Pretti appeared determined to cause maximum damage and kill officers, Noem said shortly after the incident. Nothing like that can be seen on the videos from the crime scene. Nevertheless, Trump backed his minister.
According to CBS News, the investigation report states that the officers initially encountered two women with whistles on the street and asked them to get out of the way. When they were pushed away, Pretti intervened and was then taken into custody. There was a scuffle in which an officer shouted several times that Pretti had a weapon. The shots were then fired from the two officers’ weapons.
According to the TV station, the report did not specify whether all of the bullets hit Pretti. After the shooting, an officer let it be known that he was in possession of Pretti’s gun.
In addition to the fatal shooting of the 37-year-old, the way the case was solved has also been criticized. The state complained that federal authorities had denied access to investigators and that the incident should actually have been investigated by local authorities.
Since the US government under President Trump repeatedly spreads false claims or at least selectively reports the truth, critics no longer believe their accounts.
Trump now said that, in his view, Pretti should not have carried a weapon. “He had a gun. I don’t like that.” He also had two fully loaded magazines with him. At the same time, Trump, whose Republicans traditionally support the right to freely own weapons, spoke of an “unfortunate incident.” According to police, Pretti was licensed to carry a firearm.
Regarding the deployment of federal officers, Trump also said that no one knew when they saw Pretti’s weapon. This is a remarkable statement, also in view of the early determination by government representatives of the course of the crime.
The question of whether or not Pretti should have carried a weapon at a protest like the one on the day of the incident is widely discussed.
