Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino has reportedly been locked out of his social media accounts by the DHS.
The controversial border agent had begun trolling both Republicans and Democrats who criticized his stance on the fatal shooting of 37-year-old nurse Alex Pretti.
Pretti was killed on Saturday by CBP agents, with DHS Secretary Kristi Noem suggesting that he had “brandished” a weapon at an ICE protest. That account has been disputed.
A source told CNN that Bovino had access to his @CMDROpAtLargeCA account for his online spats. During one virtual clash, he accused Texas Representative James Talarico of “spreading lies and fueling violence.”
Bovino was responding to Talarico pointing out that Pretti’s killing followed the shooting of Renee Good.
He also attacked GOP lawmaker Thomas Massie for suggesting that carrying a firearm does not entitle law enforcement to take lethal action.
“Attacking law enforcement is not a right like you want it to be,” Bovino raged.
The news comes after reports suggested that Bovino is expected to leave Minneapolis and will be replaced with border czar Tom Homan, who will report directly to Donald Trump.
Has Trump realised how angry Americans are over the killing of Alex Pretti?
Days after Alex Pretti’s shooting in Minneapolis, Trump sent Tom Homan to the city, describing the border czar as “tough but fair.”
Three hours later, the president posted another message describing a “very good call” he’d had with Walz where he promised the governor that he’d have Homan get in touch with him and said the federal government’s request for cooperation from Minnesota law enforcement was to provide “any and all criminals that they have in their possession.”
Trump seems to have reversed his hardline position on the immigration crackdown in Minnesota. But why? And how long can that last?
Andrew Feinberg has the full story…
Who is controverisal, Trump-appointed Border Czar Tom Homan?
Homan has made headlines for his harsh stance on immigration enforcement, but actually gained national attention while working for ICE during the Obama administration.
He started his career as a border patrol agent back in 1984 before moving to ICE, where he received the Presidential Rank Award.
Homan’s hardline views on immigration align closely with Trump’s huge deportation plans.
“I will run the biggest deportation operation this country’s ever seen,” Homan said in 2024.
Safiyah Riddle has the full story…
Watch: Trump’s NATO comments continue to spark fury in the United Kingdom
British broadcaster Piers Morgan addressed the fury on his Talk TV show, while speaking to his brother Jeremy, who is an army veteran.
“Can you imagine if I had been killed out there and our mother heard those words,” Jeremy raged. “It would be a complete kick in the stomach to have it recycled by him in such a flagrantly ignorant and wrong way.”
Trump had previously played down the role of NATO in the war in Afghanistan, questioning whether the U.S. “ever needed them.” He also suggested that NATO forces remained behind the front line, while American troops fought.
Bovino blocked from using social media by the DHS
Border patrol official Gregory Bovino has had his access to social media revoked, a source close to the matter told CNN.
The controversial border agent had been trolling his critics rom his @CMDROpAtLargeCA account by sharing mugshots of immigrants who had been arrested.
He also responded aggressively to both GOP and Democratic lawmakers on X, defending the shooting of Alex Pretti.
“Carrying a firearm is not a death sentence, it’s a Constitutionally protected God-given right and if you don’t understand this you have no business in law enforcement or government.”” GOP Congressman Thomas Massie wrote.
“Attacking law enforcement is not a right like you want it to be,” Bovino fired back.
He also suggested Texas Representative James Talarico was “spreading lies and fueling violence” for pointing out that Pretti’s shooting came weeks after the killing of Renee Good.
‘A.I.-enhanced’ images of Alex Pretti’s shooting are going viral
Photographs of Alex Pretti’s shooting, which have been enhanced with A.I., are going viral, according to the BBC.
Users are trying to use the software to determine whether or not the 37-year-old nurse was holding a gun, as DHS Kristi Noem has claimed.
However, warns generative-AI expert Henry Ajder told the BBC that using the software for this purpose was not reliable.
“AI-enhancement tools don’t have some privileged knowledge of the reality that lies beneath a low-quality image. Instead, they approximate what an enhanced version of an image could look like,” he said.
“The risk is people confuse AI-enhancement, which is effectively a prediction, with new knowledge,” Adjer added.
White House blames Minnesota Democrats for Alex Pretti killing
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the shooting and killing by a federal immigration officer of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis “occurred as a result of a deliberate and hostile resistance by Democrat leaders in Minnesota.”
White House blames Democrats and distances Trump from Alex Pretti ‘assassin’ remarks
Full story: Greg Bovino set to leave Minneapolis and could ‘retire’ in wake of Alex Pretti killing, report says
Bovino, who has been heavily involved in crackdowns on immigration across the country, will return to El Centro and could even “retire soon,” a DHS official and two other sources told The Atlantic.
However, in an online statement, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin strongly 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.”
Read on…
Cruz advises Trump administration to cool the rhetoric after federal immigration agent-involved shootings
Senator Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, has advised the Trump administration to cool the rhetoric after two U.S. citizens were fatally shot by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis in the past month.
“The administration is doing a fantastic job securing the border….they’re doing a terrific job going and arresting violent criminals, murderers and rapists and gang bangers…What I think the administration could do better is the tone with which they’re describing this,” Cruz recently said on his podcast.
He continued: “Escalating the rhetoric doesn’t help. And it actually loses credibility. And so I, I would encourage the administration to be more measured, to recognize the tragedy and to say, we don’t want anyone’s lives to be lost.”
Fetterman refuses to support a government shutdown after Democrats vow to oppose spending bill with ICE funding
Senator John Fetterman, a Pennsylvania Democrat, has refused to support a government shutdown after Democrats vowed to oppose a spending bill with funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
After Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen, was fatally shot by a Border Patrol officer in Minneapolis Saturday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said, “What’s happening in Minnesota is appalling —and unacceptable in any American city…Senate Democrats will not provide the votes to proceed to the appropriations bill if the DHS funding bill is included.”
In a Fox News interview Monday, Fetterman said, “I absolutely hope we can engage in a debate and make some kinds of the common sense reforms on ICE and make it more safe, more humane…but for me, I remain to be the one Democrat, at least, that refuses to shut our government down.”
Trump ‘concerned’ over Alex Pretti shooting: report
President Donald Trump is “concerned” about the sustainability of the immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis following the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by a Border Patrol officer on Saturday, according to a new NBC News report.
“The president, I think, is obviously concerned about what he saw over the weekend,” one unnamed Trump adviser told the outlet, “He has always been exceptionally good at reading public perception, and understands this has not been handled well.”
Pretti’s death has caused more public outcry in an already tense situation between the Trump administration and Americans across the country who oppose its mass deportation efforts and the tactics agents are using to carry it out.
The Independent has reached out to the White House for comment.
Source: independent.co.uk