UNBIASED Politics
January 29, 2026: New Alex Pretti Video Footage, a Potential Government Shutdown, Updates in Minneapolis, an FBI Investigation Into Signal Chats, and More.
29 Jan 2026
Chapter 1: What are the latest updates on the Alex Pretti shooting?
Welcome back to Unbiased, your favorite source of unbiased news and legal analysis. Welcome back to Unbiased Politics. Today is Thursday, January 29th. Let's talk about some news. We've got a lot to cover today, so let's just get right into it. We will start the episode with some developments related to the Alex Pretty shooting.
And there are quite a few, so we'll kind of just bounce from one to the next. And I'll just kind of, I'll attempt to explain these in chronological order, but there's just been so much happening since Monday's episode that everything kind of gets meshed together. So first, let's talk about the DHS preliminary report.
On Tuesday, the DHS shared this preliminary report on the Alex Pretty shooting with Congress based on an initial investigation that was done by the CBP's Office of Professional Responsibility. And in completing that investigation, the Office of Professional Responsibility basically relied on body cam footage as well as available documentation.
Now, remember, the CBP is an agency within the DHS, right? So the DHS oversees the CBP and any internal offices within the CBP, including the Office of Professional Responsibility. So that's why it was the DHS that shared this report with Congress.
Now, the report has not been released to the public, but it has been seen by various news outlets, and these various news outlets have reported on its contents. So per those reports, the initial investigation found that CBP agents were conducting a targeted operation when they encountered Preti.
An officer asked Preti and another woman in the road to, quote, move out of the roadway. When they both didn't move, the officer deployed his pepper spray towards both individuals. Officers then attempted to take Pretty into custody.
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Chapter 2: What is the FBI investigating regarding Signal group chats in Minneapolis?
Pretty resisted their efforts, which then resulted in a subsequent struggle on the ground.
The report states that while Pretty was on the ground, a Border Patrol agent yelled, quote, he's got a gun multiple times, though the report does not state that Pretty ever showed his gun, you know, or like brandished his gun, as was initially reported by DHS Secretary Noem.
Roughly five seconds after the Border Patrol agent yelled that Pretty had a gun, two agents discharged firearms at Pretty, one of whom was a Border Patrol agent with a CBP-issued Glock 19. The other was a CBP agent with a CBP-issued Glock 47.
The report found that after the shooting, a Border Patrol agent advised that he had possession of Pretty's firearm and that it was cleared and secured in the agent's vehicle. Now, a few things the report doesn't mention.
Chapter 3: Why are Democratic lawmakers blocking DHS funding and what does it mean for a government shutdown?
Number one, it does not mention an accidental discharge from Pretty's weapon, which, as we just said, had been confiscated by another agent just seconds before the shooting. I know there were talks of that possibly being the case, there potentially being an accidental discharge that then caused the agents to fire at Pretty, but none of that was mentioned in the report.
Two, the report does not say how many shots were fired or which shots killed Pretty.
And three, the report does not state whether the officers that fired the shots knew Pretty had been disarmed when those shots were fired.
So that's the gist of the preliminary report. And again, this is just a preliminary report that is based on an initial investigation.
Chapter 4: What happened during the town hall event with Rep. Ilhan Omar?
So it's not going to detail everything. That'll likely take some time. The next development is that the agents that fired their weapons have since been placed on administrative leave. So according to a CBP spokesperson, the move is standard protocol, and the spokesperson said it shouldn't be viewed as any suspicion of wrongdoing.
DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin also confirmed that the ICE officer who shot and killed Renee Good has also been placed on administrative leave. So administrative leave is essentially a temporary leave of absence from duties, but you're still entitled to pay and benefits.
