Just hours after their son was shot and killed by federal agents on the streets of Minneapolis, Michael and Susan Pretti decried the “sickening lies” told by the Trump administration. “Please get the truth out about our son,” they wrote. “He was a good man. Thank you.”
The truth is that senior Trump administration officials quickly smeared Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse who worked at a veterans’ hospital, as a “domestic terrorist.” They lied – repeatedly – before any investigation could be completed, and before Pretti’s parents, friends, and colleagues could testify to his kind character. The administration is, of course, attempting to deflect blame from its own culpability. But that is only part of the story.
Senior officials’ dishonest portrayal of Pretti as a domestic terrorist is not a slip of the tongue or impulsive idea.
Instead, it appears to be part of the administration’s campaign to demonize opposition to its anti-immigrant policies as “domestic terrorism,” and to weaponize powers of the federal government against such perceived political opponents. That plan is set forth in a National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM-7) and other official memoranda. It is a direct threat to First Amendment rights, as well as the lives of protesters opposed to the administration’s unconstitutional and increasingly violent anti-immigrant policies. Indeed, by falsely declaring Pretti to be a “domestic terrorist,” some officials are arguing, in effect, that the federal government was justified in killing him. It is a lie – one that Trump officials have told before, including after the killing of Renee Good. And it is part of a broader effort to smear everyone from other ICE observers to elected state and city officials as supporters of “terrorism.”
Consider how quickly the administration attempted to frame Pretti. Within three hours after his death, the DHS posted a picture of a 9mm semi-automatic that was reportedly found on Pretti’s person, claiming “this looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.” (Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino and Secretary Kristi Noem would repeat that statement later in the day.) DHS added that Pretti was killed as “officers attempted to disarm the suspect but the armed suspect violently resisted.” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem alleged that Pretti “committed an act of domestic terrorism.” She elaborated: “When you perpetuate violence against a government because of ideological reasons and for reasons to resist and perpetuate violence, that is the definition of domestic terrorism.” Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller declared that Pretti was a “domestic terrorist” who “tried to assassinate federal law enforcement.” Miller also shared a post claiming that Pretti “likely intended to MASSACRE LAW ENFORCEMENT.”
Vice President JD Vance saw fit to repost Miller’s comments on X:
Not one of these claims is true – as can be seen in multiple videos of the moments leading up to Pretti’s death (as well as two eye witness declarations submitted to federal court). There is no indication that Pretti, a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry, planned to shoot any federal agents. He was holding a phone, not a gun, and recording a video of the DHS personnel. As the New York Times concluded after reviewing the footage, Pretti stepped between “a woman and an agent who is pepper spraying her,” other “agents then pepper spray” Pretti, “who is holding a phone in one hand and nothing in the other.” Most importantly, Pretti’s gun “remains concealed until federal agents find and take it from him.” (See also the Wall Street Journal’s video analysis.)
And yet, the administration was quick to declare Pretti the aggressor – a “domestic terrorist.” Why?
The answer can be found in NSPM-7, the Presidential Memorandum entitled, “Countering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence.” Shortly after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was murdered last September, the Trump administration launched a campaign to brand much of its domestic political opposition as “domestic terrorists.” NSPM-7 is the first and most important document in this effort. At President Donald Trump’s signing ceremony, Miller claimed that the memorandum establishes the first “all of government effort to dismantle leftwing terrorism,” which he portrayed as an “organized campaign.” But NSPM-7 does not address any specific leftwing terrorist actors. Instead, it lists a wide range of commonly held beliefs as supposed “indicia uniting [a] pattern of violent and terroristic activities under the umbrella of self-described ‘anti-fascism.’”
For example, NSPM-7’s authors claim, without citing any evidence, that opposition to the administration’s anti-immigrant policies is a leading indicator of political violence. They describe “support for law enforcement and border control” as “foundational American principles” People who describe these principles as “fascist,” NSPM-7’s authors continue, are attempting “to justify and encourage acts of violent revolution.” The memorandum lists “extremism on migration,” in addition to a wide range of commonly held beliefs, as indicative of “violent and terroristic activities,” The memo directs law enforcement, including FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTFs) around the country, to investigate people and organizations based on its definitions and criteria.
NSPM-7’s threat to civil liberties, and especially the right to free speech, was immediately apparent. (Indeed, legislative efforts in the House would prohibit any congressional funds being used to implement the Memorandum.) As a matter of longstanding policy, the FBI and DHS have not opened investigations on the basis of speech alone. No matter how noxious one’s beliefs may be, the FBI and DHS have understood that protected First Amendment activity is not criminal and should not be treated as such. NSPM-7 does not mention the First Amendment or the need to protect free speech, a telling absence.
According to the logic of NSPM-7, those who oppose the administration’s mass deportation operations are potential “domestic terrorists.” This may explain why administration officials were so quick to use that loaded term to describe Pretti, as well as Renee Good.
After an ICE agent shot and killed Good in Minneapolis earlier this month, Vice President J.D. Vance insisted that Good, a mother driving a Honda Pilot, was part of a “broader leftwing network” that is employing “domestic terror techniques.” Just as she did in the aftermath of Pretti’s murder, Noem claimed that Good committed an “act of domestic terrorism.” Again, without citing any evidence, Noem asserted that Good’s actions were “coordinated,” with people “being trained and told how to use their vehicles to impede law enforcement operations.”
As in the case of Pretti, there are multiple videos of the moments leading up to the murder of Good. Contrary to the administration’s claims,, Good was not attempting to run the ICE agent over when she was fatally shot. In fact, she turned the wheel of her car away from Agent Jonathan Ross.
“That’s fine, dude, I’m not mad at you,” Good said shortly before she was killed. Pretti was assisting others who were being pepper sprayed shortly before he was killed.
These are not the words or deeds of “domestic terrorists.”
President Trump and other officials have tried to pin the blame for their deaths on senior elected Democrats in Minnesota. Trump has accused Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey of sowing “chaos” by supposedly failing to deploy local law enforcement in support of ICE’s crackdown on immigrants. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche has taken this blame game a step further, alleging that Walz and Frey support “terrorism” and vowing to stop them “by whatever means necessary.” Blanche’s rhetoric is straight out of the NSPM-7 playbook.
The NSPM-7 framework is being employed far outside of Minnesota’s borders. Recently, an observer recorded an ICE agent in Maine threatening her. When the legal observer asked ICE’s man why he was taking photographs of her car, he responded: “Because we have a nice little database, and now you’re considered a domestic terrorist.” And the FBI has launched “criminal and domestic terrorism investigations” into “threats against immigration enforcement activity” across the country. A two-page FBI memo summarizing these investigations notes that some of them were opened prior to NSPM-7, but they “are aligned with the definitions provided by the Memorandum.”
NSPM-7’s authors claim that the ideas they are targeting threaten “constitutional rights” and “fundamental American liberties.” That is an upside-down reality. The truth is NSPM-7 threatens core constitutional rights. The smearing of Alex Pretti and Renee Good is not simply a rhetorical tactic. It is part of a larger operation.
FEATURED IMAGE: Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller speaks to press about NSPM-7 on the presidential signing of the Memorandum, Sept. 25, 2025
Great Job Tom Joscelyn & the Team @ Just Security Source link for sharing this story.
