Greg Bovino blamed politicians, activists and media rhetoric for disrupting a targeted arrest and allowing a criminal suspect to remain at large after agents were assaulted and forced to withdraw.
Federal officials say violent unrest in Minneapolis directly derailed an immigration arrest, leaving a suspect with a serious criminal history at large while a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent was permanently maimed after a protester bit off part of his finger.
[snip]
As a result, he said, the suspect escaped custody – a failure he blamed solely on the decisions made by politicians, activists and those who confronted law enforcement officials.
“This individual is still roaming the streets today,” Bovino said. “This individual walks the streets today because of those choices made by politicians and those, perhaps, weaker-minded constituents that chose to follow directions of those politicians. Sad state of affairs.”
People yell at U.S. Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino and other agents while they stop at a gas station while conducting an immigration enforcement action on Dec. 17, 2025 in Evanston, Ill. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
[snip]
Federal officials identified the man fatally shot by a Border Patrol agent in Minneapolis on Saturday as Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a member of the American Federation of Government Employees. Pretti, 37, lived in Minneapolis and worked as an intensive care unit nurse at a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs hospital.
Authorities said Pretti was shot during an early-morning immigration enforcement operation targeting Jose Huerta-Chuma, an illegal immigrant with a criminal history that includes domestic assault involving intentional bodily harm, disorderly conduct and driving without a valid license.
A screengrab from a video shows a law enforcement officer spraying irritants at Alex Pretti before he was fatally shot by federal agents in Minneapolis on Jan. 24, 2026. (Reuters)
Medical personnel rendered aid at the scene, but Pretti was pronounced dead. State officials said Pretti possessed a valid permit to carry a firearm.
[snip]
ICE Executive Assistant Director of Enforcement and Removal Operations Marcos Charles said during Sunday’s press conference that there has been an uptick in violence against federal law enforcement officials in Minneapolis and across the country.
Officials said Minnesota anti-ICE protesters allegedly bit off the finger of a federal agent. (Tricia McLaughlin/X)
[snip]
“The protester literally bit off part of that agent’s finger,” Charles said, adding that the officer received immediate medical attention at the scene and was taken to a hospital. “The officer is recovering but is now permanently maimed and has lost part of his finger.”
A protester allegedly bit off a finger of a federal agent in Minnesota, according to officials. (Tricia McLaughlin/X)
“The reality is – and this is what Commander Bovino and I have been talking about all week – we’re out here to arrest dangerous criminal illegal aliens so they can’t victimize innocent people in our communities anymore,” Charles added.
Charles said that since the beginning of ICE operations in Minnesota, the agency has arrested more than 3,400 illegal aliens, removing “criminals, gang members and terrorists” from local communities.
* Original Article:
https://www.foxnews.com/us/ice-says-violent-mob-helped-criminal-escape-left-ice-agent-permanently-maimed