Rand Paul Heads to Newsmax to Call Out Trump Administration’s ‘Obviously Not True’ Rhetoric On Shooting of Alex Pretti

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said his fellow Republicans claiming the death of Minneapolis man Alex Pretti was a “good shooting” clearly aren’t watching the video available.

Paul joined Newsmax’s Rob Schmitt on Thursday where he blasted President Donald Trump’s administration for their framing of the Pretti shooting. Pretti was shot and killed by federal agents on Saturday. His death followed an ICE agent shooting and killing another citizen in Minneapolis, Renee Good.

“Nobody can see those videos and say that that man was assaulting ICE agents. He was backpedaling the whole time, a woman was violently shoved to the ground. He was shoved, he was pepper sprayed, and then taken to the ground. If we’re going to say that he was assaulting the police, I think that leads to more distrust of ICE,” Paul said.

Footage from the Minneapolis shooting showed Pretti in a disagreement with officers, which turned into scuffle that then leads to multiple shots being fired. Trump administration officials have faced backlash for early statements claiming Pretti brandished his gun (footage does not appear to support that). White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller outright accused Pretti of being an assassin, intending to kill the agents.

Such statements, Paul argued, are only adding to tensions in cities like Minneapolis.

“If you call this a good shooting, you aren’t watching the video. This was a real tragedy and a mistake. The man had been disarmed and then was shot 10 times. I want ICE to do a good job. I want ICE to get rid of the violent people in our communities, but we can’t have it if we say things like, oh, yeah, well, he was an assassin and he was a domestic terrorist. If we say things that are obviously not true, the situation is going to get worse,” he said.

Watch above via Newsmax.

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