Typically the party has been in lockstep with the president on every position he takes.
“I don’t know of any peaceful protester that shows up with a gun and ammunition rather than a sign,” she said of Pretti in the hours after his death.
“This is a violent riot when you have someone showing up with weapons and are using them to assault law enforcement officers.”
Noem’s comments have not been well-received.
“Officials who rush to judgment before all the facts are known undermine public trust and the law-enforcement mission,” Utah Senator John Curtis said.
“I disagree with Secretary Noem’s premature DHS response, which came before all the facts were known and weakened confidence.”
Six other Republican senators have also called for a more thorough investigation into the shooting.
Multiple video angles of the shooting showed Pretti did not have his hands on his holstered gun at any point during the confrontation.
The gun had been taken away from him before the first shot was fired by Border Patrol agents.
Pretti was an intensive care nurse and was filming law enforcement agents at the time of his death.
He had been pepper-sprayed and was being held down on the ground by several agents before he was shot ten times in five seconds.
America’s second most powerful Republican, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, has called for a change to the White House’s approach.
“In general, we need to have respect for law enforcement officers in the country,” Abbott said.
“They are law enforcement officers. And so they, being the White House, need to recalibrate on what needs to be done to make sure that respect is going to be re-instilled.”
State and local law enforcement are seeking an order preventing the federal government from destroying evidence in the Pretti investigation.
The administration is not co-operating with a local investigation, and the federal case is being handled by ICE itself.
Democrats, meanwhile, are pushing for Noem to be impeached as Secretary of Homeland Security.
Nearly two-thirds of the House of Representatives Democrats have signed on to a resolution to impeach Noem.
“We call for an immediate stand down of ICE and CBP interior enforcement operations and demand the resignation of the Secretary of Homeland Security,” a statement from a group of Democratic lawmakers said.
“Current leadership has failed to protect civil liberties, ensure accountability, or maintain the public trust.”
But no elected Republican has joined them yet.
Noem will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 3.
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