Free Republic

CNN reported Monday that controversial Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino will be leaving Minneapolis, where he has been overseeing operations and vehemently defending officers following the shooting death of 37-year-old Alex Pretti. Anderson Cooper broke the news Monday afternoon, saying, “Sources tell CNN that top Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino and some of his agents are expected to leave Minneapolis tomorrow,” before tossing to reporter Priscilla Alvarez. “This really is a major shift in strategy here by the Trump administration,” Alvarez began. “Recall, Gregory Bovino has been a key player in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and became, in many...

Brief summary of the video: The YouTube video (from WCCO - CBS Minnesota, uploaded January 24, 2026) is a ~7-minute clip of a press conference by U.S. Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino. He discusses a fatal shooting that morning in south Minneapolis during a targeted DHS operation involving Border Patrol agents. Key points from Bovino's statements: The suspect was identified as Jose Werta Chuma (described as an undocumented immigrant with prior criminal history including domestic assault and disorderly conduct). During the operation, the man allegedly approached agents armed with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun and extra loaded magazines. Agents attempted to...

Lawmakers are seeking answers about the director of national intelligence’s presence at a search of the Fulton County elections office. Democratic senators called Thursday for a briefing on why Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard joined an FBI search of the Fulton County, Georgia, elections office related to the 2020 presidential election.“What the heck is she doing on the FBI serving a domestic warrant? If this doesn’t concern the heck out of every American, it sure as hell should,” said Sen. Mark Warner, the ranking member on the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is requesting the briefing from Gabbard’s office. “This...

Alex Pretti had been injured in a scuffle with federal agents in Minneapolis just one week before he was shot dead, it has emerged. Pretti, 37, was left with a broken rib after being tackled by a group of officers during a protest against Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, a source told CNN. The alleged assault occurred after Pretti stopped his car after seeing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers chasing a family on foot, the insider said. Pretti allegedly began shouting and blowing a whistle, and was then tackled to the ground by five agents. The source claimed one officer...

The death of Alex Pretti, the Minneapolis man killed by federal agents, has been ruled a homicide, the Hennepin County medical examiner’s office said. Pretti was shot Jan. 24 during a chaotic encounter with federal immigration officers in Minneapolis. Citing government records, ProPublica identified Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez as the two officers who fired at Pretti. The news outlet reports that Ochoa has been a Border Patrol agent since 2018, while Guituerrez had been with CBP since 2014.

Republicans have faced a bitter blow after a set of special election results on Sunday morning revealed that a former GOP stronghold has flipped to the Democrats. On the state level, Democrat Taylor Rehmet flipped the 9th District in the Texas State Senate, defeating Republican Leigh Wambsganss in a runoff.The Fort Worth-area district went for Donald Trump by 17 points in 2024 - and the sweeping win this weekend could offer warning signs for Republicans ahead of this November's midterm elections. The president had urged his supporters to vote for Wambsganss in Saturday's election in a Truth Social post.Rehmet, a...

Democrat Taylor Rehmet won a special election for the Texas state Senate on Saturday, flipping a reliably Republican district that President Donald Trump won by 17 points in 2024. Rehmet, a labor union leader and veteran, easily defeated Republican Leigh Wambsganss, a conservative activist, in the Fort Worth-area district. With almost all votes counted, Rehmet had a comfortable lead of more than 14 percentage points.

Democrats scored a stunning upset on Saturday in a special election runoff for Texas Senate, according to a projection from Decision HQ, giving the party a major boost ahead of the November midterms. Fort Worth Democrat Taylor Rehmet, a machinist and Air Force veteran, defeated Southlake Republican Leigh Wambsganss to fill the vacant state Senate District 9. The district favored President Trump--who endorsed Wambsganss earlier on Saturday--by 17 points in 2024...