Former White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham is urging Donald Trump to pull ICE out of Minnesota after the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti, adding her voice to the growing backlash over the incident.
Grisham, who served as press secretary for nine months during Trump’s first term, shared a direct plea to the president in a post on X. Her message was sparked by an image of Pretti being pushed to the ground by a Border Patrol agent who appeared to be pointing a gun at his head.
“Please @POTUS – stop this,” Grisham, 49, wrote. “Don’t double down, don’t listen to the advisors telling you false facts/stats & fake polling & lies about what is going on. Please use your humanity & pull ICE from MN – that’s not being weak, it’s leadership.”
Her comments place her among a wide range of political figures from across the spectrum who have condemned the killing. Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama accused the Trump administration of being “eager to escalate” tensions. Even Trump ally and ex-representative Marjorie Taylor Greene criticized the federal government’s justification for the shooting, suggesting it amounted to an attack on constitutional rights.
Grisham’s break with Trump is not new. She endorsed the 2024 Democratic ticket after leaving his orbit and has spoken publicly about what led her to walk away. She has said she defected after witnessing his behavior “when the cameras were off.” In recent months, she has continued to escalate her criticism, most recently claiming the president is “mentally slipping.”
The Trump administration has so far taken a hard line in response to the controversy. Several agency heads have labeled Pretti a “domestic terrorist” and a possible “assassin.” Trump himself did not acknowledge Pretti’s death when he addressed the incident on Truth Social. Instead, he referred to Pretti as a “gunman” and suggested the shooting might be part of a “cover up” connected to alleged corruption in Minnesota.
Federal officials have also claimed that the slain VA nurse “wanted to do maximum damage,” but video from the scene appears to challenge that narrative. Footage of the encounter does not appear to show Pretti acting as an immediate threat. A physician who later provided sworn testimony said Pretti had been involved in a verbal confrontation with officers but did not appear to brandish a weapon. The witness also stated that Pretti seemed to have been shot multiple times in the back, chest, and possibly the neck.
The conflicting accounts have intensified calls for transparency. State and local authorities have opened their own investigation into the shooting, but that process has reportedly hit obstacles. Officials say they have faced resistance from Border Patrol, ICE, and DHS while trying to gather evidence and fully document the scene.
Those concerns prompted a federal judge to issue a temporary restraining order that blocks federal agencies from “destroying or altering” evidence connected to the case. The move was seen by many as an unusual but necessary step to ensure that key information is preserved while investigators work to determine what actually happened.
DHS has denied accusations that it interfered with the investigation. The agency pushed back against claims that it blocked local police and the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension from properly surveying the scene, insisting it did not tamper with or withhold evidence.
As the investigation continues, the shooting has become a flashpoint in the national debate over federal law enforcement and immigration operations. With former insiders like Grisham now speaking out publicly, pressure on the administration is only growing, and the calls to rethink the current approach are getting louder by the day.