Behind the Bastards

The Greg Bovino Episode Extravaganza!

February 12, 2026

Key Takeaways Copied to clipboard!

  • The early life of Greg Bovino, the subject of this episode of Behind the Bastards, suggests he was an unremarkable student whose turn toward Border Patrol work was influenced by reading pro-Border Patrol propaganda in hunting magazines and a reaction against a liberal Hollywood movie. 
  • Bovino's Italian great-grandfather immigrated under circumstances (fleeing poverty and organized crime) that mirror the very immigration patterns the modern political movement Bovino represents seeks to restrict, highlighting a generational hypocrisy. 
  • Multiple sources, including a high school coach and a former teammate, expressed surprise that Greg Bovino entered law enforcement, describing him as pleasant and not fitting the profile of someone who would become a controversial figure. 
  • Greg Bovino is portrayed as an individual deeply indoctrinated with Border Patrol ideology, evidenced by his use of agency slogans and claims of being the "first one in the door" due to superior marksmanship, claims the hosts find dubious and self-aggrandizing. 
  • Bovino's tenure at El Centro was marked by accusations of violence and cruelty toward migrants, including a specific incident involving an assault on a Salvadoran migrant, and a pattern of framing border encounters as a "fight" rather than humanitarian crises. 
  • Bovino actively cultivated a public image, attempting to win over environmentalists while simultaneously using viral, fear-mongering videos—often based on outdated or cherry-picked crime statistics—to justify aggressive enforcement tactics, which ultimately earned him a high-profile role in the Trump administration's enforcement actions. 

