There Were No Nails and the Shields Were Mostly cardboard.

If it wasn't already obvious, Greg Bovino, CBP, and DHS generally are a bunch of lying liars. This is now documented extensively from Bovino's testimony in a Chicago courtroom, vs. multiple videos, including DHS's own body camera footage. The judge in the case set it all out in writing today.

This BlueSky thread by Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a Senior Fellow at the American Immigration Council, summarizes the most outrageous findings, and in the thread, provides a screen snapshot of the various conclusions by the judge:

On October 28, DHS's social media account claimed that on October 23, "rioters" had "shot at agents with commercial artillery shell fireworks," thus forcing agents to deploy tear gas and riot munitions.

Judge Ellis reviewed the video. This was completely false. The explosions were DHS's flashbangs!

DHS claimed that agents were forced to use riot munitions to disperse an "unruly mob" on September 19.

In fact, "the scene [was] quiet," and then "almost immediately and without warning, agents lob flashbang grenades, tear gas, and pepper balls, stating 'fuck yea!' as they do so."

DHS claimed that on September 26, a DHS officer claimed they were forced to deploy riot munitions because protestors were "becoming increasingly hostile."

In fact, "the [Body Worn Camera] video shows that the protesters were simply standing there when agents first deployed any force."

DHS claimed an incident on Oct. 3 showed agents were in danger of being "rammed."

In fact, body cams "suggest[] that the agent drove erratically and brake-checked other motorists in an attempt to force accidents that agents could then use as justifications for deploying force."

Judge Ellis says all these errors, no matter how minor, add up. "[A]t some point, it becomes difficult, if not impossible, to believe almost anything that [DHS] represent[s]."

E.g., a top officer testified protestors had shields with nails in them; there were no nails and mostly [the shields were] cardboard.

In another incident, DHS officers wrote in an incident report, which DHS again publicized, that protestors had throw a bike at federal agents.

In fact, body cams showed that it was the agents themselves that "actually took a protester's bike and threw it to the side."

When she gets to Gregory Bovino, she finds him completely uncredible, and says he was evasive or outright lied multiple times across three days of testimony — and not just any falsehoods, he was not telling the truth about multiple things which were all captured on video, making it all very obvious.



For example, the incident on October 23 where DHS claimed that Bovino was hit in the head with a rock before he deployed tear gas at protestors?

That didn't happen. He fired tear gas and then AFTERWARDS, someone threw a rock. He went back and forth on this under oath, repeatedly changing his story.

On top of all that, Trump's Department of Justice [sic] today dropped all charges against a Chicago-area woman who was shot five times by a Border Patrol agent. DHS had claimed she rammed agents with her car and pulled a gun on them. But her attorney quickly came out with information about videos that did not support that story, and now this dismissal strongly suggests DHS couldn't prove its version in court.

I have no idea if the injured woman, Marimar Martinez, will be able to sue, or if Chicago or Illinois will be able to criminally charge the agents involved. Everything is upside down and backwards in this time of lying liars in charge of the government.