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Who is Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino?
Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino has been spotted in the Twin Cities as thousands of federal immigration agents descend on Minnesota.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - As a central figure in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown efforts, Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino was found by a federal judge to have been "evasive", "not credible", and was "outright lying" at times when questioned under oath about how agents used force against the public.
Bovino ‘not credible’ during recorded testimony
What we know:
The FOX 9 Investigators reviewed hours of depositions, body camera footage and court filings which involve Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino’s conduct and leadership during Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago last fall.
As part of a civil lawsuit filed against DHS, Bovino was questioned under oath during which Judge Sara Ellis described him as "not credible."
"Bovino appeared evasive over the three days of his deposition, either providing ‘cute’ responses… or outright lying," Judge Ellis said in her written ruling in November.
DHS did not respond to requests for an interview or questions about Bovino.
Who is Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bavino?
The backstory:
Bovino gained notoriety last year when the Trump administration launched its immigration enforcement operations in major cities last year, including Los Angeles and Chicago.
He has since been seen on the ground in Minnesota as the federal government deploys thousands of immigration agents in the state.
Last week, Bovino stood alongside Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem as she defended the ICE agent who shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good.
Bovino: ‘All uses of force have been more than exemplary’
Dig deeper:
Videos from Chicago show Bovino deploying tear gas at a crowd of protesters in Chicago despite being told by one of his own agents that it wasn’t necessary.
"If you need to deploy gas, deploy [expletive] gas," Bovino said in the video.
During recorded depositions a month later, Bovino admitted that he "did not give a warning" prior to deploying tear gas canisters toward the public.
Yet, Bovino insisted during his testimony that "all uses of force have been more than exemplary."
Judge Ellis also found Bovino was "outright lying" at times during his depositions, including when he was questioned about a video that shows Bovino clearly using physical force against a protester.
Bovino repeatedly denied tackling the man to the ground despite the video showing otherwise.
Bovino 'lied multiple times' about why he deployed tear gas
Why you should care:
On another occasion, the judge found Bovino "lied multiple times" about why he deployed tear gas on a crowd in Chicago in October, indicating at first that he was hit in the head by a rock. That claim was echoed by DHS in a social media post.
However, during the three days of testimony, Bovino gave conflicting accounts of why he deployed tear gas.
At one point, Bovino acknowledged that a rock "did not hit me in the head, but it did almost hit me." On the final day of testimony, Bovino said he "was mistaken" and that he deployed tear gas canisters before a rock was thrown at him.
Judge Ellis ultimately found the Department of Homeland Security’s "widespread misrepresentations" called into question everything the federal government said they were doing.