Tarrant Republican criticizes Trump administration officials over gun rights
Republican Tarrant County Commissioner Matt Krause said some of the comments made by Trump administration officials in the wake of the latest Minneapolis ICE shooting concerned him as an advocate for Second Amendment rights.
Krause, of Keller, said he was a strong Second Amendment advocate during his time in the Legislature from 2013 to 2023. He said in statements from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and FBI Director Kash Patel suggested citizens cannot bring a loaded gun to a protest or should not be armed coming to a protest. Krause said their statements advocated an “anti-Second Amendment position.”
With a license, carrying a concealed weapon in Minnesota is perfectly legal until law-breaking actions made with that firearm occur, Krause, a former state representative, said in a Jan. 26 post on X.
“But to take the position that someone having a firearm in a protest is somehow automatically escalating the situation runs counter to a pro-Second Amendment position,” Krause said. “I understand the emotion, frustration, etc. of this debate locally and nationally. But we must not allow that to cloud our positions or weaken our fundamental, constitutional rights.”
After a Border Patrol agent fatally shot a Minneapolis ICU nurse on Saturday, Noem said, “I don’t know of any peaceful protester that shows up with a gun and ammunition rather than a sign.”
Her comments sparked backlash from Second Amendment advocates.
Alex Pretti, 37, was shot on Jan. 24 after standing between Border Patrol agents and a woman who had just been shoved by those officers.
“This is a violent riot when you have someone showing up with weapons and are using them to assault law enforcement officers,” Noem said in a press conference the day Pretti was killed.
Patel said in a Fox News interview that Noem said it “perfectly.”
“No one who wants to be peaceful shows up at a protest with a firearm that is loaded with two full magazines,” Patel said. “That is not a peaceful protest, and you do not get to touch law enforcement.”
Authorities said Pretti had a handgun and two full magazines.
U.S. Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino said at a press conference Saturday “this looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.”
Multiple videos show Pretti held a phone in one hand and nothing in the other. Pretti had a license for concealed carry.
Within hours of the shooting, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli in Southern California wrote on X: “If you approach law enforcement with a gun, there is a high likelihood they will be legally justified in shooting you. Don’t do it!”
The National Rifle Association responded to Essayli on X: “Responsible public voices should be awaiting a full investigation, not making generalizations and demonizing law-abiding citizens.”
Former Tarrant County GOP Chairman Bo French, a candidate for railroad commissioner, said on X there’s no reason to connect Pretti to the Second Amendment
“I don’t get why anyone is trying to make the Pretti case about the 2A,” French said. “When have we EVER argued whether or not criminals have a 2A right to carry while committing crimes? This is beyond obtuse.”