Noem testifies at Senate Judiciary hearing about deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good
Klobuchar asked Noem to apologize but she refused while defending her domestic terrorism characterization
On March 3, 2026, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee for the first time since federal agents killed Renee Good on January 7 and Alex Pretti on January 24 in Minneapolis. The hearing came as DHS had been in a partial shutdown since February 14. Democrats refused to fund the department without reforms to immigration enforcement. Republicans used the hearing to blame Democrats for the shutdown. But the most revealing exchanges came from within Noem's own party.
Key Concepts
Essential concepts and terms to understand this topic
Search and Seizure
Protection against unreasonable government searches and seizures.
Inspector General
An independent official embedded in a federal agency who investigates waste, fraud, and abuse, and reports findings to both the agency and Congress.
Oversight and Accountability
The principle that government officials and institutions must answer for their actions.
Key People
7
Kristi Noem
Secretary of Homeland Security
Noem testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 3, 2026, for the first time since federal agents killed Good and Pretti. She refused to retract her domestic terrorist characterizations of both victims or apologize to their families. She argued she was relying on reports from agents on the ground during a chaotic scene. She also faced questions about a no-bid DHS advertising contract that benefited the husband of a former DHS spokesperson.
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Thom Tillis
U.S. Senator, North Carolina (Republican)
Tillis was the first Republican senator to call for Noem's resignation and the harshest critic at the hearing. He called DHS a disaster under her leadership and accused her of stifling the shooting investigations. He said the evidence would show Good and Pretti probably should not have been shot in the face and in the back. He threatened to block nominees and deny quorum in Senate committees until DHS answered his questions.
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Dick Durbin
U.S. Senator, Illinois (Democrat), Senate Judiciary Ranking Member
Durbin led the Democratic line of questioning, repeatedly asking Noem to retract her domestic terrorist characterizations of Good, Pretti, and Marimar Martinez. He raised the case of Geraldo Luna Campos, who died in ICE detention in what an independent examiner ruled a homicide. He pressed Noem on DHS compliance with court orders and asked why she had not apologized to the families of the victims.
Amy Klobuchar
U.S. Senator, Minnesota (Democrat)
Klobuchar pressed Noem twice to apologize to Pretti's family. She told Noem that the family had suffered one of the most hurtful things they could ever imagine based on statements Noem made without evidence. When Noem claimed she had not called Pretti a domestic terrorist, Klobuchar replied: I think the parents saw it for what it was.
John Kennedy
U.S. Senator, Louisiana (Republican)
Kennedy confronted Noem about DHS advertising contracts that prominently featured her. He told her his research showed the contracts were not properly bid out and that one winning company had been formed just 11 days before she selected it. The contract had been reported to benefit the husband of former DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin.
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Adam Schiff
U.S. Senator, California (Democrat)
Schiff challenged Noem on how the administration expected to maintain public trust while pushing false information about the deaths of American citizens. He said her claims about Good and Pretti caused endless injury to victims' families on the basis of God knows what and asked how she planned to rebuild credibility after video evidence directly contradicted her statements.
Chuck Grassley
U.S. Senator, Iowa (Republican), Senate Judiciary Committee Chair
Grassley chaired the hearing and acknowledged the deaths were lamentable while stressing that officers should not be threatened while enforcing the law. He drew a distinction between First Amendment activity and unlawful obstruction, a standard that legal experts told NPR would cover most of the activity DHS cited as justification for its use of force in Minneapolis.
Claims & Perspectives
True
True
Kristi Noem called Alex Pretti and Renee Good domestic terrorists
Noem publicly characterized both Good and Pretti as domestic terrorists in the immediate aftermath of their deaths. At the hearing, she tried to distinguish between calling someone a domestic terrorist and saying an incident appeared to be an act of domestic terrorism. Multiple senators from both parties and the victims' families rejected that distinction. CBP and ICE leadership later declined to back her narrative about Pretti's death. [1][2]
True
Noem claimed Pretti brandished a firearm before he was shot
Noem made this claim shortly after Pretti was killed. Bystander video reviewed by Reuters, the BBC, the Wall Street Journal, and the Associated Press showed that Pretti's firearm was not visible until after officers had already put their hands on him. The gun was removed from him seconds before shots were fired. An internal CBP oversight report also contradicted Noem's narrative. [1][2]
True
DHS has been shut down since February 14, 2026
DHS entered a partial shutdown on February 14 after Congress failed to reach a funding agreement. Democrats demanded reforms to immigration enforcement, including body camera requirements for DHS law enforcement, as conditions for restoring funding. Republicans and Noem blamed Democrats for the shutdown. The House Rules Committee was scheduled to consider a short-term funding measure on the same day as the Senate hearing. [1][2]
Disputed
Disputed
Geraldo Luna Campos died by suicide in ICE detention
DHS claimed Campos died by suicide in immigration detention. An independent medical examiner ruled his death a homicide. Witnesses said guards at the facility strangled him. When DHS moved to deport the witnesses rather than investigate, a federal judge intervened to keep them in the country. Noem said she could not speak to the details of the case at the hearing. [1]
False
False
Filming immigration officers in public is a form of unlawful obstruction
Legal experts told NPR that much of the activity the government characterized as obstruction, including observing and filming immigration officers, is protected by the First Amendment. Senator Grassley himself noted at the hearing that there is a clear difference between First Amendment-protected activity and unlawful obstruction. Pretti was filming agents when he was killed. [1]
What you can do
Call your senator to demand an independent investigation into the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti
civic action
The Senate Judiciary hearing revealed that DHS blocked other law enforcement agencies from participating in the shooting reviews. Senator Tillis said the administration is not following standard protocol for officer-involved shootings. Congress can demand an investigation outside DHS control.
Contact the Senate Judiciary Committee to support DHS funding reform requirements
civic action
Democrats have blocked DHS funding since February 14 until the administration agrees to reforms including body camera requirements and a ban on masked agents. These are exactly the accountability mechanisms that could have provided clearer evidence in the Good and Pretti cases. Your call can pressure senators from both parties to include these reforms in any funding deal.
Request that your representative investigate the DHS advertising contract awarded to a no-bid vendor
civic action
Senator Kennedy raised concerns at the hearing that DHS awarded advertising contracts without proper competitive bidding. ProPublica reported that one subcontract went to the husband of a former DHS spokesperson. House oversight committees can investigate whether taxpayer funds were misused.