It's not until the investigation progresses that the agency will then determine whether those agents are brought back or they face further action. Obviously, if that investigation finds violations of policy or protocol, then the agents would be removed from service. But if the investigation finds no wrongdoing,
Chapter 5: What is the significance of the judge's ruling on Liam Ramos's deportation?
you know, no protocol violations, then they would likely be able to return to work. The next development is that Democratic lawmakers are threatening to impeach DHS Secretary Noem. So we'll start with a little backstory and then we'll talk a little bit about impeachment and what that would entail and what it would mean for Noem's position.
Earlier this month, in the wake of the Rene Good shooting, Democratic Representative Robin Kelly introduced three articles of impeachment against Noem. One of those articles was or I should say cited obstruction of Congress. The second cited violation of the public trust and the third cited self-dealing.
Since their introduction, and more so since the Alex Pretty shooting, more lawmakers have signed on. More than 160 House Democrats have signed on to the impeachment resolution.
Chapter 6: What recent developments occurred in the Fulton County elections office investigation?
And on Tuesday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic Whip Catherine Clark, and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar released this joint statement that basically said Secretary Noem should be fired immediately, and if she wasn't fired, they would commence impeachment proceedings. And I should note here that it's not just Democrats that are calling for for Noem's termination.
Chapter 7: Is there any truth to the rumors about ICE attending the Olympics?
I mean, it's it's mostly Democrats, but there are a few Republicans to Republican senators. Tom Tillis and Lisa Murkowski have both issued statements stating that Noem's actions in Minnesota warrant her immediate removal from the president's cabinet.
So following this criticism, the president held a meeting at the White House with Secretary Noem, along with Noem's top aide, the White House chief of staff, the press secretary and the communications director.
Chapter 8: What critical thinking questions arise from Tom Homan's role in immigration enforcement?
We don't know exactly what was discussed at that meeting. But when Trump was asked by reporters whether Noem would step down, he replied, quote, No, I think she's doing a very good job. The border is totally secure. You know, you forget we had a border that I inherited where millions of people were coming through. Now we have a border where no one is coming through.
They come into our country only legally, end quote. So as of right now, it does not seem like Noem is going to be fired, which presumably means, according to these Democratic lawmakers, that impeachment proceedings will commence. So let's talk a little bit about what impeachment would look like, starting with the basics.
Under the Constitution, the House has the sole power to charge a federal officer with impeachment, right? The impeachment process applies to what the Constitution refers to as civil officers, which includes executive branch officials, judges, the president, the vice president.
And typically when the process starts, when articles of impeachment are drafted, the articles of impeachment lay out the specific allegations or the specific charges that are being brought against the official facing impeachment. Once the articles are drafted, the full House can vote on them. And the reason I'm emphasizing can is because if the majority party or House leadership
decides not to move forward on the articles of impeachment impeachment just simply doesn't happen there's no constitutional requirement that allegations automatically result in a house vote so even though articles of impeachment against gnome have been drafted if house leadership doesn't doesn't allow them to move forward then then it's done
But let's assume for the sake of the discussion that the articles do move forward and reach the House floor. If a simple majority of the House votes yes on any one of the articles—in Noem's case, there are three—then that's it. The official is impeached. Noem would be impeached if a simple majority of the House voted yes on any one of the three articles against her.
But impeachment doesn't automatically remove someone from their position. Removal only happens if the Senate votes to convict. So once the House votes, assuming at least one article passes, the Senate then holds a trial on the articles that passed. Once that trial ends, senators vote. And conviction requires a two-thirds majority. It's a pretty high bar.
If the Senate doesn't reach that threshold, the official is acquitted and they stay in office. It's only if a person is convicted that they are removed from their position. So applying this to Noem's situation, now that the articles of impeachment have been introduced, House leadership will decide whether to send the articles to a full House vote. If they don't, nothing happens. It ends there.
But if they do, the House will vote on impeachment. And only after that would the Senate become involved for a potential conviction. Okay, next development. Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino is no longer in Minneapolis. And instead, Border Czar Tom Homan has been sent in. So Bovino was in Minneapolis leading the immigration enforcement operation there. He himself is...
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