President Donald Trump has privately defended the Border Patrol agent who fatally shot a man the Department of Homeland Security says was armed in Minnesota on Saturday, a source familiar with the matter said. Some of the internal conversations at the White House and among allies have centered on why the man was carrying two magazines, three sources told CNN. The private defense of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s actions comports with what Trump and members of his administration have said publicly. The president, at times sounding exasperated, held up mugshots of individuals he said had been arrested in his immigration crackdown. While the president has so far defended the agent involved in Saturday’s shooting, administration officials and Trump advisers acknowledged to CNN that the video was not cut and dry and the situation was still fluid.

Source: CNN January 24, 2026 18:21 UTC