# Cato Expert: Alex Pretti Shooting Raises Second Amendment Questions 

Since the death of ICE protester Alex Pretti, officials within the Trump administration have repeatedly said Pretti was killed because he was carrying his legally owned weapon.

January 28, 2026 • News Releases 

Since the death of ICE protester Alex Pretti, officials within the Trump administration have repeatedly said Pretti was killed because he was carrying his legally owned weapon. In a new [blog post](https://url.avanan.click/v2/r01/___https://zwly9k6z.r.us-east-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2A2F%2A2Fwww.cato.org%2A2Fblog%2A2Fsecond-amendment-meaningless-government-can-kill-you-exercising-it/1/0100019c04e720e6-8935cf59-0c9b-40bc-9fd9-20fccffd9dca-000000/a1OnCAOlY2Noz6FpLV2L5O2BAZ0=463___.YXAzOmNhdG9pbnN0aXR1dGU6YTpvOjAwZWE4MDlhODJmNWM1NzNjMzQ1OWM3ODliMTMwZTc3Ojc6MTdiNjo2NzQ0OTQ0MGZhZDcyNjFhY2IxZTY1MmRjZjY4YzliYmJhMGVhYzQ2YWMzNTIxYmY2OGNkM2RmZDU3YmQ1Mjk3Omg6VDpO), the director of the Cato Institute’s Project on Criminal Justice, [Matthew Cavedon](https://url.avanan.click/v2/r01/___https://zwly9k6z.r.us-east-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2A2F%2A2Fwww.cato.org%2A2Fpeople%2A2Fmatthew-cavedon/1/0100019c04e720e6-8935cf59-0c9b-40bc-9fd9-20fccffd9dca-000000/wsvXHt5OIdSK5RbPpWzCffbFoH4=463___.YXAzOmNhdG9pbnN0aXR1dGU6YTpvOjAwZWE4MDlhODJmNWM1NzNjMzQ1OWM3ODliMTMwZTc3Ojc6ZDliYTo3NDhkMDI1NzQ4YzgwNDE2NmY1N2IwZjQyNmM0NDgwMTYzM2FmZGMwMmExY2U1MTljNTUyZjI0Nzk2NTVlYTdlOmg6VDpO), details how administration officials continue to ignore constitutional protections:

> *“Yet the law is not supposed to make Americans choose between their lives and their constitutional liberty. The Second Amendment gives people the right to bear arms, and the Fourth Amendment promises to stop the government from killing them for doing so.*
> 
> *Mr. Pretti’s death should be independently investigated. Courts should uphold strong limits on deadly force. And people should demand better of a government that voices their rights on Tuesday before insisting on Saturday that civilians can be killed for exercising them.”*

To speak with Cavedon on the Second Amendment implications of the death of Alex Pretti, contact [Christopher Tarvardian](mailto:ctarvardian@cato.org).

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