U.S. Senators and state governors are voicing strong reactions, labeling the recent events as “horrifying,” “incredibly disturbing,” and a “deliberate federal intimidation and incitement of American citizens.” These responses follow the fatal shooting of anti-ICE protester Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis, a city already wracked by conflict.

Such vehement criticism is not uncommon from Democratic leaders who oppose the Trump administration’s stringent policies on illegal immigration. However, this time, the outraged calls for a comprehensive and independent investigation into the deaths of Pretti and Renee Good at the hands of ICE and Border Patrol agents are surprisingly coming from Republican voices.

This significant shift suggests that the Trump administration’s actions may have finally crossed an unacceptable line for some Republican politicians, who until now, have largely been in agreement with the administration’s stance on immigration enforcement.

Only these furious soundbites – coupled with forthright demands for a thorough and independent investigation of the death, along with that of Renee Good, at the hands of ICE and Border Patrol agents – haven’t come from Democrats. They have come from Republicans.

Because, after many provocations, the Trump administration may finally have crossed a red line for politicians who hitherto marched in lockstep with the White House.

Seventeen days ago, the shooting of 37-year-old mother-of-two Good, again in Minneapolis, provoked shock and horror, but the outrage fell into predictable camps.

There were the liberal voices who decried it as nothing short of murder, while their colleagues across the aisle pointed out that Good failed to comply with direct instructions from a federal agent, and branded her car the ‘lethal weapon’ that justified ICE Agent Jonathan Ross’ actions.

The response to Pretti’s shooting has been markedly different. Now, even the administration’s previously most staunch supporters have baulked.

From myriad Republican Congressmen to the NRA, they have broken ranks to condemn, or at least challenge, the federal government’s behavior in the City of Lakes.

The dissenting voices include that of key Kentucky Republican James Comer, House Oversight Committee Chairman, who told the Fox News show Sunday Morning Futures: ‘If I were Trump, I would almost think…there’s a chance of losing more innocent lives, then maybe go to another city.’

Note the reference to Good and Pretti as ‘innocent lives.’ That could not be further from the Trump administration’s condemnation of the pair as ‘domestic terrorists’ and ‘would-be assassins.’

Other senior Republicans have been far more outspoken. Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy called Pretti’s death ‘incredibly disturbing.’

The victim, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse, had been lawfully carrying a gun. Video footage appears to show that Pretti had already been disarmed by one federal agent and that he was lying on the ground, surrounded by others, when shot dead by a Border Patrol officer.

Senator Cassidy said the ‘credibility’ of ICE and DHS ‘is at stake’ and insisted there must be a ‘full joint federal and state investigation,’ adding: ‘We can trust the American people with the truth.’

Was he implying that some government officials haven’t been telling the truth?

Senator Pete Ricketts of Nebraska – a usually loyal supporter of Trump – called the shooting of Pretti ‘horrifying,’ adding: ‘My support for funding ICE remains the same. Enforcing our immigration laws makes our streets safer. It also protects our national security. But we must also maintain our core values as a nation, including the right to protest and assemble.’

Alaska Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski echoed that sentiment, stressing that ICE agents ‘do not have carte blanche in carrying out their duties.’

She went on: ‘Lawfully carrying a firearm does not justify federal agents killing an American – especially, as video footage appears to show, after the victim had been disarmed.’

Murkowski also made clear that she believes that the federal government’s insistence that there was really nothing to see here is unacceptable.

She called for a ‘comprehensive, independent investigation of the shooting,’ saying ‘it must be conducted in order to rebuild trust.’

Moreover, she added: ‘Congressional committees need to hold hearings and do their oversight work.’

Republican governors have also started turning on the administration.

Vermont Governor Phil Scott said in a scathing statement that it was ‘not acceptable for American citizens to be killed by federal agents for exercising their God-given and constitutional rights to protest their government.’

‘Enough,’ said Scott. ‘At best these federal immigration operations are a complete failure of coordination of acceptable public safety and law enforcement practices, training, and leadership.

‘At worst, it’s a deliberate federal intimidation and incitement of American citizens that’s resulting in the murder of Americans. Again, enough is enough.’

Minnesota governor candidate Chris Madel provided one of the most damning Republican responses to the shootings by dropping out of the campaign.

In a video posted to X on Monday, he said he ‘cannot support the national Republicans’ stated retribution on the citizens of our state.’

It was a striking move made only more so by the fact that Madel, a lawyer, had helped ICE agent Jonathan Ross with paperwork to get Justice Department legal representation after he fatally shot Good earlier this month.

But, with Pretti’s killing, he claimed: ‘The national Republicans have made it nearly impossible for a Republican to win a statewide election in Minnesota.’

Many other Republican politicians, including Representative Michael McCaul of Texas and Senators Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Susan Collins of Maine, have demanded more information on Pretti’s killing. Republican Representative Max Miller of Ohio said on social media that ‘there are serious unanswered questions about federal use of force in Minnesota.’

