Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino came to blows with CNN anchor Dana Bash as she challenged him Sunday on his defense of the fatal shooting of nurse Alex Pretti by a border patrol agent.
Bovino, 57, appeared in his new “Nazi-style” uniform on State of the Union, where he was ripped by Bash for offering justifications that “fly in the face” of video evidence of the shooting Saturday in Minneapolis.
“Why was an unarmed man shot multiple times by law enforcement, by your Border Patrol agents?” Bash asked at one point, after showing a clip that appeared to show a gun being removed from Pretti’s person before the shooting.
“Dana, you don’t know he was unarmed. I don’t know he was unarmed. That’s freeze frame adjudication of a crime scene, via a photo. That’s why we have investigators. That’s why we have an investigation that is going to answer those questions,” Bovino said.
He mused to himself: “How many shots were fired? Who fired shots? Where were the guns? Where were the guns located? All those questions are going to be answered.”
“Sir, I think you can see the screen,” Bash interrupted, attempting to bring Bovino’s attention back to video evidence.
Bovino refused to acknowledge the running video, complaining: “We’re not going to adjudicate that here on TV in one freeze frame there.”
“Okay, it’s not a freeze frame. We’re showing a video of one of your agents taking the gun away. And that happened before Pretti was shot,” Bash replied.
But Bonvino continued to argue with the footage in front of him.
“We don’t know that agent was taking any gun away. That could have been the agents’. Because we don‘t know that. The facts are going to come to light.” Bovino said.
“Well, with respect, you say that‘s why we investigate. But you‘re also drawing other conclusions that sort of fly in the face of waiting for an investigation,” Bash said.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had claimed at her press conference Saturday that Pretti, 37, was an “armed suspect” and “reacted violently” in the confrontation.
Using one of Noem’s knee-jerk conclusions as an example, Bash prompted: “I just want to also go back to what I was asking about with regard to what Secretary Noem said, that he was brandishing a gun.
Bash cut in to ask whether he was disputing the video evidence, to which Bovino answered, “That’s why we investigate.”
“At any point, do you have any evidence that—yes, he had a gun on his person—was he brandishing it? Was he a threat because he had a gun in his hand that put law enforcement in danger?”
Bovino danced around the question, responding: “Dana, we heard the law enforcement officer say, ‘Gun,gun, gun.’ So at some point they knew there was a gun.”
He added: “So again, that is going to be part of that investigation as to what was happening on the ground there between those victims; the Border Patrol agent victims, and the suspect.”
Bash then raised a point close to many MAGA devotees’ hearts—the right to bear arms—and asked whether the right still existed, considering Pretti was legally licensed to carry a concealed weapon when he was shot.
“So 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—but his Second Amendment right to carry a gun?” she asked. “And if you do, you can be shot by federal law enforcement?”
A cornered Bovino seemed to suggest that amendment rights might apply more firmly for some than others.
“No, I didn’t say that, Dana. I never said that. What I’m saying is we respect that Second Amendment right,” he said, without acknowledging the First.
He then hedged: “But those rights don’t—those rights don’t count—when you riot and assault, delay, obstruct and impede law enforcement officers."
