While testifying before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem again refused to apologize for accusing Renee Good and Alex Pretti of participating in “domestic terrorism” immediately after they were shot dead by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis.
The committee’s ranking member, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., asked Noem more than six times why she branded Good and Pretti as domestic terrorists and if she stood by her statements. Noem called the killings “an absolute tragedy” and offered condolences to the victims’ families, as she did while testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. However, she repeatedly refused to walk back her rhetoric, pointing to the ongoing investigations into their killings.
But as both Raskin and Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., pointed out during Wednesday’s hearing, Noem accused both Good and Pretti of perpetrating an “act of domestic terrorism” within hours of their killings.
“You didn’t wait for the investigation, did you?” Raskin asked in a fiery exchange. “You didn’t wait for the evidence.”
Good, a mother of three children and a poet, and Pretti, an ICU nurse, were both 37-year-old U.S. citizens killed in separate shootings by federal agents in Minneapolis in January. Their deaths, both captured on video, have led to increased national scrutiny into Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol agents and the often brutal enforcement tactics they employ against civilians.
Noem’s testimony on Wednesday came after her Tuesday appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee, during which she faced tough questioning from members of her party, including Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who called the Department of Homeland Security “a disaster” under her leadership and doubled down on calling for her resignation. Noem was also questioned about her labeling of Good and Pretti at the Senate hearing on Tuesday. She called their deaths “tragic situations,” but she dodged requests to apologize to their parents for her initial descriptions of the victims, saying she was basing her comments on “reports from the ground from agents at the scene.” Noem’s testimonies before Congress also come as DHS has been technically shut down since Feb. 14, as Democrats and Republicans spar over funding the department. This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Julianne McShane is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW who also covers the politics of abortion and reproductive rights. You can send her tips from a non-work device on Signal at jmcshane.19 or follow her on X or Bluesky. Recommended
