The Trump Administration Is Lying About Gun Rights and the Death of Alex Pretti; Reason, January 25, 2026

ROBBY SOAVE, Reason; The Trump Administration Is Lying About Gun Rights and the Death of Alex Pretti

"As with the killing of Renee Good two weeks ago, the legal threshold at which lethal force can be justified is whether the officer who killed Pretti reasonably feared for his own safety. Only a careful, impartial investigation can determine that. The Justice Department has declined to conduct such an investigation into Good's death, instead seeking to investigate the victim's family.

Video footage of Pretti's death shows federal agents using pepper spray on protesters. Pretti appears to be recording the altercation with his cell phone. After an agent shoves one of the protesters to the ground, Pretti moves to assist her. Several CBP agents then decide to bring Pretti down.

It's conceivable that the agent who shot Pretti had the impression that he was reaching for his weapon—though the first shot clearly went off after another agent disarmed the protester. It's also possible that the killer didn't have even that much justification. Yet federal authorities have all but ruled out that possibility, and are making abjectly false statements in support of their mendacious posture.

Noem has repeatedly claimed it as a fact that Pretti intended to harm officers. "This individual showed up to a law enforcement operation with a weapon and dozens of rounds of ammunition," she told reporters. "He wasn't there to peacefully protest. He was there to perpetuate violence." Miller flatly asserted that Pretti was a "domestic terrorist" who "tried to assassinate federal law enforcement."

These are lies. They have no evidence that Pretti wanted to kill anyone. Even if evidence were unexpectedly to come out tomorrow that he was secretly a would-be assassin, it would still be wrong for officials to state as fact that Pretti intended to kill. There are no known facts that establish murder as his motivation. This is a man who was watching officers interact with protesters and recording it on his phone. Contrary to what the Department of Homeland Security wrote on X, he did not approach law enforcement, let alone with a gun drawn."

Harvard sues Trump administration over funding freeze; Axios, April 21, 2025

• Sareen Habeshian, Axios ; Harvard sues Trump administration over funding freeze

"Harvard filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration on Monday, arguing that government overreach violated the university's constitutional rights.

The big picture: The Ivy League institution has rejected a litany of demands from the administration, resulting in a freeze on $2.2 billion in federal funds.

The suit marks an escalation in the administration's battle with elite institutions as it tries to influence and reorient their priorities through federal funds.

Driving the news: Harvard President Alan Garber said in a message to the campus community Monday that the "consequences of the government's overreach will be severe and long-lasting" and accused the administration of trying to impose "unprecedented and improper control.""

Federal commission invades voting privacy; Idaho Mountain Express, July 7, 2017

State Rep. John Gannon, Idaho Mountain Express; Federal commission invades voting privacy

"This new federal commission will cost plenty of our taxpayer dollars and our privacy. What are they going to do with this data? How are they going to track those that move and what right does the federal government have to even do that? Are federal investigators going to contact landlords, look at assessor records and interrogate voters regarding residences in order to determine “vulnerabilities”?  The monetary expense will be substantial and voter participation less likely."