Bovino Is Said to Have Mocked Prosecutor's Jewish Faith on Call With Lawyers (NYT gift subscription)

[LetMyPeopleVote]

Gregory Bovino, the Border Patrol field leader, made disparaging remarks in reference to the U.S. attorney in Minnesota, an Orthodox Jew, people with knowledge of the phone call said.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/31/us/bovino-jewish-prosecutor-minnesota.html?unlocked_article_code=1.IlA.CUIT.NWEwqFkah55v&smid=tw-share

A day before six career federal prosecutors resigned in protest over the Justice Department’s handling of the killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis, lawyers in the office had a conversation with Gregory Bovino, the Border Patrol field leader, that left them deeply unsettled.

According to several people with knowledge of the telephone conversation, which took place on Jan. 12, Mr. Bovino made derisive remarks about the faith of the U.S. attorney in Minnesota, Daniel N. Rosen. Mr. Rosen is an Orthodox Jew and observes Shabbat, a period of rest between Friday and Saturday nights that often includes refraining from using electronic devices.

Mr. Bovino, who has been the face of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, used the term “chosen people” in a mocking way, according to the people with knowledge of the call. He also asked, sarcastically, whether Mr. Rosen understood that Orthodox Jewish criminals don’t take weekends off, the people said.....

Mr. Bovino’s comments raised judgment concerns, but also a potential legal dilemma for government lawyers. Based on a 1972 Supreme Court decision in a case known as Giglio, prosecutors have an obligation to disclose certain information to the defense that could call into question the integrity and character of a law enforcement officer who is involved in an arrest and called as a witness in a trial......

During his time in Minnesota, Mr. Bovino was often photographed wearing an Army green overcoat with big metallic buttons. Federal officials described the overcoat as part of a standard-issue Border Patrol winter dress uniform, but the coat nonetheless drew widespread criticism online for its resemblance to uniforms worn by military officers in Nazi Germany......

Mr. Bovino was also the face of the immigration crackdown in Chicago, often accompanying agents during raids and arrests around the city. His actions drew reprimands from a federal judge, Sara L. Ellis of the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, who imposed restrictions on Mr. Bovino and federal agents under his supervision.

In October, Mr. Bovino was seen lobbing a tear-gas canister into a crowd of people in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago without warning protesters.

Summoned into Judge Ellis’s courtroom, Mr. Bovino assured her that he would abide by her rules. In November, Judge Ellis ruled that Mr. Bovino had repeatedly lied about the tactics of the Border Patrol and the actions of protesters.