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The NPR Politics Podcast

Minnesota shooting blurs political lines around guns

The NPR Politics Podcast

NPR

News, Daily News, Politics

4.425.7K Ratings

🗓️ 29 January 2026

⏱️ 18 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Alex Pretti was carrying a permitted gun when he had a confrontation with federal agents who ultimately shot and killed him. While the Trump administration pointed to his gun as a reason for agents to fear for their safety, pro-gun groups argued Pretti had a right to carry. We discuss the rhetoric around guns and how marginalized communities in Minneapolis have been increasingly turning toward gun ownership.


This episode: senior White House correspondent Tamara Keith, domestic extremism correspondent Odette Yousef, and senior political editor and correspondent Mara Liasson.


This podcast was produced and edited by Lexie Schapitl and Bria Suggs.


Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi.


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Transcript

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0:00.0

This year, on NPR's ThruLine, Life, Liberty, The Pursuit of Happiness.

0:06.9

For centuries, America's pursuit has changed the world.

0:10.6

Now, 250 years later, who are we? Where are we headed?

0:15.4

Join us every Tuesday for a brand new series, America in Pursuit.

0:19.9

On ThruLine, listen on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

0:28.0

Hey there, it's the NPR Politics Podcast for Thursday, January 29th, 2026.

0:34.3

I'm Tamara Keith. I cover the White House.

0:36.4

I'm Mara Liason, senior national political correspondent.

0:40.0

And we're joined by Domestic Extremism Correspondent, Odette Youssef. Hi, Odette.

0:45.4

Hey, Tamara.

0:46.2

We are recording this at 105 p.m. Eastern Time. And today we're looking at how the fatal shooting of Alex

0:53.5

Preti by border patrol agents

0:55.5

in Minneapolis is scrambling the political lines around guns. President Trump's response to the

1:01.5

shooting, specifically the fact that Preddy was carrying a gun, has sparked pushback from the NRA and

1:07.9

other Second Amendment advocates. And we're going to get into that in a minute. But first,

1:12.1

Odette, I want to ask you about some of your recent reporting. We typically think of gun rights

1:16.9

as a conservative cause. But that's not what you've found to be the case in Minneapolis, right?

1:23.3

That's right. So what I've found is that there are specific circumstances in Minneapolis specifically

1:29.0

that have really yielded a mix in terms of who's got permits to carry, who owns firearms.

1:36.7

And I started learning about this about a year ago, actually. I was in Minneapolis to report

1:41.8

on how LGBTQ residents were showing a significant increase in interest

1:48.0

in gun ownership and learning to use guns after Donald Trump was reelected. And so while I was there,

...

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