Rand Paul Appears To Throw Shade At Trump Admin’s Response To Alex Pretti Shooting

Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul on Tuesday called for the Border Patrol officer who allegedly killed Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday to be “immediately” put on administrative leave — and for an independent investigation into the fatal shooting.

Paul, who chairs the Senate Homeland Security Committee, wrote in anX posthe cannot recall a time when a police chief immediately called the victim of a deadly shooting a “domestic terrorist” or a “would-be assassin.” Shortly after the shooting, the Trump administration’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a statementallegingthat the deceased, later identified as Pretti, approached Border Patrol agents with a gun and appeared intent on “massacr law enforcement.”

“Local police routinely, put officers involved in deadly shootings on administrative leave until an independent investigation is concluded. That should happen immediately,” Paul wrote on social media. “I can’t recall ever hearing a police chief immediately describing the victim as a ‘domestic terrorist’ or a ‘would-be assassin.’ For calm to be restored, an independent investigation is the least that should be done.”

The Trump administration acknowledged on Monday that the only investigation taking place was a “use of force” review by DHS — which is not an investigation that seeks to conclude whether the officers involved will face criminal charges, The New York Times reported.

Paul on Monday called for the heads of Immigration Control Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), all agencies of the DHS, to