NRA rejects First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli's comment on the Pretti shooting and says voices should await a full investigation
National Rifle AssociationNational gun-rights organization, in a post on X
The NRA said on X that a comment by Bill Essayli, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, was dangerous and wrong, and that public voices should await a full investigation of the Pretti shooting.
“This sentiment from the First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California is dangerous and wrong. Responsible public voices should be awaiting a full investigation, not making generalizations and demonizing law-abiding citizens.”
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Were Border Patrol Agent Jesus Ochoa and CBP Officer Raymundo Gutierrez justified in fatally shooting Alex Pretti?
On January 24, 2026, during Operation Metro Surge, a federal immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis, Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and CBP officer Raymundo Gutierrez fired approximately ten shots that killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System. Pretti, who was lawfully carrying a handgun, had been filming federal agents and moved to help a woman whom an agent had pushed to the ground. Agents pepper-sprayed and pinned Pretti to the ground; bystander video reviewed by multiple news organizations shows an agent removing a handgun from Pretti's waistband roughly a second before the first shots were fired. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said Pretti approached officers with a 9mm handgun, that officers attempting to disarm him met violent resistance, and that agents fired defensive shots fearing for their lives. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office ruled Pretti's death a homicide on February 2, 2026. ProPublica identified the two agents on February 1, 2026; both were placed on administrative leave, and the Department of Justice opened a federal civil rights investigation. Discussing the shooting and the earlier fatal shooting of Renee Good in an NBC News interview, President Trump said "he was not an angel and she was not an angel," but when asked whether that justified what happened to them, he answered "No. I don't" and said "it should've not happened." The shooting sparked large protests in Minneapolis and other U.S. cities and preceded the administration's announced drawdown of Operation Metro Surge. As of September 2026, the federal civil rights investigation remains active with no public charging decision against either agent.
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
LiveNOW from FOX report, published January 25, 2026, quoting the NRA's public statements on X about the shooting of Alex Pretti and a U.S. attorney's comment on it.
Before the quotation
Minneapolis police said Pretti had a permit to carry a firearm. Bill Essayli, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, wrote on X, in response to DHS's first statement on the shooting, that officers are highly likely to be legally justified in shooting a person who approaches them with a gun.
After the quotation
The same report says the NRA had earlier that day urged political voices to lower the temperature while an investigation determines whether the use of force was justified.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The case asks whether the agents were justified in fatally shooting Alex Pretti. The NRA rejects First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli's remark that a person who approaches officers with a gun is likely to be legally justified in being shot, and says public voices should await a full investigation. It does not say whether these agents were justified. We used Challenged the characterization because the statement disputes the reasoning offered in defense of the shooting without taking a position on the shooting itself.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- Jesus Ochoa, Raymundo Gutierrez
More from this case
Read the full caseSteven Young calls Alex Pretti's killing a murder and blames Klobuchar's support for ICE
“Klobuchar's continued support for ICE renders her complicit in the ethnic cleansing of our neighbors here, and an accomplice after the fact to the murder of Alex and Renee.”Read statement
Amy Klobuchar says Alex Pretti should still be alive
“They should be alive today.”Read statement
Trump on Pretti and Good: 'It should've not happened'
“No. I don't. I -- it should've not happened. It was a very sad -- to me it was a very sad incident, two incidents.”Read statement
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- NRA rejects First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli's comment on the Pretti shooting and says voices should await a full investigation
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The Dispute Index. "NRA rejects First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli's comment on the Pretti shooting and says voices should await a full investigation". First published: 2026-09-26. Last updated: 2026-09-26. https://disputeindex.com/events/2848-the-nra-said-on-x-that-a-comment