News Beat
Greg Bovino set to leave Minneapolis and could ‘retire’ in wake of Alex Pretti killing, report says
Border Patrol “commander at large” Gregory Bovino has been removed from his role and will return back to his old job in California, according to reports.
Bovino, who has been heavily involved in crackdowns on immigration across the country, will return to El Centro and is expected to retire soon, a DHS official and two other sources told The Atlantic.
However, in an online statement DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin denied the claims.
“Chief Gregory Bovino has NOT been relieved of his duties,” she wrote on X in response to the reports, adding that Bovino “is a key part of the President’s team and a great American.”
It comes following the recent chaotic events in Minneapolis, in which two protesters have been shot dead by federal agents in less than three weeks. Renee Nicole Good was shot by an ICE agent on January 7 and ICU nurse Alex Pretti was killed Saturday.
Bovino was set to leave Minneapolis as soon as Tuesday, CNN reported. However news of his role change had not been specified. Meanwhile CNN reports that the Bovino has also had his access to his social media accounts cut off, effective immediately.
Bovino previously blamed Democrats and journalists for the escalating situation in Minneapolis, and dodged questions on whether his agency bore responsibility for the tragedies.
Footage captured from multiple angles showed how 37-year-old Pretti was sprayed in the face with mace and thrown to the ground by officers before being beaten and ultimately shot multiple times.
“When politicians, community leaders and some journalists engage in that heated rhetoric we keep talking about, when they make the choice to vilify law enforcement, calling law enforcement names like Gestapo or using the term kidnapping, that is a choice that has made their actions and consequences that come from those choices,” Bovino said Sunday.
“When someone chooses to listen to a politician, a so-called journalist, or a community leader that spouts that type of vilification towards law enforcement or anything else… there are consequences and actions there also, I think we saw that [Saturday],” he added
When asked if he or the Department of Homeland Security intended to take any responsibility for the fatal shootings, Bovino dodged the question, describing Pretti and Good as “suspects” who “assault, delay, obstruct or threaten a law enforcement officer’s life.”
The removal of Bovino and his agents from the city appeared to mark a shift in tone from the Trump administration in its handling of the situation in Minnesota, which has seen an explosion in tension between protesters and law enforcement following the two fatal shootings.
On Monday, the president spoke with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz in separate and seemingly positive conversations.
In a Monday afternoon statement, Frey said Trump “agreed the present situation can’t continue” in the city, adding: “Some federal agents will begin leaving the area tomorrow, and I will continue pushing for the rest involved in this operation to go.”
Walz said that during their conversation the president agreed to “look into reducing the number of federal agents in Minnesota.”
Meanwhile, Trump described both his conversations with the Minnesota leaders as “very good.”
The president also announced that he would be sending his border czar, Tom Homan, to oversee ICE operations in Minnesota from now on, describing him as “tough but fair.” Homan will report directly to Trump, the president confirmed.
