Head of ICE says he disagrees that Good, Pretti were domestic terrorists at Senate hearing

The head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Renee Good and Alex Pretti were not domestic terrorists, contradicting what other top Trump administration officials said in the immediate aftermath of the fatal shootings in Minneapolis.

“To my knowledge, no,” acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said when asked if Good and Pretti were domestic terrorists.

He wouldn’t comment on others who used that label, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

Lyons’ comments came during a tense hearing in the U.S. Senate’s homeland security committee on Thursday, Feb. 12, the second congressional meeting on Operation Metro Surge in a week.

Senators also grilled Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and other local officials on how law enforcement in the state collaborates with ICE.

The hearing came just as border czar Tom Homan announced that the surge is ending. Homan said the immigration operation was successful and led to better cooperation with local police, though the latest polling also suggests the crackdown was deeply unpopular and damaging to GOP electoral chances.

Some Republicans on the Senate committee pushed back on the tactics of federal agents that led up to the fatal shootings, while Minnesota Republicans who attended the hearing blamed unrest on Democrats.

“He’s trying to get away, and he’s being sprayed in the face,” Paul said.

He said ICE and the Border Patrol “must admit their mistakes, be honest and forthright with their rules of engagement and pledge to reform” because many Americans aren’t trusting the feds will conduct fair investigations.

Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer, the No. 3 Republican in the House, said chaos “was all a direct result of radical sanctuary state and city policies in Minnesota by preventing local law enforcement from working together with federal law enforcement.”

Ellison’s appearance, at times, led to shouting matches, bickering and fierce disagreements over the cooperation of local law enforcement with ICE, fraud in Minnesota social services programs and his response to antisemitism.

Sen. Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican, argued that Democrats had inspired people to create dangerous situations with officers.

Ellison replied that he had told Minnesotans to protest peacefully and safely.

He, meanwhile, characterized the immigration crackdown in Minnesota as an “occupation” by the federal government. He said the operation made it feel as if the city had been “targeted, blanketed with paramilitaries.”

The attorney general was cautiously optimistic about Operation Metro Surge’s drawdown.

“I’m very hopeful that it’s true, but I’m going to have to see what people on the ground are telling me before I would accept that,” Ellison told reporters after his testimony.

With Operation Metro Surge coming to an end, Lyons said that the agents deployed for the operation would begin returning to their home stations.

During the hearing, Paul needled Lyons and U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott about their agents’ actions before the Pretti and Good shootings. In regard to the Pretti shooting, he asked whether it was appropriate for federal agents to shove a woman to the ground.

Scott said he couldn’t answer because video didn’t show everything that led up to the encounter. But when pressed, he said, in general, it’s not OK to shove someone to the ground if an officer is only being yelled at.

“No one in America believes shoving that woman’s head and face in the snow was de-escalation,” Paul said.

The Kentucky senator said he’s pro-law enforcement and doesn’t think the fatal shooting was a crime. But he said it was “terrible police work” and that there “has to ultimately be repercussions.”

When asked about an officer hitting Pretti with a canister and whether Pretti posed a threat while on the ground, Scott said the intensive care nurse was “not compliant,” not following guidance and “fighting back nonstop.”

“Many families are afraid to send their children to school,” Peg Nelson, a teacher from Columbia Heights Elementary School, said at the rally. “We have about 130 students absent each day. They’re afraid to come to school.”

Good’s attorney, the Mendota Heights police chief and others also met with House Democrats on Thursday morning for a steering and policy hearing on ICE accountability.