression. The gun’s presence is undeniable; its relevance to the shooting, given the timeline and video evidence, raises profound questions about whether agents created the very threat they claim justified lethal force. Sanctuary City Politics Versus Federal Enforcement Minneapolis sits at the collision point of competing sovereignties. The Trump administration deployed approximately 3,000 ICE and Border Patrol agents into Minnesota, outnumbering the combined sworn officers of Minneapolis and St. Paul three to one. This massive presence targeted sanctuary city policies during a broader deportation effort that stretched across 2025 and into 2026. Protests erupted, fueled not only by enforcement philosophy but by operational errors: elderly residents pulled from homes in underwear and released when actual targets were found already jailed, wrong-person detentions multiplying distrust. Pretti’s shooting was the second fatal incident in three weeks, following Renée Good’s death on January 7. Klobuchar’s press conference channeled genuine community anger, but her selective presentation of facts undermines the credibility needed for accountability. What Gaslighting Actually Looks Like To gaslight is to manipulate someone into questioning observable reality. When Klobuchar portrayed Pretti exclusively as “a guy with a cellphone,” she engaged in precisely this manipulation—not of Pretti, but of her audience. The cellphone was real; so was the gun. Both facts matter. Ignoring the firearm serves a narrative that federal agents gunned down an unarmed documentarian. Including it without context serves a counter-narrative that agents faced an armed threat. The truth, visible in video, splits the difference uncomfortably: a legally armed man never drew his weapon, never brandished it, yet was shot ten times after agents themselves removed it from his person. Honest debate over federal overreach and use-of-force standards demands acknowledging all facts, not cherry-picking those that fit predetermined conclusions. Bipartisan Alarm Breaks Through Noise Senator Tina Smith and Senator Thom Tillis, spanning partisan divides, jointly called for investigation, with Tillis warning the White House against interference. This rare unity signals that video evidence has penetrated partisan reflexes. Vigils materialized by January 25, Pretti’s image held aloft by protesters demanding answers. No agents have been charged. DHS maintains its “defensive shots” position despite video contradictions. Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension faces jurisdictional questions about investigating federal officers. The investigative path forward remains murky, tangled in federal-state authority disputes, but the pressure from both sides of the Senate aisle suggests this case will not quietly disappear into bureaucratic limbo as previous incidents have. NEW>> Gun Gaslight: Dem Amy Klobuchar Says Alex Pretti Was Just a ‘Guy With a Cellphone’ Despite Being Armedhttps://t.co/HQ4BPyNfW1 pic.twitter.com/t99URJvKrX — Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) January 26, 2026 Constitutional Tensions at Breaking Point The Second Amendment guarantees the right to bear arms; Minnesota law permits concealed carry with proper licensing. Pretti exercised both rights lawfully. The First Amendment protects documenting government activity, precisely what Pretti did with his cellphone. Federal law enforcement, operating under executive authority to enforce immigration statutes, clashed with a citizen exercising multiple constitutional rights simultaneously during a protest—itself protected expression. When agents removed his holstered weapon and fired seconds later, which constitutional framework prevailed? The answer determines whether lawful gun owners can safely participate in protests, whether documentation of federal operations invites lethal responses, and whether local communities retain any check on federal force within their jurisdictions. These are not abstract questions; they define the boundaries of American liberty. Sources: Killing of Alex Pretti – Wikipedia Senate Democrats and Republicans call for investigation into killing of Alex Pretti – South Carolina Public Radio 5 things to know about the latest Minneapolis shooting – WUFT