I get what's going on here but it's still pretty strange to watch. Here's FBI Director Kash Patel on Sunday saying that you can't just bring a firearm to a protest.
Kash Patel: "You cannot bring a firearm, loaded, with multiple magazines to any sort of protest that you want. It's that simple. You don't have a right to break the law." (Pretti was carrying a gun legally.) pic.twitter.com/EzGENVT26q
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 25, 2026
Of course this is being posted by Aaron Rupar because he wants clicks form lefties who are suddenly very concerned about the 2nd Amendment? No, not really. They are just jumping on whatever they can but in this case, unfortunately, they have a point. What Patel is saying here is pretty sloppy. He was actually restating something he said a bit earlier in the same interview. The first time around he was more careful. "As Secretary Noem said, no one who wants to be peaceful shows up at a protest with a firearm that is loaded with two full magazines," he said.
Patel: No one who wants to be peaceful shows up at a protest with a firearm that is loaded with two full magazines and you do not get to touch law enforcement.
— Acyn (@Acyn) January 25, 2026
Bartiromo: But how was he threatening border patrol? He had a camera. He was filming it. pic.twitter.com/uSfLcIeW9p
Again, the left is having fun with this because it's obviously not what most people on the right believe. At least they haven't believed it in the past.
oh, that's weird... pic.twitter.com/txWo4gka1s
— Political Punk (@actingliketommy) January 25, 2026
Today, President Trump used nearly the same line during a press gaggle outside the White House. First Trump admits that Pretti wasn't acting as an assassin, which is obviously wrong. Then he says, "With that being said, you know, you can't have guns. You can't walk in with guns."
Peaceful protests while armed isn’t radical—it’s American.
— Gun Owners of America (@GunOwners) January 27, 2026
The First and Second Amendments protect those rights, and they always have.
GOA will hold any administration accountable. pic.twitter.com/ox8lGSrJ54
Except you can walk in with guns. It's not even a close call in this case.
President Trump is wrong. Pretti was legally allowed to carry. Minnesota has no ban on carrying at protests, if that event even qualifies as one. Additionally, Pretti never reached for or drew his gun, and Pretti having a gun doesn't appear to be the inciting incident.
— Stephen Gutowski (@StephenGutowski) January 27, 2026
The only law Pretti seems to have violated here is that he wasn't carrying his concealed carry permit with him. That is a violation but it's a minor fine at worst.
Yes, but it's a $25 fine that's refundable upon presenting proof of a permit. Similar to driving without your car's registration in most states. It also didn't play a role in the incident since agents didn't approach him over that.
— Stephen Gutowski (@StephenGutowski) January 27, 2026
As Gutowski says, that had nothing to do with this. The agents didn't seem to even know he was armed until seconds before he was shot. Now I'm not suggesting Pretti wasn't resisting arrest (he was) or that he wasn't there as part of an organized protest (he was). I'm just pointing out that trying to blame this entire incident on Pretti, even to the point of vaguely questioning his rights under the 2nd Amendment, isn't helping anything.
If you want to say that it was unwise of Pretti to bring his weapon, fine. But the president and the FBI director should not be saying you can't have guns or bring them to protests. That's just wrong as a matter of law and it's counter-productive if you support the 2nd Amendment.
Again, some of this is just sloppiness. Trump may have been speaking of the wisdom not the legality of bringing a gun to a protest. Still, it's a weird message and the better thing to say would be that Pretti had a right to carry and this was a tragic incident that needs to be investigated.
At some point the facts of the case do matter. They mattered in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse and they will matter here too, whether or not this ever goes to trial. In the meantime, don't hand the left any rhetorical ammunition to use against the 2nd Amendment in the future.
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