Government's Duty to Prove Public Interest in Murder: Trump Administration's Lies 'Aggravate Violence'
In the United States, the federal government has a duty to prove public interest in murder, and the Trump administration's evasion of responsibility and lies are fueling violence.
In response to the repeated lies from government officials regarding the Minneapolis shootings, The New York Times published an editorial statement on the 25th, stating, "Government murders have a duty to prove public interest, and evasion of responsibility breeds violence."
"What's worse is that this all feels all too familiar," the editorial board said. "Earlier this month, federal agents shot and killed another Minneapolis resident, Renee Good. In that case, too, the Trump administration demonized the victim and blocked a state investigation into the killing."
They interpreted the spate of government killings as a result of lies and attempts to conceal evidence. In a statement, the editorial board said, “The federal government owes the American people a thorough investigation and a truthful account of the shooting of Alex Jeffrey Preti on the streets of Minneapolis this morning. When the government commits murder, it has a duty to demonstrate that it acted in the public interest. Instead, the Trump administration has once again engaged in a perversion of justice.”
The Times statement continued, “The administration is urging Americans to reject the evidence of their own eyes and ears. Ms. Noem (Secretary of Homeland Security) and Mr. Bovino (Director of the Border Patrol) are lying, ignoring the plain truth. They are lying in a way that demands we accept lies as a show of power, much like authoritarian regimes.”
The Times continued, “What’s worse is that this all feels all too familiar. Truth is the line between democratic and authoritarian governments. Mr. Preti and Mr. Good are dead. The American people have a right to know what happened.”
The New York Times stated, “The Trump administration has made no attempt to defuse the situation in Minneapolis.” It added, “It’s shameful that President Trump’s first public comment immediately following Preti’s death was to post on social media what he described as a ‘shooter’s gun.’ Stephen Miller, considered President Trump’s most influential adviser, even called Preti an ‘assassin’ on social media, without evidence.”
The New York Times concluded, “What’s clear is that the federal government must rebuild public trust in the agencies and officers conducting President Trump’s immigration enforcement. If the administration allows itself to evade even the most basic of responsibilities with impunity, the result will be more violence.”
In the 1992 Rodney King trial, a case of white police officers beating a black man in a violent incident, the Republican Bush administration declared King “not guilty under police code,” leading to the LA riots.
The trial, which resumed under the Democratic Clinton administration, found a white police officer guilty in 1994 based on the judgment that the “police code was unconstitutional.” Democratic reforms responded to the abuse of executive power that had grown excessive under the hard-line conservative Reagan administration by reviewing and abolishing the “Executive Order” for constitutionality, and cut the CIA’s budget by 20% for its reliance on bloated operations rather than intelligence work.
The New York Times stated that, as an alternative, “Congress has the power to hold the executive branch accountable by controlling federal spending,” and that “the pending bill for the Department of Homeland Security budget presents a crucial opportunity to conduct surveillance and impose essential safeguards, such as the budget for body cameras (which record the actions of agents, and which the Trump administration has deliberately cut and excluded from essential equipment).”
The New York Times continued, "The federal government even attempted to block the Minnesota state investigation," adding, "This situation must end. A federal judge in Minnesota issued a 'temporary restraining order' on the evening of the 23rd, at the state's request, prohibiting federal agencies from destroying evidence related to Preti's murder. The need for such an order is clear and critical."
Even as videos emerge that contradict the Trump administration's narrative, the Trump administration is racing to control the narrative surrounding the murder of Preti, a registered nurse with no criminal record.
Trump's Homeland Security Adviser, Stephen Miller, called the victim, Alex Preti, who was filming Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis, a "domestic terrorist."
Gregory Bovino, who oversees Border Patrol operations, said Preti was "trying to slaughter law enforcement."
A Homeland Security agent responded to the shooting by saying he "fired defensively, fearing for his life and the lives and safety of his fellow officers."
President Trump told Tours Social on the 25th that "Democrats, not federal agents, are responsible for the killing," arguing that Democrats were not cooperating with the ICE operation in Minneapolis, creating "a dangerous situation for everyone involved."
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem described the slain Mr. Preti as a "domestic terrorist," stating that these were simply the "facts" of the incident and that she knew his motive, which she described as "to inflict maximum harm on an individual and kill a law enforcement officer."
The New York Times reported that immediately after Mr. Preti was shot, officials from the Department of Homeland Security and the White House were in contact to discuss the incident, citing a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Officials received information from the scene in Minneapolis and worked with lawyers to prepare a statement released by DHS, which the New York Times said contained some details that were redacted before its release.
The White House and DHS co-ordinated statements stated that Mr. Preti "approached" officers with a handgun and "violently resisted" when the armed suspect attempted to disarm them. Shortly after the government's official announcement, conflicting footage began to surface, prompting officials to rush to exonerate the immigration agents who shot and killed Preeti, blaming her for the violence.
The Times stated, "This highlights what has become a pattern of President Trump and senior administration officials increasingly justifying violent crackdowns. They are immediately aggressive, demonizing the victims and distorting the facts in the process."
The New York Times's Visual Investigative Team analyzed both the reporting and the footage provided, reporting that "for many viewers, these videos presented an undeniable conclusion: a man was arrested by federal agents and shot dead while exercising his First Amendment rights."
The editorial board's statement was titled, "The Trump Administration Is Lying to Us. Congress Must Act."
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