Federal agents say Noem ‘jumped the gun’ in Alex Pretti shooting investigation

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s initial declaration that a department agency would oversee the investigation into the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti left current and former senior federal law enforcement officials stunned, according to four sources.

A day after Pretti was killed on Jan. 24, when two U.S. Customs and Border Protection employees opened fire on him during an arrest in Minneapolis, Noem stated that her department would lead the federal investigation into the use-of-force incident.

Federal agents who spoke with the Washington Examiner since then said they were baffled by that announcement, given the long-standing protocol that any instance of a weapon being discharged be handled by the FBI, an agency not housed in DHS but rather the Justice Department. While Noem has since said