Sawt Falasteen - Trump battles Minneapolis shooting fallout as agents put on leave

The officers have been on leave -- a move US officials said was "standard protocol" -- since Saturday, when Alex Pretti was shot multiple times after being forced to the ground by camouflaged officers in a scuffle captured on video.

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he wanted to "de-escalate a little bit" in Minneapolis, the focal point for tensions over his hardline immigration crackdown.

Yet on Wednesday, the 79-year-old Republican attacked the mayor of Minneapolis, saying that his refusal to cooperate with federal authorities on rooting out suspected illegal immigrants was "a very serious violation of the law."

Mayor Jacob Frey is "playing with fire," Trump said on social media.

The fatal Saturday shooting of Pretti, an intensive care nurse, was widely condemned across the political aisle despite initial efforts by White House officials to justify the killing.

In a bid to stem the backlash, Trump shuffled the leadership of immigration agents deployed in Minneapolis.

He replaced the confrontational Greg Bovino, famed for reveling in aggressive, televised immigration crackdowns, with the policy-focused "border czar" Tom Homan.

Another high-ranking official, Attorney General Pam Bondi, was in Minneapolis on Wednesday as she announced the arrests of 16 Minnesota "rioters" for allegedly assaulting federal law enforcement.

- Fury -

While the White House insists that it is targeting hardened criminals, the use of masked, heavily armed men to snatch people from streets, homes and workplaces has caused widespread shock.

That turned to fury this month after immigration agents shot dead two Minneapolis protesters at point-blank range in separate incidents -- Pretti and Renee Good, both US citizens.

Top Trump aide Stephen Miller initially justified Pretti's killing by branding him a "would-be assassin" -- despite video evidence clearly showing the 37-year-old man posed no threat when he was gunned down.

Late Tuesday, Miller acknowledged that the Customs and Border Patrol agents who killed Pretti "may not have been following protocol."

Seeking to distance himself from the fallout, Trump also struck a more conciliatory tone Tuesday.

However, Trump said there was no plan for a "pullback" and he has rejected calls to sack his loyal Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

The political battle could soon move to Congress where Democrats are threatening to hold up authorization for swaths of US government funding if reforms are not made to rein in the sprawling military-style immigration agencies.

Meanwhile, the president of the Roman Catholic bishops' conference in the United States called Wednesday on priests to offer a time of prayer following the fatal shootings in Minneapolis.

- Immigrant politician attacked -

Trump's focus on Minnesota is linked to a probe into alleged corruption by Somali immigrants in the state, which he and right-wing allies have amplified as an example of what they say is a fight against criminal immigrants.

The president has made a particular target of Somali-born congresswoman Ilhan Omar, whom he routinely insults in speeches and says should be sent back to Somalia.

In the latest sign of a deteriorating political climate, a man sprayed Omar with a liquid while she was giving a speech late Tuesday, before being tackled by security.

The suspect, 55-year-old Anthony Kazmierczak, was arrested on suspicion of assault. CNN reported that the liquid was likely apple cider vinegar, citing a law enforcement source.

"Here is the reality that people like this ugly man don't understand -- we are Minnesota strong and we will stay resilient in the face of whatever they might throw at us," Omar said to the meeting of constituents.

K.AbuDahab--SF-PST