Bruce Pearl blames Dems for raising temps about Minnesota incidents
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Former college basketball coach Bruce Pearl ripped Democrats Monday after one person died in a Border Patrol-involved shooting in Minnesota over the weekend.
Pearl appeared on OutKick “Don’t Do It to Me with Dan Dakich” and said he would place some of the blame on Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and other Democrats who have escalated tensions as federal officials enforce U.S. immigration laws.
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Demonstrators hold signs during a protest in response to the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti in Minneapolis early Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Caroline Brehman)
“It’s so terrible. It’s so bad. I feel so bad… You know, it’s obvious that these deaths didn’t have to happen,” Pearl said. “Both parties have to make some sacrifices in this situation because it’s extremely toxic right now. I absolutely blame Governor Walz for the way he’s handling it. Would you go back in time and watch how Minneapolis burned for George Floyd and make the connection to the lawlessness? That doesn’t make it right what happened to George Floyd. It doesn’t make it right what happened to the other two people who were killed.”
“But haven’t they been called to the streets? Have they not been encouraged and motivated by Democratic lawmakers to ‘stand up’ and ‘take out your cell phones’ and consider treating ICE and law enforcement like they’re Nazis? It’s just wrong to equate Anne Frank and her death with any death that occurred there. It’s fundamentally wrong. This is our government. President Trump was elected to enforce these immigration laws, and they’ve allowed millions and bazillions and gajillions of illegals to come in, and it’s just really unfortunate.” “It was the situation.”
On Sunday, Walz compared federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota to the Holocaust and Anne Frank’s “Diary of a Young Girl” following the shooting death of Alex J. Pretti in Minneapolis. While federal authorities initially stated that Pretti was armed and resisted agents, local accounts indicate that Pretti was disarmed before he was fatally shot.
People attend an anti-ICE rally in Minneapolis on Sunday, January 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Jack Brook)
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Some children in Minnesota now feel fear or uncertainty about going outside because of federal crackdowns, Walz said.
Pearl says Congressional lawmakers need to start coming together to fix the immigration system in the US
“You’re an immigrant, I’m an immigrant. I’m all for legal immigration. I’m all for people who have been here and worked hard and assimilated; we have to solve our immigration problem. Once again, Congress should get out of there and do the right thing. Because you didn’t do the right thing, you didn’t fix our immigration laws, we find ourselves in this situation right now. Because you don’t know what to do politically. How about you do the right thing because you’re an American?”
Pearl said overall temperatures should be lowered.
The incident in Minnesota caused great reactions in the sports world. The game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Golden State Warriors was postponed and played later on Sunday.
A man, center, next to a police officer holds a protester in a doorway during a noise demonstration in response to federal immigration enforcement operations in the city, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
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NBA fans protested U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) inside and outside the arena.
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