Andrew Garbarino, who as House Homeland Security Chairman is another Republican whose stance on this issue is hard to dismiss, called for senior officials at ICE and other immigration agencies to give evidence, adding, ‘My top priority is keeping Americans safe.’

After just over a year of a Trump administration that has caused barely a ripple of dissent from within the Republican Party – even as it has repeatedly sent shockwaves around the world – the significance of this revolt can hardly be exaggerated.

Republican Party dismay over the killing of US citizens – even ones who were trying to obstruct federal agents carrying out one of Trump’s key election pledges – has far outweighed any of its leaders’ objections to the kidnapping of President Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela and or threats to invade Greenland, the territory of a Nato ally.

Some pundits are consequently now asking whether Pretti’s killing marks a turning point in the president’s second term; a moment of reckoning for a violent and hardline immigration crackdown that is losing public support by the hour and could well spell doom for the Republicans in the Midterms and the 2028 presidential race.

As indicated by Madel’s complaint about the damage the feds have done to his and other Republicans’ election chances in Minnesota, some of this rebellion is self-interested.

But that doesn’t make it any the less damaging.

Even one of Trump’s hitherto most steadfast allies, the National Rifle Association – the country’s most powerful gun rights groups – has come out against his administration. Such organizations have long campaigned for the rights of Americans to carry guns to protests.

After defending Pretti’s right to be carrying a gun when he became involved in a tussle with federal agents (Minnesota law allows the open carry of handguns for people with permits) historically anti-gun Democrats have been left in the bizarre position of now being seen as the party that fights for gun rights against government claims that the dead man shouldn’t have brought one to a protest.

The NRA and other gun rights groups have sided with the Dems, dismissing California Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli’s claim that law enforcement were very likely ‘legally justified’ in shooting someone like Pretti as ‘dangerous and wrong.’

Another influential organization, Gun Owners of America, forcefully agreed. ‘The Second Amendment protects Americans’ right to bear arms while protesting ‒ a right the federal government must not infringe upon,’ it said.

The political implication of these losing faith in the Republicans has not been lost on pollsters.

Some predicted on Monday that the gun rights issue in specific regard to Pretti would have a significant effect when polls – delayed by the snowstorm affecting half the country – are completed on the national mood since this second Minneapolis killing.

Support for a secure border and the expulsion of violent illegal immigrants weighed heavily in voters’ decision to return Trump to office.

But recent polls have been showing a noticeable slide in Americans’ support for the Trump migrant clampdown.

Even before the Pretti shooting, nearly two thirds of Americans said they disapproved of the way ICE was behaving – six in ten told a New York Times/Siena University poll the agency had ‘gone too far.’ Especially worryingly for the GOP, that included 70 percent of independent voters.

Polling expert Nate Silver said that public approval on immigration has been a ‘comparative bright spot for Trump’ compared to other issues such as trade, the economy and inflation. However, he said there had been a ‘persistent decline’ in recent months and that the Pretti killing ‘almost certainly makes that worse.’

According to Silver, the president is ‘losing the normies not just the libs.’

Trump certainly seems to sense an impending crisis. The president famously refuses to give ground politically (or at least admit to it). Yet that is precisely what he appears to have done.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Sunday, Trump said his administration is ‘reviewing everything’ about the Pretti shooting. Contradicting his senior officials who defended the Border Patrol agent, he repeatedly declined to say whether the officer acted appropriately.

He also said that the immigration agents would ‘at some point’ leave the area, as Minnesota’s Democrat leaders have long demanded.

For a White House that had previously doubled down on its aggressive operations in Minneapolis and insisted it would do what it came to do, it was a climb down if not a complete volte-face.

That continued on Monday when, following a phone conversation which Trump obligingly described as a ‘very good call,’ Minnesota governor Tim Walz said the president had agreed to look into cutting the number of federal agents in the state and would also consider Walz’s insistence for an ‘impartial’ inquiry into the shootings.

Trump signaled a further concession when he announced he is sending his border czar, Tim Homan, to Minnesota.

The move effectively sidelines Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, whose kneejerk defense of federal agents and condemnation of the two dead protesters – even in the face of video evidence that appears to flatly contradict her claims – had reportedly caused the president some concern. (Amid calls for her to go, the White House insists that Noem still has Trump’s ‘utmost trust.’)

‘Tom is tough but fair,’ said Trump, as if to allay voter doubts that his lieutenants could ever be impartial.

White House insiders had reportedly complained privately that winding down their immigration crackdown in Minnesota would amount to a capitulation to the Left.

But it’s difficult to see Monday’s developments are as anything but other than a winding down.

So, will a tactical retreat in Minnesota be enough to save the Trump administration from lasting damage? Or will his critics – not least those in his own party – only smell blood.

That remains to be seen. But one thing is certain, the grim death of Alex Pretti has provided a tipping point in the Republican party’s deference towards the Trump agenda.