Transcript: Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," Jan. 25, 2026
The following is the transcript of the interview with Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara that aired on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" on Jan. 25, 2026.
MARGARET BRENNAN: We are joined now by the city's police chief, Brian O'Hara. Chief, welcome to Face the Nation.
MINNEAPOLIS POLICE CHIEF, BRIAN O'HARA: Good morning, Margaret.
MARGARET BRENNAN: What have you been able to learn about the shooting? Because we did just hear the claims by Secretary Noem and Mr. Bovino and their version of what happened. Do the videos and evidence back up their descriptions?
O'HARA: So, unfortunately, we don't have any official information from federal law enforcement about what has happened. Even when our officers initially responded to the scene, our watch commander was not given even the most basic information that is typical in a, in a law enforcement involved shooting, just to ensure that there is potentially no other victims. Since then, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension responded to the scene at my request. They were blocked from the scene yesterday, but they have since returned to the scene and are, are now canvassing for additional witnesses and evidence that may be there.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So do I understand you saying that Minnesota has just begun its investigation today?
O'HARA: There were attempts yesterday to begin the investigation. I do not know what, if anything, was conducted yesterday. I do know that while they were at the scene, more than once, they were not permitted to enter before the scene then was contaminated.
MARGARET BRENNAN: And for our viewers, Minnesota is a little bit different. There is
this Bureau of Criminal Apprehension that is the state agency that investigates use of force incidents--
O'HARA: Yes.
MARGARET BRENNAN: --They are separate from your police force.
O'HARA: Yes.
MARGARET BRENNAN: But from what you have seen in the public space and heard from federal officials, is there any evidence that you know of that Pretti was assaulting the federal officers, as the Border Patrol chief claims?
O'HARA: Well, I have seen the videos, just as thousands of people around the country have, and the videos speak for themselves. I think it's deeply concerning the things that are being said. This is an individual that was a city resident. It appears that he was present, exercising his First Amendment rights to record law enforcement activity and also exercising his Second Amendment rights to lawfully be armed in a public space in the city. So I think very obviously, there are serious questions that are being raised. And I think the greater issue is, even if there is an investigation that ultimately proves that at the time of the shooting it was legally justified, I don't think that even matters at this point, because there just- there is so much outrage and concern around what is happening in the city.
MARGARET BRENNAN: What do you mean it does not matter at this point? You mean the situation on the ground is already- the impression is left?
O'HARA: People have had enough. This is the third shooting now in less than three weeks. The Minneapolis Police Department went the entire year last year recovering about 900 guns from the street, arresting hundreds and hundreds of violent offenders, and we didn't shoot anyone. And now this is the second American citizen that has been killed. It's the third shooting within three weeks. People have been speaking out, saying that this was going to happen again. And I think everyone is kind of waiting for folks on both sides to come together and just figure this thing out. This is not sustainable. This police department has only 600 police officers. We are stretched incredibly thin. This is taking an enormous toll trying to manage all of this chaos, on top of having to be the police department for a major city. It's too much.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Are you calling on ICE to leave?
O'HARA: We understand that for as long as there has been ICE, there has been immigration enforcement in Minnesota. The problem is not that enforcement is happening. It's clearly the manner in which these things are happening. These tactics are very obviously not safe, and it is generating a lot of outrage and fear in the community.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Let me ask you about what we know, because DHS claims that Pretti had a weapon on him. You said that Pretti- you implied Pretti was carrying at the time of the incident, when you said he was a legal firearm owner with a license to carry. Do you know if the weapon remained concealed or was it ever brandished?
O'HARA: I have seen different experts and people analyzing the video that have made statements about that. I cannot speculate, but I do not have any, any evidence that I've seen that suggests that the weapon was brandished.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay, because we checked the Minnesota gun permit rules allow for concealed carry, and there are no restrictions on carrying in a protest.
O'HARA: Yes, that's right.
MARGARET BRENNAN: But the homeland security secretary said that he had two cartridges on him in addition to the gun. "I don't know of any peaceful protester that shows up with a gun and ammunition rather than a sign." The FBI director said, "You cannot bring a firearm loaded with multiple magazines to any sort of protest." Are they on firm legal ground in Minnesota?
