Minnesota Republican breaks with Trump on no guns at protests remark after Alex Pretti shooting

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: A Republican Minnesota state senator said Wednesday, January 28, that he disagreed with President Donald Trump’s assertion that Alex Pretti should not have been carrying a gun when he was fatally shot.

Still, State Sen Michael Holmstrom tempered his disagreement with Trump by stressing that gun owners have a responsibility to be ‘judicious’ about when and where they carry firearms.

Holmstrom was speaking during a CNN town hall focused on immigration enforcement and recent unrest in Minneapolis.

President Trump faults Alex Pretti for carrying gun

Republicans, including President Donald Trump, have long championed expansive Second Amendment rights, arguing Americans should be allowed to carry guns in nearly all public places and that “more good guys with guns” can stop people with bad intentions.

But after federal agents fatally shot 37-year-old nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, Trump took a sharply different line, saying Pretti “should not have been carrying a loaded firearm to a protest” and declaring, “You can’t have guns. You can’t walk in with guns. You can’t do that”. 

Trump’s remarks have put him at odds with gun rights activists, who are alarmed by his comments.

It even prompted long-time Trump ally National Rifle Association (NRA) to push back, stating that it “unequivocally believes that all law-abiding citizens have a right to keep and bear arms anywhere they have a legal right to be”.

State Senator ‘disagrees’ with President

Holmstrom, who said he holds a permit to carry, explained that while he strongly supports the Second Amendment, he believes gun owners should carefully consider their surroundings before carrying a weapon.

“I guess I disagree with the president on that,” state Sen Michael Holmstrom said when asked at a CNN town hall about Trump’s remarks.

At the same time, the lawmaker emphasized that exercising Second Amendment rights comes with personal responsibility.

Holmstrom’s remarks came as tensions remain high following Pretti’s death and amid widespread protests over Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity in Minnesota.

But the lawmaker added that gun owners have a responsibility “to be judicious about when and where you carry your firearm.”

“I’ve been to protests,” Holmstrom said. “I don’t carry there because it’s a dangerous situation.” 

“I’m not saying you can’t[...]I’m saying that you have a responsibility to be judicious in how you choose to exercise that right and all of your rights.”

He tried to walk a fine line, standing up for legal gun owners but also admitting there are real dangers when people bring guns into tense situations, like big protests or clashes with the police.

Holmstrom was one of three Republican state lawmakers participating in the CNN town hall, alongside State Reps Nolan West and Elliott Engen.

The discussion highlighted areas where Minnesota Republicans have diverged from Trump’s rhetoric on immigration, law enforcement and public safety.

State Rep Nolan West emphasized that he didn’t favor deporting all undocumented migrants, calling it “fundamentally impossible” and “economic suicide.”

And state Rep Elliott Engen, who has been perhaps the most outspoken on the panel and the most critical of Democrats’ posture, agreed after some probing that ICE agents have also engaged in unhelpful, “negative rhetoric” towards protesters.

Together, the comments reflected a more nuanced stance from Minnesota GOP lawmakers as they navigate local fallout from federal immigration enforcement and the political pressure surrounding it.