The man behind America’s most hostile immigration crackdown won’t be having a second act as a social media star.
The Trump administration has finally seized ousted Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino’s three social media accounts after a monthslong battle in which he refused to return them despite being federal property, the Washington Examiner reported.
Bovino grew the El Centro Sector’s official Facebook, Instagram, and X accounts to a combined 850,000 followers after he rebranded them with his name and became known for aggressive videos of him going after immigrants, flanked by masked agents.
But after Bovino was elevated to lead Border Patrol’s operations across the country earlier this year by then-Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and her de facto chief adviser and alleged lover Corey Lewandowski, he reportedly ignored Commissioner Rodney Scott’s request to hand over the El Centro accounts, various sources told the Examiner.
“Bovino refused, arguing that the followers were his, he said he earned the followers and that his followers expected him to post from new cities,” one person told the outlet. “It was all about Greg Bovino getting attention and nothing else.”
Another DHS official told the outlet: “When Bovino took those accounts, they told him not to. He said, ‘Those are my followers, so I’m taking them with me.’”
In fact, it was Lewadowski who threw his support behind Bovino’s social media stardom and helped him keep his accounts, sources told the Examiner.
Bovino was often photographed in the middle of the madness his immigration sweeps created, wearing a long trench coat and a scowl while lobbing gas canisters and jostling with protesters. By the end of his national tour, one official told the New York Times, Bovino was deliberately staging confrontations at convenience stores and on the street to generate content for social media.
It was only when Noem was forced out of her post and replaced with former MAGA Sen. Markwayne Mullin that Bovino’s accounts were finally wrestled from his grasp.
Bovino confirmed he would leave the agency at the end of March after nearly 30 years, after he presided over violent clashes between protesters and federal agents that culminated in the killings of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis: Alex Pretti and Renee Good.
Three officials told the Examiner that they’d hoped to avoid any further infighting until Bovino’s departure. But he made waves after the New York Times published a lengthy profile in the last week of his tenure, where he lobbed several shots at the “weaker-minded people” who disapprove of his brutal methods—including his own colleagues.
The Daily Beast has reached out to CBP for comment. Bovino could not immediately be reached for comment.
