IL Rifle Association 'Concerned' About FBI Director's Comments On Guns At Protests

The fallout continues over Saturday's fatal shooting death of a nurse from Illinois at the hands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in Minneapolis. A number of gun rights groups and advocates across the country are calling for a full investigation into the death of Alex Pretti, including one that represents thousands of residents in the state. The gun owners are also questioning comments made by FBI Director Kash Patel and others regarding the incident.

Pretti was shot multiple times by federal officers on Saturday morning during a confrontation near the intersection of 26th Street and Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis. Federal authorities said the 37-year-old nurse was shot after he approached ICE agents with a handgun as they were conducting a targeted enforcement operation.

Eyewitness accounts and videos have since contradicted these and other claims made by high-ranking officials in the Trump administration, including the president himself.

The Associated Press is reporting the videos show Pretti holding a cellphone and helping a woman who had been pepper sprayed by a federal officer, before he is sprayed by federal agents himself. As of Tuesday, the media outlet said no videos of Pretti unholstering his concealed weapon, which he had a Minnesota permit to carry, have been brought forward.

In the videos, it appears one of the ICE officers took Pretti's gun and walked away with it just before shots began, according to the AP report. Further video analysis shows federal agents fired at least 10 shots in five seconds at Pretti, who was an intensive care unit nurse at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System. The shots ring out as Pretti was pinned to the ground, according to AP.

RELATED: Man Fatally Shot By ICE Agents In Minneapolis Was From IL — AP

The Illinois State Rifle Association, which has over 2,000 members in the state, said it is calling for "an open and transparent investigation" into the deadly shooting, the second in just weeks involving ICE agents in Minnesota, following the death of 37-year-old Renee Good on Jan. 9.

"You cannot bring a firearm, loaded, with multiple magazines to any sort of protest that you want," Patel said following the incident. "It's that simple. You don't have a right to break the law."

In a post on X, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said for anyone approaching law enforcement with a gun, "there is a high likelihood they will be legally justified in shooting you.!"

"The Illinois State Rifle Association is concerned about recent statements from US Attorney Bill Essayli and FBI Director Kash Patel implying that people do not have a right to carry firearms at protests," the organization based in Chatworth said in a statement released Tuesday. "The ISRA maintains that individuals have a constitutional right to carry a firearm at a protest, provided they are acting lawfully."

The National Rifle Association called Essayli's comments "dangerous and wrong," advocating for officials to resist "making generalizations and demonizing law-abiding citizens," reports CNN.

Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff, called Pretti a "would-be assassin" and "domestic terrorist," on social media. On Tuesday, while talking with reporters at the White House, Trump was asked if he agreed with Miller's comments. The president echoed talking points made by Patel, saying protestors "can't have guns."

"You can’t walk in with guns, you just can’t," Trump said one day after Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino, who was heading the immigration enforcement effort in Minnesota, was pulled out of the state.

Trump on Monday indicated he is open to reducing the federal footprint in Minnesota and has tapped border czar Tom Homan to serve as the administration’s primary point person on the ground, effectively replacing Bovino and possibly Kristi Noem, secretary of homeland security.

RELATED: Chief Federal Judge In MN Orders ICE Head To Personally Explain 'Violations'