Footage of a US Border Patrol commander performing a controversial public salute has become the centre of a heated online debate this week, with critics slamming the motion as 'Nazi-coded'.
Greg Bovino was seen parading through the streets of Minneapolis towards the end of last week and over the weekend, flanked by hundreds of federal agents supposedly tasked with cracking down on illegal immigration in the city, under the instruction of Donald Trump.
Days later, less than a few miles away, an eight-year Border Patrol veteran fatally shot a 37-year-old intensive care nurse named Alex Pretti attending a protest, on 24 Jan.
His murder by an immigration agent marks the second in the state since the start of this year, after mother-of-three Renee Good, also 37, was shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent while she was sitting behind the wheel of her car.
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In the days prior to the killing, unnerving viral videos showed Bovino brutally yelling at attending demonstrators.
He first became involved in Trump's immigration policy during the Republican's first term in 2016, and picked up where he left off when his second stint commenced last January.
Wearing a forest green double-breasted overcoat, complete with epaulettes, brass buttons and pointed cuffs, the 57-year-old was subjected to accusations of sporting a get-up that resembled the M40 overcoats worn by Nazi officers during the Third Reich.
According to critics, this assertion was subsequently supported by a clip of Bovino raising his arm to the sky as he tore through the city this weekend, in a style not too dissimilar from those exhibited by fascist SS officers in the 1930s.
Amongst those to have made this alarming comparison is California governor Gavin Newsom, who slammed the move as 'Nazi-coded'.
The liberal leader's team wrote online on Thursday (22 Jan): "Greg Bovino is walking the streets of America dressed up as a Nazi. His uniform looks like SS garb he bought from eBay."
Another user agreed with the same assertion: "The picture of small man syndrome."
"It could or could not be a Nazi salute, but when you look at it in the context of everything else he has said and done," a third continued.
A fourth went on to note: "Gregory Bovino has an awfully strange way of 'saluting his troops.'"
"When your 'salute' looks straight out of a 1939 newsreel, people are going to notice," another also added. "That’s not honoring troops.
"That’s flirting with fascism and hoping no one calls it out. Spoiler: we see it."
Pointing out that the uniform is the least of our concerns, TikTok user and political commentator @nowthisimpact hit out at the salute, pointing out why this, linked this Bovino's increasingly aggressive mannerisms, has sparked so much concern amongst left-leaning Americans.
"He's led the most violent of the ICE raids, getting into multiple legal battles about his tactics," the content creator explained. "Like using force against protestors, clergy and journalists in Chicago."
The latter remark likely referenced his authorised attack of Pastor David Black with a pepper ball back in October.
"The guy literally led a midnight raid into an apartment building and arrested children," they continued. "Agents use Black Hawk helicopters and flash bang grenades, then they filmed it for propaganda.
"He was also behind the operation in Minneapolis when Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE agent."
Of the killing of 37-year-old protestor and nurse Pretti this weekend, Bovino blamed the victim in a bombshell statement today, whilst hitting back at claims his agents deserve to be likened to the Gestapo.
"When politicians, community leaders and some journalists engage in that heated rhetoric we keep talking about, when they make the choice to vilify law enforcement, calling law enforcement names like Gestapo or using the term kidnapping, that is a choice that has made their actions and consequences that come from those choices," Bovino said in a statement.
"When someone chooses to listen to a politician, a so-called journalist, or a community leader that spouts that type of vilification towards law enforcement or anything else… there are consequences and actions there also, I think we saw that yesterday."
ICE in Minnesota: a timeline of events
Dec 2025: Trump sends thousands of ICE agents to Minneapolis
In late December 2025, with reports emerging around January 6 (the five-year anniversary of the Capitol Riots), President Donald Trump sent around 2,000 ICE agents into Minneapolis to crack down on immigration.
This was reportedly due to, more specifically, allegations of fraud aimed at Somalian residents.
Jan 7: ICE agent Jonathan Ross kills Renee Good
On January 7, ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed mother-of-three Renee Good at the scene of an ICE raid in southern Minnesota. Good’s car was stopped sideways, in what is believed to have been an attempt to block ICE agents from passing.
As Good went to reverse her vehicle away from the agents, Ross shot her at least two times, once in the face. Good died at the scene.
Jan 7: Protests break out in Minneapolis
Following the killing of Renee Good, protests broke out in Minneapolis that same night. Protests are still ongoing at the time of writing (January 19), and tensions remain high in the twin cities.
Jan 12: Minnesota sues the Trump administration
On January 12, the state of Minnesota filed a motion in federal court to sue the Trump administration in an attempt to block the surge of ICE agents. Minnesota's Attorney General Keith Ellison said immigration operations have caused ‘chaos and violence’ for millions of people and disrupted their lives.
Jan 13: ICE drags disabled woman from car
On January 13, on a street in Minnesota City, ICE agents were caught on camera dragging an unknown disabled woman from her car. This happened just two blocks from where Good was shot.
The woman shouted at the time: “I’ve been beat up by police before. I’m disabled, I’m trying to go to the doctor up there, that’s why I couldn’t move. I am an autistic disabled person, I’m trying to go to the doctor.”
The Independent reports that ‘tear gas, flash bang grenades and pepper balls were also fired towards the protesters during the stand-off’.
Jan 14: Venezuelan man shot by ICE
A Venezuelan man was shot in the leg by ICE officers on January 14 during an alleged traffic stop. It’s been reported that during the traffic stop, the officer was attacked by another individual in the car with a ‘snow shovel and broom handle’, which is allegedly why they opened fire on two individuals. The man who was shot has not yet been identified.
Jan 15: Trump threatens insurrection
Trump has not reacted well to the protests and took to Truth Social to threaten Minnesota with insurrection. On January 15, he said: “If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT,.”
Jan 18: 1,500 US troops on standby for deployment
On January 18, officials confirmed that 1,500 soldiers are on standby for deployment to Minneapolis. The troops are currently in Alaska, and no official word has been given to send them in as of yet.
Minnesota officials have asked protesters to stay ‘peaceful’ and ‘orderly’. This comes after Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis told ICE to ‘get the f*ck out’.
January 24: ICU nurse Alex Pretti shot by US Border Patrol
ICU nurse for United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Alex Pretti, was shot and killed by Border Patrol Agents in Minneapolis in the midst of citywide protests against Trump's immigration crackdown. He was a 37 year old US citizen.
Topics: Politics, Donald Trump, US News, News
Rhianna Benson