Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
The shooting of Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse killed by federal agents in Minneapolis on January 24, 2026, has become radioactive almost instantly. Everyone rushed to pick a team. Pro-ICE versus anti-ICE. Pro-Trump versus anti-Trump. Gun people versus non-gun people. And in the middle of all that noise, the actual facts and the Constitution started getting trampled.
That’s why Colion Noir’s breakdown matters. He didn’t run cover for anyone; he didn’t play partisan defense. He didn’t pretend ugly facts weren’t ugly. And, he did something that’s increasingly rare: he stayed consistent.
And consistency is the whole point of the 2A.
Let’s start with the uncomfortable part. President Donald Trump. When asked about Pretti, Trump defaulted to a line that should make every gun owner cringe: “You know, you can’t have guns. You can’t walk in with guns. You just can’t.” That’s not just sloppy. That’s wrong. Flatly wrong.
In Iowa, Trump also told a reporter, “I don’t like that he had a gun. I don’t like that he had two fully loaded magazines. That’s a lot of bad stuff. And despite that, I’d say that’s… very unfortunate.”
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Pretti was legally carrying under Minnesota law. Carrying a firearm, even with “two fully loaded magazines,” is not a crime. It is not evidence of intent. It is not probable cause. And it sure as hell isn’t justification for post-hoc political commentary that treats gun ownership itself as “bad stuff.”
Can the FBI just enforce the law without adopting every leftist gun banner talking point?
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) January 25, 2026
🚫Carrying a gun = bad intentions.
🚫Loaded guns = bad guns.
🚫Spare magazines = extra bad.
🚫More than 10 rounds = bad.
Here’s the key point Noir nailed: when a pro-2A president says anti-gun nonsense, the 2A community doesn’t get a hall pass to ignore it. Calling it out isn’t betrayal. It’s accountability. Rights don’t survive on vibes or loyalty. They survive on consistency.
At the same time, Noir refuses to lie to make anyone feel better. Was it smart for Pretti to show up armed to a protest involving federal agents? Probably not. But legality and wisdom are two different conversations, and collapsing them is how rights quietly disappear.
Pretti didn’t lose his Second Amendment rights because he was protesting ICE. He didn’t lose them because people didn’t like his politics. And he didn’t lose them because someone decided, after the fact, that carrying a gun “looked bad.”
That’s not how constitutional rights work.
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Jon Stewart on point 🔥🎯
— Wu Tang is for the Children (@WUTangKids) January 27, 2026
"I wasn't shocked when you guys gave up the 1st Amendment, and I wasn't shocked when you gave up the 4th and the 10th and the 14th at Trump's behest, but the 2nd?….Come on, guys. Guns are your whole personality" pic.twitter.com/MhgGAfLet0
Where this case turns dark is the video. Based on the available footage, Noir lays out what looks less like a justified use of force and more like a cascading failure: poor situational awareness, escalating force, panic, and a situation that spiraled into lethal chaos.
The most damning detail?
Pretti appears to have been disarmed before shots were fired. An agent removes the firearm and moves away with it. Another agent, who was apparently not directly threatened, draws and fires from behind. Then more shots follow, even as Pretti is on the ground, motionless.
That matters. Under Graham v. Connor and Tennessee v. Garner, deadly force is judged officer-by-officer, second-by-second, under an objective reasonableness standard. A gun existing is not the same thing as a gun being a threat. Once a firearm is controlled, the legal math changes immediately, as Noir correctly asserts.
This is where Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s early framing runs into trouble. Calling this “defensive” before the facts are settled doesn’t help public trust. And it doesn’t help the agents involved if the evidence doesn’t back it up.
None of this means Pretti made perfect decisions. Stepping into an active law enforcement confrontation while armed introduces real risk. Noir is clear about that. Carrying a gun means you assume a higher practical responsibility, even if not a higher moral one.
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But responsibility cuts both ways.
Federal agents carry weapons, authority, and the full weight of the state. That means their margin for error is smaller, not larger. If the shooting continued after the threat was neutralized, that’s not politics. That’s law.
And this is the most important takeaway: this case should not be hijacked into an ICE debate or a tribal loyalty test. Strip away the slogans and what’s left is a man who was legally exercising his rights, a series of bad decisions and reactions, and a deadly outcome that deserves scrutiny, not spin.
As Noir puts it plainly: if this doesn’t bother you, no matter which side you’re on, something is wrong.
The NRA unequivocally believes that all law-abiding citizens have a right to keep and bear arms anywhere they have a legal right to be.
— NRA (@NRA) January 28, 2026
The truth doesn’t care who you voted for. Rights don’t either. And if the Second Amendment only matters when it’s politically convenient, then it doesn’t really matter at all.
The investigation needs to play out. The facts need to be nailed down. But constitutional consistency isn’t optional. And Colion Noir is right to demand it, even when it makes people uncomfortable.
Donald Trump has advocated for taking guns away from American citizens (2018 & 2025) without due process. And for those constitutionally challenged: the whole point of due process is that it's given BEFORE the action.
— The Last American Vagabond (@TLAVagabond) November 30, 2025
"Take their guns first, due process later." -Donald Trump pic.twitter.com/VDzknVgMix
What’s your take on this SNAFU? In Trump we still trust? Based on the available evidence, was the use of deadly force justified?
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is a seasoned outdoorsman, lifelong hunter, and the kind of guy who’d rather track whitetails than scroll social media. As an editor for GunsAmerica, he’s got a sharp eye for spotting both solid gear and bad gun laws. Whether he’s deep in the woods or deep in editorial deadlines, Larry brings a no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is approach to firearms, hunting, and the great American tradition of self-reliance. If there’s a hot debate on gun rights or the latest in hunting tech, you can bet Larry’s got an opinion—and it’s probably backed up with both facts and field experience.
Experience:
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– Concealed Carry Permit Holder (NYS & AZ) – Trained and licensed to carry in multiple states.
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