The White House remains non-committal regarding the public release of body camera footage capturing the last moments of Alex Pretti’s life. Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care unit nurse employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs in Minneapolis, lost his life after a confrontation with federal agents in Minnesota.

On Saturday, Pretti was shot multiple times by Border Patrol officials. The incident unfolded after he began filming the agents and became embroiled in a scuffle with another protester. Disturbing footage of the event shows Pretti being pushed to the ground, surrounded by nearly half a dozen agents. Following his disarmament by one of the agents, Pretti was tragically shot several times in the back.

The nurse succumbed to his injuries at the scene, a grim end to a chaotic encounter.

In the wake of the incident, questions loom over the transparency of the investigation. During a press briefing on Monday, a reporter inquired about the potential release of the body camera footage. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded, stating, “That’s not something I’ve heard the president commit to, so I won’t do that here.” As the call for transparency grows, the public awaits further clarity on this tragic episode.

‘Will the body camera footage be released to the public now?’ a reporter asked White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday, days after the Saturday morning shooting. 

‘That’s not something I’ve heard the president commit to, so I won’t do that here,’ she answered.  

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has labeled Pretti a ‘domestic terrorist,’ and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller went even further, calling the nurse ‘a would-be assassin [who] tried to murder federal law enforcement.’

When pressed on whether the President agrees with the comments from Miller and Noem, Leavitt said she has not heard Trump ‘characterize Mr Pretti in that way,’ indicating a schism in how the top border officials view the shooting. 

The moment multiple federal agents apprehended Alex Pretti, disarmed him and shot and killed him in a Minneapolis street

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Trump administration has not decided whether or not it would release the Border Patrol agent’s body camera footage of Alex Pretti’s shooting

President Donald Trump said in a recent interview that he wants all of the footage reviewed. He has not labeled Pretti as a domestic terrorist

When pressed on whether Miller – one of Trump’s closest aides for the past decade – should apologize to the family of Pretti for calling the nurse a ‘would-be assassin’ before an investigation has concluded such a lofty accusation, Leavitt pivoted.

‘Look, again, this incident remains under investigation,’ she responded. 

Still, neither the White House nor DHS has published additional angles of the tragedy.

That stands in stark contrast with how the Trump administration dealt with the federal agent shooting of Renee Good just over two weeks ago. 

When Good was shot in the face and killed on January 7 after driving into the middle of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation, multiple top officials blasted out clips of the tragedy on social media. 

Vice President JD Vance spoke at the White House briefing the following day condemning Good’s actions and noting how multiple different videos show her car speeding towards the agent who shot and killed her. 

By January 9, DHS and other Trump administration officials reposted a video taken by the agent who shot Good – many of the posts included commentary about how the angles vindicate the ICE agent shooter. 

That has not been the case following Pretti’s death.

Pretti was armed with a pistol and multiple fully loaded magazines while protesting. However, he was also legally permitted to carry his weapon, according to reports

The White House did not explain why the two similar tragedies elicited meaningfully different responses when asked by the Daily Mail. 

‘There is body camera footage from multiple angles which investigators are currently reviewing,’ a DHS official told the Daily Mail. 

That official did not answer whether it would be published.

Turbulence has rocked the administration’s deportation operations in Minnesota following the two shootings of US citizens by federal officers. 

Early on Monday morning, Trump announced that Border Czar Tom Homan would be taking operational control of the deportation program and some 3,000 federal officers stationed there. 

Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino had previously been the face of the Trump-inspired operation. He frequently walked by protestors in Minneapolis and made appearances on TV from the city roiling from the recent number of deaths. 

However, sources have told CNN that Bovino and some of his deputies are expected to leave Minneapolis soon and return to their respective sectors.