Former U.S. Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino's use of a chemical irritant on Minnesotans protesting large-scale immigration operations is one of several incidents being investigated by the Hennepin County Attorney's Office.
The investigation is part of a new initiative to collect and assess evidence submitted by the public to identify "potentially unlawful behavior by federal agents" during Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced on Monday.
Through the Transparency and Accountability Project's online portal, the public can "share photos, videos, and descriptions of any incidents that may involve unlawful conduct by federal agents," Moriarty said in a statement. The project is staffed by county prosecutors and a civilian investigator.
That team "is actively investigating 17 incidents that have been brought to our attention by the community, including Gregory Kent Bovino’s actions near Mueller Park on January 21,” Moriarty said. “We will investigate and pursue charging where appropriate, and we’ll seek collaboration with local law enforcement wherever and whenever needed.”
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said in a statement that the inquiry into Bovino's immigration enforcement tactics "does nothing to make Minnesota safer. Enforcing federal immigration laws is a clear federal responsibility under Article I, Article II and the Supremacy Clause."
"What these states are trying to do is unlawful, and they know it," the spokesperson continued. "Federal officials acting in the course of their duties are immune from liability under state law."
Bovino served as the leading figure in Operation Metro Surge, which the Department of Homeland Security had billed as its largest immigration enforcement operation to date. Bovino also led other similar large-scale immigration operations in cities like Chicago and Los Angeles.
On Jan. 21, Bovino was filmed deploying gas on Minneapolis demonstrators.
“Third warning. Gas, gas, gas,” Bovino shouts, before tossing a canister at a crowd, green smoke bursting over them.
On the same day at another clash between protesters and immigration officers, a photographer for the Minnesota Star Tribune newspaper captured an image showing federal immigration agents spraying chemical irritants directly at a man's face while he was already pinned to the ground.
The confrontations came two weeks after an immigration officer shot and killed Renee Nicole Good, a U.S. citizen. Another U.S. citizen, Alex Pretti, was also killed by a federal immigration agent days after the confrontations.
Other online portals previously opened by the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office to collect evidence from the public in the fatal shootings of Good and Pretti have served their purpose and have been closed, Moriarty said Monday.
The evidence obtained through those portals in connection to Good and Pretti's killings is now in the hands of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which is interviewing witnesses and building a case file that will be turned over to county prosecutors, the Minnesota Star Tribune reported.
The Trump administration deployed more than 3,000 officers and agents from ICE, CBP and other federal agencies into the Twin Cities area beginning in November — resulting in the arrests of 4,000 people and triggering anti-ICE demonstrations.
Bovino was removed from his role as commander in late Januaryand returned to his previous job as sector chief in El Centro, California.
Last month, President Donald Trump’s border czar Tom Homan announced the end of operation and Homeland Security officials told NBC News the agency planned of scaling back those specific types of immigration enforcement operations.
