Following the shooting of a Leftist activist obstructing DHS agents last weekend, members of the Trump Administration, including President Trump himself, took to the media to criticize the activist for carrying a loaded handgun
As hundreds of anti-ICE insurgents rioted on January 24th, one activist was fatally shot by federal agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Alex Pretti was carrying a Sig P320 handgun and two loaded magazines. According to Brian O’Hara of the Minneapolis Police Department, Pretti was a lawful gun owner with a Minnesota permit to carry a handgun.
Yet, before all the details surrounding the shooting become known, top officials in the Trump Administration took to the media, issuing troubling statements.
FBI Director, Kash Patel, claimed on Fox News:
“You cannot bring a firearm, loaded, with multiple magazines to any sort of protest that you want. It’s that simple. You don’t have a right to break the law.”
Dudley Brown, President of the National Association for Gun Rights, rebuked:
“The FBI director needs to brush off that thing called the Constitution, because he clearly hasn’t read it. I know of no more crucial place to carry a firearm for self defense than a protest.”
Unfortunately, President Trump doubled-down on the on his administration’s messaging Tuesday evening, saying:
“You can’t have guns. You can’t walk in with guns. It’s a very unfortunate thing.”
Brown, then issued a statement on National Association for Gun Rights’ X account, saying:
“The President is simply wrong. While we agree you can’t interfere with law enforcement, you absolutely have the right to carry the tools for self-defense while lawfully protesting. In fact, that’s precisely the kind of place where exercising that right matters most. Unfortunately, this isn’t just a misstatement by the President; it reflects a broader problem with the messaging of other highly ranked Administration officials.”
Whether or not top officials within the Trump Administration choose to walk back these statements in the coming days, the National Association for Gun Rights stands strong in affirming the individual right to keep and bear arms for lawful gun owners.
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