Clad in tactical gear with a helmet and hurling a tear-gas canister at protesters, Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino has become the public face of US President Donald Trump’s aggressive deportation campaign.
Bovino’s public profile rose further in recent days as he defended violent immigration sweeps in Minneapolis, which culminated Saturday with federal agents fatally shooting 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti, the second citizen to be killed in the heavily Democratic northern city in several weeks.
The Trump administration swiftly accused Pretti of seeking to harm immigration agents, saying he was in possession of a pistol, despite footage from the scene showing that Pretti never drew a weapon, as agents fired multiple shots after throwing him to the ground.
Bovino doubled down, saying it was the agents, not Pretti, who were the victims in the confrontation.
Greg Bovino accompanied by federal agents at a petrol station. Photo: Reuters
“The fact that they’re highly trained prevented any specific shootings of law enforcement, so good job for our law enforcement in taking him down before he was able to do that,” Bovino told CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday.