Nevada Gov. Lombardo breaks silence about fatal Minnesota shootings

Ricardo Torres-Cortez, Las Vegas Review-Journal on Jan 28, 2026

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Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo on Wednesday emphasized protest rights under the First Amendment but said he didn’t want to speculate on the recent killings of two Minnesota demonstrators by federal immigration agents.

“Protecting citizens to assemble safely and peaceably is — and must remain — a top priority for officials at every level of government and for every law enforcement agency throughout the land,” the Republican governor said in a statement. “As Americans, there is nothing more fundamental in our Republic than exercising our rights granted to us under the First Amendment — without fear of retribution.”

These were Lombardo’s first remarks addressing the deaths of Renée Good and Alex Pretti. Both U.S. citizens were shot by immigration agents this month in interactions captured by widely circulated videos.

“As a career law enforcement officer, I know better than to draw conclusions related to law enforcement action without having all the facts at my disposal and I encourage all Americans to attempt to do the same,” Lombardo said.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday that three federal investigations had been opened into Pretti’s killing, according to the Associated Press.

“I want a very honorable and honest investigation,” President Donald Trump told reporters. “I have to see it myself.”

Lombardo said that was step in the right direction.

“I was pleased to see President Trump’s call for a thorough and unbiased review of all the evidence in these cases,” he said, “and believe that if anyone is found to have violated the law regardless of the circumstances surrounding their involvement, they are held to account and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

The governor reiterated that he supports Trump’s immigration policies.

“I believe that we should remove violent or repeat criminals from our streets and neighborhoods as swiftly and as safely as we can,” Lombardo said.

The federal apparatus should transparently work with governments to guarantee everyone’s safety, he added.

Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, a Democrat challenging Lombardo in the 2026 elections, had said Immigration and Customs Enforcement had overstepped its authority.

“ICE’s federal overreach has gone too far,” Ford said through his campaign. “And the President let an operation move forward that was poorly planned, poorly executed, and needlessly violent, resulting in masked federal agents taking the lives of Americans.”

He also criticized Lombardo because for what he described as the governor’s inability to speak against the president.

Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nevada, on Tuesday joined the chorus of Nevada congressional colleagues by calling for the Trump administration to pivot its approach to immigration enforcement in Minnesota.

After Pretti’s killing, Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen said they weren’t voting for a spending package that includes appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security.

Cortez Masto proposed breaking away the DHS bill from the package and voting on the other five spending bills.

Amodei, who chairs the Homeland Security appropriations subcommittee that drafted the bill, said that letting the agency’s spending powers lapse would be reckless.

Republicans need 60 votes by the end of Friday to avert a partial shutdown.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, said Tuesday that talks were ongoing.

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