This story was originally published by Public News Service.
By Eric Tegethoff, producer
Public News Service
January 28, 2026
In the days and weeks since two protesters were killed by federal agents in Minneapolis, federal officials have called the victims dangerous domestic terrorists, and a Boise State University professor said such framing could have consequences for freedom of speech.
A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot and killed Renee Good Jan. 7, and a Border Patrol officer did the same to Alex Pretti Jan. 24. Both were protesting the surge of immigration agents to Minnesota.
Sam Martin, professor of public affairs at Boise State University, believes this rhetoric from political leaders is meant to justify stronger surveillance and harsher enforcement on activists, nonprofits and local networks.
“It’s not primarily that speech is going to be prosecuted as a sort of criminal matter; something that people are not allowed to say and that they’ll be punished for with fines or jail,” Martin explained. “The problem is expanding investigative pressure and stigma around people’s First Amendment rights to engage in lawful political protest and lawful political activity.”
Federal officials in both cases claimed the agents were acting in self-defense when they killed Good and Pretti.
Martin noted a document released by the Trump administration last September, called “National Security Presidential Memorandum 7,” could have lasting effects on how speech is treated. She argued the memo has allowed the administration to target people exercising protected free speech and has been used to create a false choice for Americans: freedom or security.
“You can actually have both,” Martin asserted. “We’re entering into an era where we’re acting like we have to choose one or the other, and that historically has always proven very dangerous.”
In the aftermath of the shooting, Minnesota and the federal government have clashed over an investigation into Pretti’s death. Martin added there is a lot at stake with the investigation.
“The key question isn’t what happens but whether the process for figuring out what happens – and not just for who is responsible, but for how to prevent it in the future – that process needs to be transparent and credible,” Martin emphasized. “That transparency and that credibility in official sources is what’s really at stake right now.”
According to The Associated Press, Greg Bovino, the Border Patrol’s commander-at-large, is expected to leave Minneapolis Wednesday amid backlash over the killings. Border czar Tom Homan will take charge of federal operations. An unspecified number of other federal agents are also expected to leave the city.
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