Gun rights groups criticize top L.A. federal prosecutor for response to Minneapolis shooting
Bill Essayli, Los Angeles’ top federal prosecutor, has faced harsh criticism from gun rights groups including the NRA. shared on x It involves the shooting death of a U.S. citizen by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis on Saturday.
“If you approach law enforcement with a gun, they will likely have legal justification to shoot you,” Essayli, first assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, wrote.
Alex Jeffrey Pretti, 37, who worked as a critical care nurse at a Department of Veterans Affairs hospital, was believed to be a “legal gun owner with a permit to carry,” according to Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara. Eyewitness videos show Pretti holding a phone in his hand, but nothing resembling a gun appears in footage that circulated in the hours after the attack.
NRA in response to Essayli’s tweet Published on X: “This view by the Deputy Attorney General of the Central District of California is dangerous and wrong.”
“Responsible public voices should expect a thorough investigation and not make generalizations and demonize law-abiding citizens,” the post continued.
After receiving significant backlash, Essayli accused another gun rights organization of “inserting words that would mischaracterize my statement.”
“I never said shooting law-abiding concealed carriers was legally justified,” he wrote in X. My comment was directed at agitators who approach law enforcement officers with guns and refuse to disarm.
“My advice is this: If you value your life, do not approach law enforcement aggressively while armed. If they reasonably perceive a threat and you do not immediately disarm, they are legally permitted to use lethal force.”
A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles referred The Times to Essayli’s post about X and clarified what he had initially said. He declined to comment further.
Gov. Gavin Newsom also joined the criticism, writing of
Previously, Gun Owners of America, a 2nd Amendment lobby group, also criticized Essayli.
“We condemn @USAttyEssayli’s inappropriate comments. Federal agents are unlikely to be ‘legally justified’ in ‘shooting’ approaching concealed carry license holders while legally carrying a firearm,” the group posted on X. “The Second Amendment protects Americans’ right to bear arms while protesting—a right that the federal government should not infringe.”
Essayli’s post received a community note (a crowdsourced fact check) stating that “the U.S. 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 attracted a large crowd of protesters in the city, which had already seen widespread demonstrations following the Jan. 7 shooting death of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.
Essayli, a former Riverside County councilman, was appointed by the U.S. Attorney as the county’s interim top federal prosecutor. General Pam Bondi last April.
Since taking office, he has doggedly pursued President Trump’s agenda, supporting strict immigration enforcement in Southern California and often using the president’s language verbatim in press conferences.
