After federal immigration agents shot and killed Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, FBI Director Kash Patel said people cannot bring loaded firearms to protests. Laws vary by state, but the law in Minnesota, and many other states, makes guns at protests legal.

Some states have even more permissive laws than Minnesota, allowing people to bring guns to protests even if they don’t have concealed carry permits. Some states have laws that ban guns at protests, but Minnesota’s concealed carry law for guns does not. They agreed that Patel was wrong about the Minnesota law, although they cautioned that some states do ban guns at protests. Some states have laws that ban guns at protests, but Minnesota’s concealed carry law does not include such a ban. Some states’ laws are more permissive than Minnesota, allowing people to bring guns to protests even if they don’t have a concealed carry permit, as Pretti did.