To justify the murder of Alex Pretti, Kristi Noem made the following observation: “I don’t know of any peaceful protester that shows up with a gun and ammunition rather than a sign.” I have two words for her:

“Kyle Rittenhouse”

Remember Kyle? He was the 17-year-old who roamed the streets of Kenosha, WI, brandishing an AR-style weapon during the protests following the murder of Jacob Blake by a Kenosha police officer in April 2020. He explained that he brought the gun to Kenosha to assist law enforcement with protecting businesses during the protests. In the course of events, he used the weapon to kill 2 of the protestors “in self-defense”. He was exonerated.

I guess it’s OK to bring a gun to a protest if you are bringing it to support law enforcement and kill protesters.

Unfortunately, we will never hear Alex Pretti’s explanation why he brought his handgun to the protest, even though he had every legal right to do so, and even though he never brandished the weapon, fired the weapon or killed anyone. But somehow, members of the Trump administration knew everything about his motives, his intentions and the outcomes had agents–some not much older than Kyle Rittenhouse–not shot him 10 times and killed him.

Alex Pretti was a domestic terrorist (Kristi Noem), an assassin (Stephen Miller) who intended to “massacre law enforcement” (Gregory Bovino) and who had “arrived on the scene stop a law enforcement operation and inflict maximum damage on individuals” (Kristi Noem). That’s the administration’s narrative, and they are sticking to it.

There’s just one problem. The narrative is false. It is a lie–and not just a lie. It is pre-meditated deceitful words told to discredit and defame Alex Pretti. This fabrication of “facts” is the pattern of this administration. We witnessed it when an ICE agent shot and wounded Marimar Martinez on October 6, 2025 for allegedly “assaulting federal officers with a deadly weapon” (her car). She was a “domestic terrorist.” We witnessed it after Renee Good’s execution by ICE because she supposedly attempted to run over an agent with her car. She also was a “domestic terrorist.” We have now witnessed the pattern again after the execution of “domestic terrorist” Alex Pretti. See the pattern? Aim and fire. Blame and defame the victim. Claim to be “the Real Victims.” Exonerate the agent(s). Repeat.

The Psalmist, David, who experienced false charges and character assassination, wrote his accusers: “Your tongue plots destruction, like a sharp razor, working deceit. You love evil instead of good, lying rather than speaking right. You love only devouring words—treacherous tongue!” Psalm 52:4-6. Sound familiar?

Alex Pretti wasn’t killed because he had a gun; he was killed because he had the audacity to expose the truth about ICE tactics and cruelty. I believe he was also killed to remind everyone who witnessed it that ICE has unregulated power and will use it however they want and against whomever they want–especially those who would dare to get in their way.

But we know the truth. So, I have five additional words for Kristi Noem (and the rest of the administration’s tools):

WE DO NOT BELIEVE YOU.