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WASHINGTON — Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on Sunday that he believed federal agents have been acting “humanely” despite the recent killings of two Americans in Minneapolis and other high-profile incidents.
Moderator Kristen Welker pressed Blanche about a number of these incidents, including the pepper-spraying of protesters, the detention of a 5-year-old by ICE and the removal of a nearly naked U.S. citizen from his home in freezing weather.
Asked whether federal agents were acting humanely, Blanche said, “Yes, our agents are acting humanely.”
“Their jobs are very, very difficult,” he continued. “It is a very difficult place to be going out and trying to arrest these violent felons with no support from local law enforcement, with no support from the governor.”
Blanche argued that there are “thousands of arrests, and you’ve identified two or three things that are pointed to as being wrong or being too aggressive or not being appropriate.”
“That’s not fair to the men and women that are doing this every day,” he said.
His comments came the day after a federal agent killed 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti and weeks after a U.S. Immigration an Customs Enforcement officer killed Renee Nicole Good, sparking intensifying protests.
Eyewitness video of Pretti’s shooting appears to contradict the administration’s public statements. Footage appears to show Pretti going to help someone who had been pushed down by federal agents. Shortly after, an officer appears to spray Pretti and drag him down, and several agents surround him before firing shots.
Weeks earlier, Good was shot and killed in her car. Witnesses said she appeared to be trying to drive away from federal officers, and administration officials have said that the officer who killed her fired in self-defense because he had been near the front of the car.
Blanche repeatedly argued that the city’s police should be involved in assisting ICE operations. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has said that the city has about 600 police officers, while there were approximately 3,000 immigration officers in the area.
Welker pressed Blanche on the witness videos, asking whether Pretti had been disarmed before being shot and killed.
“I do not know, and nobody else knows either,” Blanche said. “That’s why we’re doing an investigation.”
Local officials have said that Pretti had a permit to carry a gun.
“There’s nothing wrong with anybody lawfully carrying firearms, but whether he was disarmed or whether he pulled the gun on law enforcement, whether law enforcement saw him go for the gun, what they have to do is they have to protect themselves,” Blanche said. “They have to protect the public around them.”
Megan Lebowitz is a politics reporter for NBC News.
