JD Vance Under Fire for Refusing Apology to Alex Pretti's Family Over ICE 'Assassin' Claim — Veep 'Has A Lot of Anger Issues and It Shows'
JD Vance is saving any possible apologies about the Alex Pretti ICE shooting until an investigation determines what happened.
Feb. 4 2026, Published 3:45 p.m. ET
JD Vance said he has no intentions of offering up an apology to the family of Minneapolis ICE shooting victim Alex Pretti until the results of a full investigation determine what happened, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The vice president, 45, took heat from some critics after sharing an X post from White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, who called the VA nurse "an assassin who tried to murder federal agents," after he brought a loaded gun with two magazines to confront ICE agents on the job on January 24.
Apologize 'For What?'
Vance refused to apologize for echoing the 'assassin' claim about Pretti.
While speaking to the Daily Mail, the outlet asked Vance if he wanted to apologize for echoing Miller's statement, to which the veep fired back, "For what?"
"If something is determined that the guy who shot Alex Pretti did something bad, then a lot of consequences are going to flow from that. We'll let that happen," Vance explained.
He added, "I don't think it's smart to prejudge the investigation."
'CBP Team May Not Have Been Following Protocol'
Stephen Miller originally called Pretti ''an assassin who tried to murder federal agents.'
Miller seemingly walked back his "assassin" claims four days after the incident, after his boss, President Donald Trump, was asked whether he felt the term fit Pretti, and he replied, "no." However, Trump, 79, was critical of the protester bringing a loaded gun to confront officers.
The political operative explained, "We are evaluating why the CBP team may not have been following that protocol," suggesting that the agents may have been in the wrong, not Pretti.
Miller noted the White House "provided clear guidance to DHS" that the extra manpower sent in the surge of agents "should be used for conducting fugitive operations to create a physical barrier between the arrest teams and the disruptors."
JD Vance Won't 'Prejudge' ICE Agents Involved in Alex Pretti Shooting
ICE agents are seen tackling Pretti just before the fatal shooting.
"I'm not going to prejudge these guys. I think that everybody is deserved the presumption of innocence in the American system of justice. That's how it's going to work," Vance said of the two agents involved in Pretti's shooing who were part of Operation Metro Surge.
"If they find out that he violated the law, of course, you should face consequences for violating the law. But I'm not going to engage in conjecture about the different permutations of how this or that officer might have violated the law," the Yale law school graduate noted.
Video later emerged of Pretti, who had been painted as an innocent bystander victim of ICE violence, spitting on officers and violently kicking out the back tail lights of their SUV amid his shouts of curse words, 11 days before the fatal shooting. He also brought his gun.
"Let's do the investigation. Let's figure out, did these officers have a reasonable fear of Alex Pretti, given what happened? Did they engage in lawful conduct or unlawful conduct? Let's let the investigation determine those things," Vance demanded.
JD Vance Has a lot of Anger Issues'
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The vice president was called a 'Class A jerk' by one reader for refusing to apologize.
While many people in the comments agreed that Vance had no reason to apologize, others called out the veep.
"He says 'let the investigation play out,' except for when he labels Pretti an assassin. Yeah, that’s not right," one person sneered.
"Defending murderers has never been a good look...." a second reader huffed.
"Vance is a class A jerk," a third MAGA hater whined, while a fourth person claimed, "Vance has a lot of anger issues, and it shows."
A fifth user felt mixed, noting, "He is right not to apologize. He can be, however, sorry for the situation. But don't apologize."
