Gun rights groups are criticizing the LA attorney general’s response to the Minneapolis shooting
Los Angeles Attorney General Bill Essayli faced bitter criticism from gun rights groups, including the NRA, after he wrote in X on Saturday about the shooting death of a US citizen in Minneapolis by immigration police.
Essayli, first assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, wrote: “If you go to law enforcement with a gun, there’s a good chance they’ll be legally justified in shooting you.”
Alex Jeffrey Pretti, 37, an intensive care unit nurse at a Department of Veterans Affairs hospital, is believed to be a “legal gun owner with a permit to carry it,” according to Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara. Surveillance videos showed Pretti holding a phone, but nothing that appeared to be a weapon was seen in those that circulated in the hours after the shooting.
In response to Essayli’s tweet, the NRA wrote on X: “This opinion from the First Assistant US Attorney for the Central District of California is dangerous and wrong.”
The post continued: “Responsible public voices should await a full investigation, not generalize and demonize law-abiding citizens.”
After receiving massive backlash, Essayli accused another gun rights group of “adding words to misrepresent my statement.”
“I never said it was legally justified to shoot law-abiding concealed carriers,” he wrote in X. “My comments were about protesters who approached law enforcement with guns and refused to disarm.
“My advice is this: If you value your life, don’t approach law enforcement armed. If they reasonably perceive a threat and you fail to disarm immediately, they are legally allowed to use deadly force.”
A spokeswoman for the US Attorney’s office in LA referred The Times to Essayli’s post on X clarifying what he originally said. He declined to comment further.
Gov. Gavin Newsom joined in the criticism, writing in X, “Wow. Even the NRA thinks Trump’s DOJ stooge in California went too far by saying federal agents were ‘legally authorized’ to kill Alex Pretti.”
Earlier, the 2nd Amendment lobby group, Gun Owners of America, also criticized Essayli.
“We condemn @USAttyEssayli’s misguided comments. Federal agents are ‘unlikely’ to be ‘legally justified’ in ‘shooting’ concealed carry license holders who arrive legally carrying a handgun,” the group wrote on X. “The Second Amendment protects the right of the American people to bear arms while protesting – a right the federal government must not infringe.”
Essayli’s post received a public note – a crowd-sourced review – noting that “the US Constitution (specifically the 2nd, 4th, and 14th amendments) prohibits officers from shooting citizens simply because they possess a weapon “that is not an imminent threat.”
The shooting drew a large crowd of protesters in a city that had seen widespread protests after the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Renee Nicole Good on Jan. 7.
Essayli, a former Riverside County assemblyman, has been named the county’s interim chief prosecutor by US Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi last April.
Since taking office, he has been actively pursuing President Trump’s agenda, championing immigration enforcement in Southern California, often using the president’s name in press conferences.
