Democrats in the Homeland Security Committee called DHS head Kristi Noem to testify before the panel “without delay” regarding “actions by federal officials under your control that resulted in the deaths” of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
The body said in a letter that Noem has “presided over an increasingly dangerous and untenable breakdown in trust in federal law enforcement across the country,” and her “your actions in the wake of these tragedies have weakened the Department’s credibility, enflamed tensions, harmed public safety, and divided Americans.”
The letter goes on to say that while they support responsible enforcement of the law, “what we are witnessing on the streets of Minneapolis and other cities around the country is something entirely different.”
“Masked federal agents from DHS have violently assaulted peaceful protestors, arrested American citizens without cause, undermined protections under the Fourth Amendment, and shot and killed two Americans – Renee Good and Alex Pretti – who, contrary to your own baseless assertions, clearly did not pose a lethal threat,” the document adds. It concludes by noting that DHS must preserve “all records related to the shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti,” including “any investigations conducted by DHS or relating to any decisions not to investigate.”
Noem is under increased heat from Democrats and even some Republicans in the fallout of the Minneapolis operation. Senators Thom Tillis and Lisa Murkowski called for her to be removed from her post, prompting backlash from President Donald Trump, who called them “losers.”
Across the aisle, a large amount of Democrats have joined previous calls for Noem’s removal, with Senator John Fetterman calling on Trump to fire her “immediately.”
Elsewhere, 120 Democrats in the House of Representatives have signed to co-sponsor an impeachment resolution against her. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said on Tuesday that if Trump doesn’t fire her, he will push ahead on impeachment.
Noem, along with other members of the Trump administration, has denied any wrongdoing by federal immigration agents during the shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, going as far as claiming he was the one inciting violence.
Originally published on Latin Times
