“Look, Dana,” Bovino continued in the interview. “(These people) paint our ICE agents as Gestapo, Nazis and say many other unpleasant things about them. This is the result of the violent, inflammatory rhetoric of Governor Waltz and Mayor Frey.” Bovino suggested that Democratic politicians from Minnesota were partly responsible for the shooting of a passerby on the street because he threatened ICE agents with a drawn weapon.
During the interview, Bovino wore his usual crew cut and uniform. He is known for his martial appearances, always surrounded by an entourage of heavily armed and masked ICE agents. Bovino often has smoke grenades attached to his bulletproof vest, or he wears a double-breasted coat with epaulettes and brass buttons that is visually reminiscent of the M40 winter coat of the German Wehrmacht. The Soviet dictator Josef Stalin also wore such a winter coat. California’s Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom already called Bovino “Gestapo Greg” on X.
However, the CNN anchor did not let Bovino’s claims go unchallenged. She asked him several times: “What evidence do you have that Pretti wanted to attack the ICE agents? The pictures clearly show from all angles that he was attacked by the ICE agents when he was simply trying to help a woman who was being taken to the ground. So what evidence do you have that he wanted to attack the ICE agents?”
“We don’t need anyone to help us with an operation. He knew it was an active operation (…) and he knew there was nothing to worry about,” Bovino replied. The commander of the US Border Patrol referred to Pretti as a “suspect” throughout the interview. “He’s not the only one who brings a loaded gun to a riot. “With all due respect,” Bash replied, “but it sounds a little like they’re blaming the victim for what happened.”
