During a social media exchange on Monday, January 26, 2026, U.S. Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino was publicly confronted by CNN’s Jake Tapper with court documents showing that Bovino had previously lied in legal proceedings.
The confrontation began after Bovino defended the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis, claiming the victim intended to “massacre law enforcement”. Tapper responded by citing a November 2025 ruling by Federal Judge Lara Ellis, which stated that
Bovino had admitted in a deposition to lying “multiple times” about his actions during a 2020 protest in Chicago. In response to insinuations about his credibility, Bovino challenged Tapper on X (formerly Twitter), writing, “Then identify the lie, Jake. No one can seem to find this mysterious ‘lie'”.
Tapper replied with a series of screenshots from the judge’s ruling, which noted that while Bovino claimed he deployed tear gas because a rock hit him in the head, video evidence and his own later testimony proved this was false.
Following this public “self-own” and the fallout from the Minneapolis shooting, Bovino was removed from his command in Minnesota and reassigned to his former post in El Centro, California. Additionally, high-ranking officials at U.S. Customs and Border Protection revoked his access to social media.
By Anthony Solly
