ICE Leader Calls Border Agents «Victims» After Alex Pretti’s Death

n an interview on CNN's State of the Union, hosted by Dana Bash, Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino, who has overseen the controversial federal immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis, defended his agents' conduct after the fatal shooting of 37-year-old ICU nurse and protester Alex Pretti, who was shot and killed by a U.S. Border Patrol agent during protests earlier this month. Pretti's death — the second fatal shooting by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis within weeks following the death of Renee Good — has sparked widespread protests and intense scrutiny of the operation's tactics. Bash repeatedly pressed Bovino over his characterization of Pretti as a “suspect” and challenged discrepancies between the official account and video footage showing Pretti holding only a phone before he was pepper-sprayed and subdued. Under continued questioning, Bovino asserted that his agents were “the victims,” a claim that has drawn sharp criticism from local officials and civil-rights advocates as controversy over federal use of force in the city grows.

In the same interview on CNN's State of the Union, Dana Bash directly challenged Gregory Bovino's framing of the killing, telling him, «It feels as though in some ways you're blaming the victim here.» Bovino pushed back immediately, replying, «The victim?» before asserting, «The victims are the Border Patrol agents.» He went on to argue that Alex Pretti was responsible for his own death, claiming the protester had deliberately «injected» himself into a federal law enforcement operation and was «more than likely» present with the intent to assault officers. «The suspect put himself in that situation.» Bovino said, reinforcing his portrayal of Pretti as a threat rather than a victim as scrutiny over the federal agents' use of force continues to intensify.

In the interview, Bash pressed Bovino to clarify messaging from figures aligned with the Trump administration who blamed Pretti for bringing a gun to the protest, despite the fact that he held a lawful concealed carry permit and that all publicly available videos show him holding a phone, not a firearm, at the time he was shot. Challenging the administration's argument that Pretti posed a direct threat to federal agents, Bash asked, «Are you saying it's not okay for him to exercise his Second Amendment right, not to mention his First Amendment right to be there in the first place, and if you do you can be shot by federal law enforcement?» Bovino rejected that interpretation of his remarks, responding simply, «No, I didn't say that», as scrutiny continued over the justification offered by federal authorities for the use of lethal force.

In multiple videos filmed by bystanders who witnessed the fatal encounter, Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse at the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Health Care System, is seen holding a phone as he rushes toward a woman who had been violently pushed to the ground by a federal agent during the protest. As Pretti attempts to help her back to her feet, he is abruptly targeted by agents surrounding the scene, pepper-sprayed in the face, grabbed, and forced toward a group of officers. The footage shows Pretti being struck repeatedly as several agents converge on him, with one officer appearing to hit him with a firearm. In the seconds before he was shot multiple times, video evidence reviewed by independent news organizations shows an agent removing a gun and moving away from Pretti, while other agents are heard yelling “gun” even though the recordings show Pretti holding only a phone, images that have become central to questions surrounding the use of force by federal agents during the protest.

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