Two immigration agents involved in the fatal shooting of a protester in Minneapolis have been placed on leave, US officials say, as President Donald Trump battles backlash over the incident.
Intensive care unit nurse Alex Pretti, 37, was shot multiple times on Saturday after being forced to the ground by camouflaged border patrol officers in a scuffle captured on video.
His death, which followed the deadly shooting of another female protester by an immigration officer earlier in January, sparked nationwide and bipartisan outrage.
A spokesperson for the US Customs and Border Protection agency on Wednesday, local time, confirmed two of its officers involved in the shooting had been placed on administrative leave.
"This is standard protocol," the spokesperson said in a statement.
It comes as an initial review of the deadly shooting made no mention of Pretti brandishing a firearm, despite initial statements by Trump officials highlighting the weapon.
In the hours after Pretti was killed, top Trump administration officials portrayed the nurse as an aggressor, assertions that were quickly contradicted by video from the scene.
US homeland security said he "approached U.S. Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun", but did not mention that the weapon was holstered.
Stephen Miller — a powerful figure who leads Trump's hard-line immigration policy — called Pretti a "domestic terrorist" and "would-be assassin" without presenting evidence to support the claims.
The White House later said Miller was referring to "general guidance" to immigration agents operating in Minnesota, not the specific incident involving Pretti.
Trump has called for an "honourable and honest investigation" into Pretti's death and suggested he would "de-escalate a little bit" the administration's immigration crackdown in the city in the northern state of Minnesota.
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