VLADIMIR DUTHIERS:
00:00:32
The change comes after weeks of clashes over the tactics of federal agents, including the death of VA nurse Alex Pretti over the weekend. Our chief correspondent, Matt Gutman, is in Minneapolis. Matt, good morning. Hey, good morning, Vlad. Greg Bovino was the very public face of the federal immigration crackdown nationwide and front and center in many of the face-offs with protesters here in Minneapolis. He has been relieved of his command, being sent back to El Centro, California. All of this signaling a very major policy shift for the White House. Overnight, protesters gathered outside the Minneapolis hotel they suspected Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino and other immigration agents are staying. They used noise to make a point, facing off with Minneapolis police guarding the hotel. It comes as Bovino, who's been at the center of the immigration enforcement crackdowns and protests, along with some of the 800 Customs and Border Protection agents here, are packing up, leaving the Twin Cities after Saturday's deadly shooting of Alex Pretti in the streets of Minneapolis. On Saturday, Bovino was quick to say that Pretti had approached officers with a gun, despite numerous videos and eyewitness accounts contradicting those claims. This looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.
MATT GUTMAN:
00:01:55
Now, President Trump appears to be distancing himself from those characterizations and sending in Border Czar Tom Homan to coordinate between local and federal authorities. ICE out!
MATT GUTMAN:
00:02:06
The change comes after Trump said he had a, quote, "very good call" with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. The president also spoke with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey Monday about de-escalation. Frey said while some federal agents are leaving today, his office will continue pushing for the rest involved in this operation to go. When you got the call, you said to me that you had this visceral reaction. Yeah. You're shaking. I got a page that there had been a shooting and that they were doing CPR. And I just absolutely couldn't believe it. I thought for sure we were going to completely lose control of the city.
MATT GUTMAN:
00:02:46
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara told us video of the killing shows questionable tactics. It doesn't look safe for anyone involved. From what you saw in that video, was he brandishing a gun, and did he appear to be a domestic terrorist? There's nothing in any of the evidence to suggest that. These things are concerning because we know people have a First Amendment right to record the police. You also have a Second Amendment right in this country to carry a handgun in a public space. That's also what this person did. So these are literally constitutional rights that people have in this country. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said of his call with President Trump that they both agreed the present situation cannot continue. Now, Frey will meet with Tom Homan, the border czar, later here today. That as that memorial and anger over Alex Pretti's death continues to grow here. Vlad. All right, Matt Gutman reporting from Minneapolis for us this morning. Matt, thank you.
