Trump aide Stephen Miller says Minneapolis agents may have breached ‘protocol’
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White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller appeared to blame both the border agency and the Department of Homeland Security for his earlier comments on Jan 24.
PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
WASHINGTON - US immigration agents may have breached “protocol” in Minneapolis before the fatal shooting of a nurse during protests
The admission comes as Mr Trump said he wants to de-escalate the situation
Mr Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff and a powerful figure who leads Mr Trump’s hardline immigration policy, said in a statement to AFP that the White House was now looking into the possible breach.
He said the White House had provided “clear guidance” that extra personnel were sent to Minnesota to protect deportation agents and “create a physical barrier between the arrest teams and the disruptors”.
“We are evaluating why the CBP (Customs and Border Protection) team may not have been following that protocol,” Mr Miller said.
The White House later said Mr Miller was referring to “general guidance” to immigration agents operating in the state, rather than the specific incident in which Mr Pretti was killed.
It added that officials would be “examining why additional force protection assets may not have been present to support the operation” to remove undocumented migrants from Minnesota.
Mr Miller also appeared to blame both the border agency and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for his comments on Jan 24, which have since attracted criticism.
Shortly after the killing, Mr Miller called Mr Pretti a “would-be assassin” and accused him of wanting to murder federal agents.
But Mr Miller said his comments were based on an initial statement by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who falsely said Mr Pretti was brandishing a weapon when he approached federal agents.
Video evidence later showed that the victim was not holding a gun
Mr Pretti had a sidearm on him, but agents had already removed it before he was shot multiple times at point-blank range.
“The initial statement from DHS was based on reports from CBP on the ground,” Mr Miller said in his statement. AFP
