Blanche says nobody thinks Alex Pretti's actions meet 'legal definition of domestic terrorism'

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: The Hill

01/26/26 11:01 AM ET


Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Monday that the actions of Alex Pretti before he was fatally shot Saturday by a Border Patrol agent in Minneapolis did not constitute domestic terrorism. “I don’t think anybody thinks that they were comparing what happened on Saturday to the legal definition of domestic terrorism,” Blanche said on Fox News’s “Fox and Friends.” “What we saw was a very violent alteraction and I am not going to pre-judge the facts,” he added.

In the aftermath of the shooting, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said that Pretti, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen, committed domestic terrorism and brandished a weapon at Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents.

“When you perpetuate violence against a government because of ideological reasons and for reasons to resist and perpetuate violence, that is the definiton of domestic terrorism,” Noem told reporters Saturday. “This individual who came with weapons and ammunition to stop a law enforcement operation of federal law enforcement officers committed an act of domestic terrorism.”

But video of the incident shows Pretti recording agents with his phone as they pushed a woman to the ground, upon which he attempted to assist her. CBP personnel then surrounded Pretti, with one appearing to seize a firearm from his waist before an agent fired multiple rounds.

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5706454-alex-pretti-shooting-minneapolis/

---

But KKKristi Noem DID say such.

[generalbetrayus]

1. I assume Todd Blanche will be looking for a new job shortly.

I wonder if Mat Gaetz is still out of a job.

[Whyisthisstillclose]

2. Possibilty of a brain and/or spine in a tRump acolyte?

INCONCEIVABLE!

[AZJonnie]

3. I promise you that a great many people believe that ICE are, in fact, the domestic terrorists in this scenario, TODD

[JBTaurus83]

4. Didn't Noem

And Miller say exactly that? I believe JD Vance retweeted it as well.

[SunSeeker]

10. Yes !

https://www.axios.com/2026/01/25/trump-officials-stick-terrorist-label-on-americans-killed-by-dhs

[SunSeeker]

13. JD Vance reposted a Stephen Miller tweet calling Alex Pretti "an assassin" who "tried to murder federal agents"

Bookmark that Vice President and future presidential candidate JD Vance retweeted a post that said Alex Pretti was “an assassin who tried to murder federal agents.”

— Ron Filipkowski (@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social) 2026-01-25T13:50:50.644Z

[EarlG]

5. Somebody is getting fired over this

In his addled state, Trump seems to sense that this is not working out for him, and now you have members of the administration taking opposing positions as Republican politicians and pundits run away from the debacle.

My guess is that Trump will get as much personal satisfaction as he can from watching his minions fight one another, then he'll throw somebody overboard. Probably Kristi Noem, because she's a woman.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

14. Kinda like what Stalin did with his 2 best Generals during WWII,

he pitted them against each other.

[3825-87867]

6. Is there a gravel pit near the White House?

Would be some major irony, eh?

Asking for ...myself and maybe some others?

[Prairie Gates]

7. A tablespoon of obfuscation and a 1/4 teaspoon of hanging Noem out to dry

I think Blanche and some of his cohort are at least smart enough to watch the video of Pretti celebrating the deceased veteran to know that their usual narrative is not going to fly. So he does the soft version while Noem continues unabated with her bullshit. The net effect is it's not clear what the government is saying and they have some plausible talking points for not calling him a domestic terrorist. The ancillary effect is that Noem is under the bus if conditions continue to deteriorate for their insane narrative of this horrendous murder by out-of-control federal agents.

[ck4829]

8. Dylann Roof shoots unarmed churchgoers in the back to try and kick off a race war : Not terrorism according to the gov

But this is according to it?

[BumRushDaShow]

9. Exactly.

They dub these "lone wolf" and try to exempt them from "domestic terrorism".

[Kablooie]

11. Yes it does...

Today’s legal standard for anything is what Trump says it is as opposed to what is written in law.

[pat_k]

12. Yes. Shooting a disarmed man is certainly "very violent"

But "altercation" implies violence from the victim of CBP, which is crap.