Op-Ed

Minneapolis and the Lie Machine: I Am Sick of the Left Lying About This Shooting

By Michael "Mickey" Scornavacco
January 25, 2026

I am done pretending this is a misunderstanding or a matter of perspective. What we are watching unfold in Minneapolis is not confusion. It is a deliberate lie campaign designed to smear law enforcement and inflame the public.

Enough.

Federal immigration agents were conducting a lawful, targeted enforcement operation in Minneapolis. Not a raid. Not a sweep. Not ICE "hunting innocent people." A specific operation carried out by trained federal officers doing the job Congress authorized them to do.

The original target was Jose Huerta-Chuma, an illegal alien from Ecuador with a documented criminal history. That is not up for debate. That information came directly from the Department of Homeland Security.

Then comes the part the left desperately wants you to ignore.

A second individual voluntarily inserted himself into the operation.

That man was Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen and nurse. He was not the target. He was not required to be there. He was not helping anyone. He chose to involve himself.

And he did so while armed.

Yes, at some point he was recording with his cell phone. That detail keeps getting repeated as if it changes everything. It does not. Holding a phone does not make approaching armed federal agents during an active operation safe, smart, or justified.

What is not normal is injecting yourself into a lawful law enforcement operation while carrying a weapon.

He could have walked away.

He could have stayed out of it.

He could have minded his own business.

Instead, he chose to interfere.

Agents attempted to disarm him. A physical struggle followed. He did not comply. He did not disengage. He resisted while armed. At that moment, federal agents did exactly what they are trained and legally allowed to do. They protected their lives.

That is not an execution.

That is not murder.

That is not police brutality.

That is reality.

Here is another truth the media refuses to say out loud. Under settled self-defense law, officers do not need to personally verify every threat in the middle of a violent struggle. They are allowed to rely on the reasonable perception of danger shared by their fellow officers. When a firearm is perceived during active resistance, the legal standard is clear. Reasonable belief of imminent deadly force.

The law does not require officers to wait to be shot. It does not require hesitation so activists can edit video clips later. Freeze-frame outrage does not override real-time danger. This was tragic. It was also lawful.

Then, as if the situation were not already bad enough, people in the surrounding area began harassing and obstructing the agents. More chaos. More interference. More reckless behavior from people who had no business being involved.

And right on cue, the left blamed law enforcement.

So let me ask the question no one on the left ever answers.

What exactly were the agents supposed to do?

Stand down while an armed individual approached them?

Risk their lives to protect a false narrative?

Let a hostile crowd dictate federal law enforcement?

That is insanity.

You do not get to rush into an armed federal operation and then play victim when it ends badly. You do not get to interfere with law enforcement and then act shocked when force is used. And you do not get to rewrite reality because the truth wrecks your politics.

This was not random.

This was not unprovoked.

This was not ICE targeting innocent people.

This was a dangerous situation created by bad decisions, and those decisions had consequences. Period.

As of January 25, 2026, the real problem goes far beyond Minneapolis. It is the normalization of hostility toward federal law enforcement, encouraged by politicians, activists, and media figures who will never face the danger themselves.

That has to stop.

President Donald J. Trump needs to act. Federal agents need reinforcements. And if necessary, the National Guard should be deployed to restore order and protect those enforcing the law.

Federal officers should never be left exposed while chaos is applauded from the sidelines.

Enough is enough.

ICE agents are enforcing the law. They deserve protection, leadership, and support. Not lies. Not smears. And not cowardice.

— Michael "Mickey" Scornavacco