Amid escalating unrest in Minneapolis following the fatal shooting of a protester by a federal immigration officer, President Donald Trump and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz spoke by phone Monday, describing the conversation as constructive despite ongoing disagreements over federal enforcement operations in the state.
Trump said the call took place at Walz’s request and suggested areas of alignment. “Governor Tim Walz called me with the request to work together with respect to Minnesota,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Trump, in his Truth Social post, said Walz acknowledged federal objectives and welcomed additional coordination.
“The Governor, very respectfully, understood that, and I will be speaking to him in the near future. He was happy that Tom Homan was going to Minnesota, and so am I! We have had such tremendous SUCCESS in Washington, D.C., Memphis, Tennessee, and New Orleans, Louisiana, and virtually every other place that we have ‘touched’ and, even in Minnesota, Crime is way down, but both Governor Walz and I want to make it better!”
Amid escalating unrest in Minneapolis following the fatal shooting of a protester by a federal immigration officer, President Donald Trump and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz spoke by phone Monday, describing the conversation as constructive despite ongoing disagreements over federal enforcement operations in the state.
Trump said the call took place at Walz’s request and suggested areas of alignment. “Governor Tim Walz called me with the request to work together with respect to Minnesota,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“It was a very good call, and we, actually, seemed to be on a similar wavelength. I told Governor Walz that I would have Tom Homan call him, and that what we are looking for are any and all Criminals that they have in their possession.”
The conversation followed a turbulent weekend marked by protests and confrontations with law enforcement, including an incident Sunday evening in which agitators confronted officers at a hotel.
Tensions surged after Border Patrol agents fatally shot Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse, during an immigration enforcement operation on Saturday.
Federal authorities said Pretti approached agents while carrying a 9 mm handgun and resisted attempts to disarm him. Witnesses, however, have questioned whether Pretti posed a threat, disputing parts of the government’s account.
Trump, in his Truth Social post, said Walz acknowledged federal objectives and welcomed additional coordination.
“The Governor, very respectfully, understood that, and I will be speaking to him in the near future. He was happy that Tom Homan was going to Minnesota, and so am I! We have had such tremendous SUCCESS in Washington, D.C., Memphis, Tennessee, and New Orleans, Louisiana, and virtually every other place that we have ‘touched’ and, even in Minnesota, Crime is way down, but both Governor Walz and I want to make it better!”
Walz’s office offered a different emphasis in its description of the call, characterizing it as “productive” while underscoring demands for oversight and de-escalation. In a statement to Fox News Digital, the governor’s office said Walz made “the case that we need impartial investigations of the Minneapolis shootings involving federal agents, and that we need to reduce the number of federal agents in Minnesota.”
According to the statement, Trump agreed to raise the issue with the Department of Homeland Security. “The President agreed that he would talk to his Department of Homeland Security about ensuring the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is able to conduct an independent investigation, as would ordinarily be the case,” the statement said. It added that Trump also agreed “to look into reducing the number of federal agents in Minnesota and working with the state in a more coordinated fashion on immigration enforcement regarding violent criminals.”
Walz’s office further noted that the governor reminded the president that the Minnesota Department of Corrections complies with federal immigration detainers and that there is not a “single documented case of the department’s releasing someone from state prison without offering to ensure a smooth transfer of custody.”
Later Monday, Trump announced the deployment of White House border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota, where he will oversee federal operations. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Homan would report directly to the president. “Tom Homan will be managing ICE operations on the ground in Minnesota and coordinating with others on the ongoing fraud investigations,” she told Fox News Digital. Homan is expected to arrive in the state Monday evening.
Trump told The Wall Street Journal on Sunday that his administration was “reviewing everything” related to Pretti’s death but declined to say whether the agent involved acted appropriately.
The shooting comes weeks after another fatal ICE-related incident in Minnesota. On Jan. 7, federal agents shot and killed Renee Good, a case that drew widespread condemnation from Democrats and critics of the administration, some of whom described the killing as a government “murder.”
Minnesota’s Democratic leadership, including Walz, has faced sustained criticism from Trump and his administration over their handling of a sweeping fraud investigation that prompted a surge of federal law enforcement personnel into the Twin Cities earlier this month. Administration officials have accused state and local leaders of fueling unrest through rhetoric that emboldens agitators.
“Jacob Frey and Tim Walz have whipped these rioters into a frenzy and turned them loose to wreak havoc on Minneapolis,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital earlier in January after protests disrupted church services on Jan. 18. “Frey and Walz should be ashamed for inciting such chaos, but the Trump Administration will continue enforcing the law.”
THE THIRD FORCE
