The NRA's Convenient Outrage: Where Was This Energy for Philando Castile?

What Happened to Alex Pretti

On January 24, 2026, Alex Pretti—a 37-year-old ICU nurse at the VA hospital and lawful gun owner with a Minnesota concealed carry permit—was shot and killed by U.S. Border Patrol agents during an immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis. Videos reviewed by Reuters and The New York Times show Pretti holding his phone—not a gun—while attempting to help a woman who had been pushed by federal agents.

He was pepper-sprayed, tackled by multiple agents, and then shot multiple times. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara confirmed that Pretti was exercising his First Amendment right to record law enforcement and his Second Amendment right to lawfully be armed.

The NRA spoke up within 24 hours. But where was this energy before?

Where Was This Energy for Philando Castile?

The NRA's response? A tepid, two-day-delayed statement calling the reports "troubling" and saying they would "not comment further until all the facts are known." When the officer was acquitted, the NRA said nothing. Absolutely nothing.

NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch later justified the silence by claiming Castile was allegedly in possession of a controlled substance—as if that somehow negated his Second Amendment rights.

Where Was This Energy for Breonna Taylor?

And yet, the NRA said nothing. They did not issue a statement. They did not call for an investigation. They did not condemn the officers who killed an innocent woman.

Where Was This Energy for Amir Locke?

The NRA's response? Spokesperson Amy Hunter told The Intercept that the organization has a "long-standing policy of not commenting on ongoing investigations."

The Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, the Firearms Policy Coalition, and the National African American Gun Association all condemned the shooting. But the NRA—the self-proclaimed guardians of the Second Amendment—remained silent.

The Pattern Is Clear

But when Alex Pretti was killed, suddenly the NRA found its voice. Suddenly they remembered that citizens have a right to carry firearms without being executed by government agents.

The Qualified Immunity Problem

Here's the other piece of the puzzle: qualified immunity—the legal doctrine that shields police officers from civil liability when they violate citizens' constitutional rights.

The NRA has never meaningfully opposed qualified immunity. They have deep ties to law enforcement organizations and the "Blue Lives Matter" movement.

"The NRA claims to defend your right to bear arms, but they have consistently aligned themselves with the legal framework that allows officers to kill gun owners without consequence. They want you armed, but they don't want to hold anyone accountable when the state murders you for being armed."

Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Sonia Sotomayor have both noted that qualified immunity requires an almost identical past case before officers can be held liable. The first person killed in any new manner of rights violation has no recourse. Their family gets nothing. And the officer walks free.

The NRA knows this. And they say nothing.

What's Really Going On

So when the NRA blames "radical progressives" for Alex Pretti's death, as they did in their statement, ask yourself:

If the Second Amendment Only Applies to Some Americans...

If the Second Amendment only applies to some Americans, it applies to no Americans.

If the NRA only speaks up for certain lawful gun owners, they speak up for no one.

And if you think this is about guns, you haven't been paying attention. This is about who gets to be seen as a citizen in this country—and who gets treated as a threat for exercising the exact same rights.

The Baldwin Economic Justice Report will not pretend this is complicated. It is not. The NRA made a choice—over and over again—about whose lives matter and whose rights they will defend. We see them. We will name them. And we will not forget.