O'HARA: You have a Second Amendment right in the United States to possess a firearm, and there are some restrictions around that in Minnesota. And everything that we see, that we are aware of, shows that he did not violate any of those restrictions. He is not a convicted felon, and he is someone that did have a permit for the handgun to carry it.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So did he have magazines full of ammunition at the scene? Because both the president of the United States and the border security chief said that he did, and Bovino directly accused you of not saying that publicly. He said the police chief omitted the fact that the suspect had a gun and magazines full of ammunition.
O'HARA: Well, that- what they are omitting is that they are not sharing any information with us, and that they blocked state law enforcement, which is the agency that conducts the overwhelming majority of police involved shootings from the scene. So I don't know how I'm supposed to share information with the public that they are not sharing with us.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So you have not seen evidence that there were multiple magazines, but- but would it even be illegal if that were the case?
O'HARA: I don't think there is any relevance if someone is lawfully exercising their Second Amendment right to carry. The only question would be if they were using the weapon in a- for an unlawful purpose.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to ask you about some of the things that the vice president also has said about local authorities. The vice president said that local police have been told to stand down when immigration authorities call 911 asking for help dealing with crowds surrounding them. Were you ever ordered to stand down? Have police been told not to protect ICE?
O'HARA: It is deeply disappointing to have anyone question and disparage the hard work of the men and women of the Minneapolis Police Department. There are 600 police officers that are left here after the destruction of the city in 2020, and they are doing an incredible job. About a dozen of our cops have been injured responding to a lot of the chaos that has resulted on the streets. Our officers respond every time there's a threat to someone's life, to public safety or destruction in the city. And it doesn't matter whether it's because ICE is there or someone from the community is there. We are doing everything that we can to manage this chaos. But there's only 600 cops here, and there's thousands of immigration agents here.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Right, nearly 3000 as we understand it. The vice president and Secretary Noem said Minneapolis is uniquely chaotic. But they also pointed to sanctuary city policies and said that if those policies weren't in place, these are policies that prohibit you from assisting federal immigration operations, that none of this would really be happening. How do you respond to that claim that because of the sanctuary city policies, you are being forced into this position?
O'HARA: Well, there's policies and laws that have been the case here for decades, and it's not on the Minneapolis Police Department or local law enforcement, you know, to hand folks over that are in jails. The city police do not operate a jail that's at the county level and the prisons are at the state level, so we are complying with the law as we have been for many years. And I don't know what else could possibly be asked of this very, very, you know, understaffed and overstretched police department.
MARGARET BRENNAN: And now you have the National Guard, I understand, assisting you. Is this sustainable now that you have the guard supporting you? Do you have any idea of how long these protests will last?
O'HARA: Yeah. I mean, yesterday, we had to do an emergency recall. We asked for mutual aid from the state, county and all of local law enforcement around the metro. It was very clearly an emergency, and we requested the National Guard. As of this morning, we have released all of mutual aid, as well as the National Guard partners, and it's back to just the Minneapolis Police responding to calls and trying to protect the city. But this is absolutely not sustainable. Our cops are tired. They are thin stretched as it is, and we have a job to do, trying to keep the people of this city safe.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So before this shooting, CBS reported that there were at least 10 people from the Minneapolis U.S. Attorney's Office who had resigned. We know the FBI agent resigned after being told to stop investigating the officer who shot Renee Good. What is local law enforcement experiencing beyond your officers, but in the U.S. Attorney's Office, in your local FBI?
O'HARA: I mean the sad part of this is the incredible work that we have done with all of federal law enforcement over the last few years to get real criminals put away, gang members, people that are shooting folks out here, bringing, smuggling fentanyl into this city. We've worked with all of these federal law enforcement agents that live in Minnesota, and it's so- it's so upsetting to see so many of them disparaged and so many of them walking away because it is destroying the foundation of addressing violent crime in Minnesota that's produced incredible results over the last few years.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Police Chief O'Hara, we wish you well and peace for your city. Thank you for your time this morning. Face the Nation will be back in one minute. Stay with us.
