Noem Orders Federal Agents in Minneapolis to Wear Body Cameras

The rollout follows the January shootings of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old radical agitator, and Renee Good, a Minneapolis mother of three who was shot and killed while injuring an ICE agent with her SUV.

Homeland Security has confirmed that four CBP officers on the scene of Pretti’s altercation were wearing cameras, though that footage has not yet been released.

In announcing the new mandate, Noem said full transparency would serve both public confidence and officer protection. “When full footage is available, it often dispels misinformation and shows the incredibly dangerous situations our agents face daily,” she said.

President Donald Trump signaled his support for Noem’s decision during a meeting at the White House, calling it “a good thing for law enforcement.” “People can’t lie about what’s happening when there’s video,” Trump said.

The move represents a shift in policy for DHS under the Trump administration, which had previously rescinded a Biden-era executive order requiring body-worn cameras for federal officers. Noem’s decision effectively restores that requirement in one of the department’s most politically volatile jurisdictions.

The White House said the program will be funded initially from existing DHS enforcement budgets, but additional resources for nationwide implementation were included in the bipartisan funding package passed by the Senate last week. That bill, which provides an extra $20 million for camera procurement, awaits House approval as part of broader government funding negotiations.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz criticized the administration for waiting until after the shootings to impose the policy. “This should have happened long before federal officers killed two Americans,” Walz said in a post on X.