Trump claimed the Minneapolis shooting was a cover-up for alleged fraud and a 'bank robbery'

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA — SATURDAY, JANUARY 25: President Donald Trump reacted on Truth Social to the Minneapolis shooting involving federal agents by posting an image of the suspect’s weapon and tying the incident to what he described as large-scale financial misconduct in the state. In a series of posts, Trump defended Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and alleged that the unrest is linked to a broader effort to conceal fraud.

Trump shared a photo of a handgun beside two magazines, writing, ‘This is the gunman’s gun, loaded (with two additional full magazines!), and ready to go.’ He questioned the role of local authorities, asking, ‘Where are the local Police? Why weren’t they allowed to protect ICE Officers? The Mayor and the Governor called them off?’ 

Gunman's weapon loaded and ready

Using the image to underscore the threat faced by agents, Trump said federal officers were forced to act without sufficient local backing. ‘Many of these Police were not allowed to do their job, that ICE had to protect themselves — Not an easy thing to do!’ he wrote.

He then targeted state leaders, naming Representative Ilhan Omar in a post that asked, ‘Why does Ilhan Omar have $34 Million Dollars in her account?’ He expanded the allegation to claim that ‘Tens of Billions of Dollars’ have been taken from Minnesota, asserting that federal agents are in the state because of what he described as extensive financial wrongdoing.

‘We are there because of massive Monetary Fraud,’ Trump wrote.

Massive fraud resembles bank robbery

Trump framed the situation in Minnesota as a financial crime matter. ‘Those Fraudsters who stole the money are going to jail, where they belong! This is no different than a really big Bank Robbery,’ he said.

He argued that the unrest and the shooting are being used to divert attention from the alleged misconduct. ‘Much of what you’re witnessing is a COVER UP for this Theft and Fraud,’ Trump wrote. In a follow-up post, he added in capital letters, ‘AMONG OTHER THINGS, THIS IS A “COVER UP” FOR THE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS THAT HAVE BEEN STOLEN FROM THE ONCE GREAT STATE… OF MINNESOTA!’

Local leaders inciting dangerous insurrection

The President accused state and city officials of inflaming tensions. ‘The Mayor and the Governor are inciting Insurrection, with their pompous, dangerous, and arrogant rhetoric!’ he wrote.

Trump labeled them ‘sanctimonious political fools’ and urged them to focus on what he described as missing funds. He called for federal officers to be allowed to operate without interference, writing, ‘LET OUR ICE PATRIOTS DO THEIR JOB!’ He also claimed that 12,000 ‘Illegal Alien Criminals’ have already been arrested and removed from Minnesota, adding, ‘If they were still there, you would see something far worse than you are witnessing today!’

Miller accuses Democrats of siding with terrorists

Former senior adviser Stephen Miller echoed the administration’s stance in a post on X. Responding to a message from the official Democrats account that read, ‘Get ICE out of Minnesota NOW’ after the shooting, Miller wrote, ‘A would-be assassin tried to murder federal law enforcement and the official Democrat account sides with the terrorists.’

The exchange reflects the sharp divide over the Minneapolis incident, with the administration framing the encounter as a life-threatening assault on federal agents and Democratic leaders calling for the removal of ICE from the state.