‘What we saw was a very violent altercation, and I am not going to prejudge the facts,’ he said.
U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche on Monday said nobody thinks the actions of a man who was shot by a Border Patrol agent in Minnesota on Saturday reach the legal standard for domestic terrorism.
“I don’t think anybody thinks that they were comparing what happened on Saturday to the legal definition of domestic terrorism,” Blanche said on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends” on Monday.
During the incident leading up to the shooting, “what we saw was a very violent altercation, and I am not going to prejudge the facts,” Blanche added.
Domestic terrorism under federal law is defined as activities that can intimidate or coerce a civilian population, influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion, or impact the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping.
Following the shooting death of the man, identified as Alex Pretti, by a federal agent during a Minneapolis incident, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said that Pretti was carrying out domestic terrorism and brandished a weapon at federal officials.
“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,” Noem told reporters on Saturday. “This individual who came with weapons and ammunition to stop a law enforcement operation of federal law enforcement officers committed an act of domestic terrorism.”
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the man was shot after he approached Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun. Officials did not specify whether Pretti brandished the gun.
Videos from the scene circulating on social media appear to show Pretti holding an object in his hand as he struggles with agents. The man’s family said in a statement shared by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) that Pretti was “clearly not holding a gun” but instead had “his phone in his right hand, and his empty left hand is raised above his head.”
