Firearms instructor and Second Amendment advocate Kyle Rittenhouse made a statement on X, “Carry everywhere. It is your right.” His statement comes after a 37-year-old nurse, Alex Pretti, was shot and killed by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis. However, he denied that his comments targeted Pretti’s fatal shooting.
He added, “I wasn’t aware of ever making any comments on Pretti’s death.” Pretti is the second person this month killed by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis. He has been described as responsible for his own death because he was carrying a weapon.
Even though he had a license to carry, Kristi Noem said, “I don’t know of any peaceful protester that shows up with a gun and ammunition rather than a sign.” She added that the nurse brandished weapons at the officers and acted violently toward them.
The same people wanting to silence me are now begging me to comment.
My comment:
Communists are gay. And anti-2A people are gay.
Biden’s failed open borders policies created this ENTIRE mess.#ShallNotBeInfringed
— Kyle Rittenhouse 🇺🇸 (@rittenhouse2a) January 26, 2026
On the other hand, Pretti did not wield the weapon while interacting with the ICE agents, still called a “domestic terrorist.”
Kash Patel, the FBI director, said in a Fox News interview, “No one who wants to be peaceful shows up at a protest with a firearm that is loaded with two full magazines. That is not a peaceful protest, and you do not get to touch law enforcement.” Donald Trump posted a long Truth Social rant after the incident, along with Pretti’s gun’s image.
The National Association for Gun Rights condemned the Trump administration‘s comments on Pretti’s murder and labeling gun carrying as the issue. Many MAGA supporters shared the same views as the Trump administration. The NRA’s statement called it “dangerous and wrong.”
This sentiment from the First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California is dangerous and wrong.
Responsible public voices should be awaiting a full investigation, not making generalizations and demonizing law-abiding citizens. https://t.co/9fMz3CL29o
— NRA (@NRA) January 25, 2026
Rittenhouse has been a long-term firearm advocate. At the age of 17, he fired his weapon at the crowd in Wisconsin, killing 2 and injuring 1.
After a year-long trial, he was acquitted of the charges as he argued it was self-defense. Even Trump had spoken in his favor during that time, saying he didn’t need to suffer through a trial, and it was “prosecutorial misconduct.”
Rittenhouse voted for Trump in 2024 after he confirmed that he would be a strong ally for gun owners. He was vocal about not voting for him earlier because of his take on the Second Amendment. But he backed out of his previous claims, saying he was ill-informed.
