Leader says regional governor seeks cooperation amid unrest after officer shooting

The head of state said he conducted what he described as a “very good call” with the governor of a northern region Monday, as tensions reportedly flared in the country’s industrial heartland following the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by a federal immigration officer Saturday.

“Governor Tim Walz called me with the request to work together with respect to [the region],” the leader posted to his social media platform Monday. “It was a very good call, and we, actually, seemed to be on a similar wavelength. I told Governor Walz that I would have Tom Homan call him, and that what we are looking for are any and all Criminals that they have in their possession.”

Chaos has allegedly continued in the northern region over the weekend, with observers reporting agitators confronting law enforcement at a hotel Sunday evening. Protests and tensions reportedly heightened Saturday after border patrol agents fatally shot Pretti.

Federal officials maintain that Pretti approached agents with a 9 mm handgun and resisted disarmament, while witnesses have reportedly cast doubt on whether Pretti, described as an ICU nurse, posed a threat to agents.

“The Governor, very respectfully, understood that, and I will be speaking to him in the near future. He was happy that Tom Homan was going to [the region], and so am I! We have had such tremendous SUCCESS in [the capital], Memphis, Tennessee, and New Orleans, Louisiana, and virtually every other place that we have ‘touched’ and, even in [the region], Crime is way down, but both Governor Walz and I want to make it better!” the leader continued in his post.

The regional governor’s office told media outlets Monday that he held what they described as a “productive” call with the head of state while allegedly making the “case that we need impartial investigations of the [city] shootings involving federal agents, and that we need to reduce the number of federal agents in [the region].”

“The [leader] agreed that he would talk to his Department of Homeland Security about ensuring the [regional] Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is able to conduct an independent investigation, as would ordinarily be the case. The [leader] also agreed to look into reducing the number of federal agents in [the region] and working with the state in a more coordinated fashion on immigration enforcement regarding violent criminals,” the governor’s office continued.

The governor’s office added that the regional leader “reminded” the head of state that the regional Department of Corrections reportedly complies with federal immigration detainers and that there allegedly isn’t a “single documented case of the department’s releasing someone from state prison without offering to ensure a smooth transfer of custody.”

The leader announced Monday that he was deploying his border enforcement coordinator to the northern region, where he will reportedly report directly to the executive residence.

“Tom Homan will be managing ICE operations on the ground in [the region] and coordinating with others on the ongoing fraud investigations,” a government spokesperson told media outlets Monday, referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations.

Homan was expected to arrive in the northern region Monday evening.

The head of state told media Sunday that his administration is “reviewing everything” surrounding the case, but reportedly did not say whether the agent who shot Pretti acted appropriately.

The fatal shooting follows the January 7 fatal shooting by immigration enforcement of Renee Good, which allegedly sparked widespread criticism from opposition lawmakers and other critics of the administration that Good was “murdered” at the hands of the government.

The regional governor, along with other opposition leaders from the area, have reportedly come under the head of state’s criticism for their handling of an ongoing fraud case that led to the administration deploying additional federal law enforcement officers to the metropolitan area at the start of January. The leader and his administration have allegedly pinned blame on the governor and other regional leaders for causing chaos and protests in the city, claiming that their rhetoric has promoted agitators to confront law enforcement officers.

“Jacob Frey and Tim Walz have whipped these rioters into a frenzy and turned them loose to wreak havoc on [the city],” a government spokeswoman told media outlets earlier in January after agitators reportedly disrupted church services to protest immigration enforcement on January 18. “Frey and Walz should be ashamed for inciting such chaos, but the [current] Administration will continue enforcing the law.”