Hours after federal immigration officers shot and killed a second U.S. citizen in Minneapolis, Attorney General Pam Bondi appeared focused on something else entirely: proving her loyalty to President Donald Trump as his administration faced mounting backlash and loss of control on the ground. Wit h Minnesota already in turmoil from the killing of 37-year-old Alex Pretti, Bondi stepped into the chaos with a letter to Gov. Tim Walz that seemed designed to project authority and reinforce Trump’s hard-line posture — a move that, almost immediately, raised alarms about whether she had just overplayed her hand at the worst possible moment. U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with Attorney General Pam Bondi as he delivers an announcement on his Homeland Security Task Force in the State Dinning Room of the White House on October 23, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) In the letter, Bondi accused state and local leaders of fostering “lawlessness” by refusing to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement and warned that Minnesota could “restore the rule of law” by meeting a series of federal demands. Among them: sharing unredacted voter registration records with the Department of Justice. “Allow the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice to access voter rolls to confirm that Minnesota’s voter registration practices comply with federal law,” Bondi wrote, citing the Civil Rights Act of 1960. She demanded data on Medicaid and food assistance programs, the repeal of sanctuary policies, and to require state and local detention facilities to fully cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Bondi framed the requests as common-sense steps to curb fraud, protect public safety, and support federal agents operating in Minnesota. Earlier this week, Minnesota officials refused a DOJ request for data tied to same-day voter registration and its vouching system, describing the demand as an unlawful intrusion into state-controlled election administration. Bondi’s letter escalated that conflict, folding election oversight into a broader confrontation over immigration raids. Here is Pam Bondis corruption letter to Tim Walz..She needs to go! pic.twitter.com/tWCVB3bsiF— Craig Goedecke (@hullnewsphotog) January 25, 2026 Saturday’s unrest intensified after Pretti’s killing. Several videos contradicted the Department of Homeland Security’s initial account that Pretti approached agents with a firearm. Footage shows Pretti appearing to direct traffic and record agents on his phone before being pepper-sprayed, tackled, and pinned to the ground. Gunshots erupted after he was restrained. DHS later declared Pretti had a handgun but video shows it was removed from his waistband by an agent after he was already on the ground. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said Pretti was a licensed gun owner with no criminal record. New “angle” video shows moments before federal agents’ shooting that killed a 37-year-old man in Minneapolis, Minnesota, near Glam Doll Donuts. Minneapolis police say he was a gun owner with a valid permit to carry; DHS has said he was armed with a gun and two magazines. #ICE pic.twitter.com/xpy030nt9B— GeoTechWar (@geotechwar) January 24, 2026 Despite the video, DHS claimed the incident resembled an active shooter scenario, saying “this looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement,” a description sharply disputed by available footage. Meanwhile, Bondi defended her approach in a Fox News interview, saying her letter was meant to send a message to Walz. “He better support President Trump,” she said. PAM BONDI: "We sent Tim Walz a VERY STRONG LETTER today. We have been working on this letter."Are f'ng shitting me? WTAF?Pam Bondi should RESIGN! pic.twitter.com/B8JQZVxvoT— Mike Engleman (@RealHickory) January 24, 2026 Social media reaction was visceral across all platforms, where the most common refrain was that Bondi’s demand exposed the administration’s true objective.  “They are trying to steal the election AGAIN!!!!” one user wrote on Instagram, framing Bondi’s request as a continuation of Trump’s long-running fixation on Minnesota’s election results. Others dispensed with nuance entirely. “Extortion,” one comment read. “STRAIGHT-UP BLACKMAIL,” another critic fumed. Some commenters took aim at Bondi’s selective enforcement of the law: “‘When you comply with the LAW and release ALL of the Epstein Files, then we’ll consider the validity of your request. Thank you for your following of the law!’ That would be my response.” On Threads, critics accused Bondi of turning immigration raids into leverage for Trump’s apparent power grab. “PAM. BONDI. IS. TRYING. TO. MAKE. MINNESOTA. HAND. OVER. THEIR. VOTER. ROLLS. TO. HELP. RIG. THE. NEXT. ELECTION. IN. EXCHANGE. FOR. REMOVING. ICE. FROM. THE. STATE!!!!!! IT. WAS. NEVER. ABOUT. ANYTHING. THEY. LIED. AND. SAID. IT. WAS,” one post declared. View on Threads Skepticism also surfaced among Trump supporters — though aimed in the opposite direction. One asked, “But why fight against turming over the voter rolls??? Is it because they have been rigging the elections? Seems suspicious.”  While that echoed Trump’s rhetoric, it was largely drowned out by users who focused their anger on Bondi.  “Someone needs to refer her to the Bar for disbarment,” one person said.  One comment spelled out the legal argument critics believe Bondi walked into: “This b—ch Pam Bondi is so f–king stupid she doesn’t realize she publicly committed EXTORTION! By stating the Trump administration would remove ICE from Minnesota in exchange for the states voter rolls! That is Legal textbook EXTORTION!” Another agreed, “Not exaggerating, Pam Bondi just did the thing she will go to jail for in 3 years.” Underlying much of the outrage was the timing of the letter — sent just hours after a fatal federal shooting. “People are getting murdered so Trump can cheat??” one user asked.  On Reddit, the conversation broadened into concerns about democratic collapse and federal overreach. “So much for states rights,” one commenter wrote. The darkest comments tied Bondi’s move to a broader authoritarian trajectory. “We’re going to need our own Nuremberg Trials when (if?) all of this is over,” one post read. Another predicted escalation: “This will lead to the insurrection act and the military being deployed. Exactly what Trump wants. He then ends democracy in Minnesota.” Pam Bondi just sent a letter to Minnesota officials saying ICE will leave if the state turns over its voter database to Trump. Guess what? This has never been about safety or immigration. It’s a pretext for Trump to take over elections in swing states. pic.twitter.com/BHrQJUECJY— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) January 25, 2026 Sen. Chris Murphy summed up what many were already thinking: “Pam Bondi just sent a letter to Minnesota officials saying ICE will leave if the state turns over its voter database to Trump. Guess what? This has never been about safety or immigration. It’s a pretext for Trump to take over elections in swing states.” The clash comes against a backdrop of Trump’s repeated false claims about winning the state. Earlier this month, Trump said, “I feel that I won Minnesota. I think I won it all three times,” despite never carrying it in any election. Trump: "Minnesota is a very corrupt place and the elections are totally corrupt. I feel I won it all 3 times. Nobody has won that state since Richard Nixon. It's a rigged state. And the Somalians vote as one group even if they're not citizens. They all ought to get the hell out… pic.twitter.com/c3B0gTLn1u— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 20, 2026 When asked whether he was aware that the FBI was not sharing evidence with Minnesota investigators in the Jan. 7 killing of Renee Nicole Good, and whether he believed the bureau should be cooperating more fully with the state, Trump responded, “Well, normally I would. But they’re crooked officials…” The administration has also pursued voter roll access in dozens of states, though courts have repeatedly rejected those efforts. ‘Pam Is So Damn Stupid!’: Bondi Pulls a Move So Reckless It Ends Up Exposing Trump’s Endgame — and Just Crossed the Line Viewers Swear Puts Her on Path to Prison ...read more read less