Segments

Guest Introduction and Titles
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(00:00:01)
  • Key Takeaway: The guest, Jack O’Brien, is introduced with an extensive list of honorifics, including ‘Colonel’.
  • Summary: The podcast Behind the Bastards opens with the introduction of guest Jack O’Brien. The hosts playfully list numerous titles for him, including Dr., Mr., Colonel, President, Pod Dad, and Esquire. The hosts express a desire to adopt honorific titles like ‘Colonel’ immediately upon receiving them.
Working Title Discussion
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(00:01:46)
  • Key Takeaway: The working title for the episode on Greg Bovino was ‘America’s Kirkland brand Gestapo Chief’.
  • Summary: The host reveals the working title for the episode on Greg Bovino was ‘America’s Kirkland brand Gestapo Chief’. This title references Bovino’s Border Patrol role and the common comparison of immigration enforcement agencies to the Gestapo. The discussion notes that Bovino is sensitive to comparisons between Border Patrol/ICE and the Gestapo.
Greg Bovino’s Early Life Context
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(00:04:42)
  • Key Takeaway: Greg Bovino’s background does not strongly predict his later role as a controversial figure, contrasting with figures like Stephen Miller.
  • Summary: The hosts note that Bovino’s early life and career do not clearly foreshadow his later actions as the ‘sin eater’ for the Trump administration’s border policies. Unlike some figures, former peers do not recall him having exceptional ambition or standing out in high school. The Chicago Sun-Times journalists Dan Mihalopoulos and Lauren Fitzpatrick are cited as primary credible sources for his backstory.
Italian Ancestry and Immigration Law
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(00:11:32)
  • Key Takeaway: Greg Bovino’s great-grandfather, Michel Bovino, immigrated from poverty-stricken Southern Italy and utilized chain migration just before the restrictive 1924 Immigration Act was passed.
  • Summary: Greg Bovino was born in San Bernardino, California, in 1970, but his family history traces back to Italian immigrant Michel Bovino in 1909. The 1924 Immigration Act, fueled by eugenics theories that deemed Southern Europeans ’less white,’ prompted Michel to secure citizenship quickly to bring his family over via chain migration.
Bovino’s Childhood in North Carolina
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(00:21:12)
  • Key Takeaway: Bovino’s family moved from California to Blowing Rock, North Carolina, where his childhood was described as ‘Rockwellian’ before his father’s fatal drunk driving accident.
  • Summary: Bovino’s family moved to Blowing Rock, North Carolina, after his father’s military discharge. His sister described their early life there as idyllic, supported by the success of their father’s bar, the Library Club, which benefited from being in a wet county surrounded by dry counties. This period ended when his father killed a woman in a drunk driving crash in 1981, leading to divorce and financial ruin.
Early Influences on Border Patrol Interest
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(00:29:54)
  • Key Takeaway: Bovino’s interest in the Border Patrol stemmed from reading columns by agents like Skeeter Skelton in hunting magazines, though he later cited a movie as his inspiration.
  • Summary: As a child, Greg Bovino read hunting magazines featuring Border Patrol agents, which his sister claims inspired his career path, viewing the border as a ’true frontier.’ This contrasts with his later public claim that he was motivated by a desire to counter the negative portrayal of agents in the 1987 movie The Border.
High School Years and Peer Recollections
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(00:41:06)
  • Key Takeaway: Peers and his wrestling coach recalled Greg Bovino as pleasant, not memorable, and expressed surprise that he entered law enforcement.
  • Summary: Bovino was not a standout student or athlete in high school, receiving the ‘most improved’ award on a terrible wrestling team. His coach and a teammate noted they did not picture him becoming a police officer, suggesting his personality seemed too pleasant for that career path. Unverified, viral social media claims about Bovino’s high school behavior are dismissed due to lack of evidence.
Joining the Border Patrol
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(00:54:30)
  • Key Takeaway: Bovino joined the Border Patrol in 1996, claimed to be the best shot in his academy class, and was inspired by a sector chief’s presence in the field.
  • Summary: Bovino graduated from Western Carolina University in 1990 and joined the Border Patrol in 1996, later earning a master’s degree in national security. He frequently claimed to be the best shot in his academy class, though this lacks independent confirmation. He stated that seeing a sector chief join agents in the field convinced him he needed to ‘get into the fight.’
Bovino’s Environmental Ploy
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(00:58:40)
  • Key Takeaway: Bovino attempted to leverage his self-proclaimed conservationist background to drive a wedge between liberal environmentalists and undocumented immigrants.
  • Summary: Greg Bovino, who holds a degree and wrote a thesis on illegal immigrants endangering animals, engaged with activist Edie Harmon regarding environmental concerns. He offered to install a guzzler for sheep, dedicating it to her late husband, an offer Harmon declined based on biological recommendations. Harmon pointed out that the real danger to wildlife came from the concertina wire Border Patrol installed across grazing grounds.
Border Patrol Kool-Aid and Slogans
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(01:02:30)
  • Key Takeaway: Bovino fully embraced Border Patrol culture, using the self-referential nickname ‘The Green Machine’ and citing the slogan ‘On Her First,’ which a whistleblower indicated is used to justify sexual assault against female agents and detainees.
  • Summary: Bovino frequently recited the Border Patrol slogan ‘On Her First,’ which has a dark interpretation among some agents regarding sexual assault. He also branded El Centro as the ‘premier sector,’ a self-designation compared to state mottos that lack external validation.
Social Media Troubles and DUI Obsession
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(01:04:26)
  • Key Takeaway: Bovino’s political tweeting, particularly his focus on undocumented immigrants driving drunk, led to disciplinary action and revealed a psychological obsession with the topic.
  • Summary: Bovino was forced by superiors to delete a political tweet regarding a citizen killed by an undocumented drunk driver, though he later proved obsessed with the subject, linking it repeatedly to aggressive immigration enforcement. This obsession was highlighted by a major operation in Chicago being held in honor of a young DUI victim.
Viral Propaganda Video Tactics
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(01:06:13)
  • Key Takeaway: Bovino employed five full-time agents to create viral videos that framed Border Patrol actions as action movie scenes, utilizing selection bias to exaggerate threats from migrants.
  • Summary: One propaganda video used a decade-old news clip about an undocumented migrant charged with murder to suggest frequent, current danger, while the subsequent fictional plot involved an escaped migrant murdering a citizen. This tactic aimed to generate outrage and align with the political goals of the Trump administration.
Congressional Testimony and Demotion
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(01:08:16)
  • Key Takeaway: Bovino’s 2023 congressional testimony, where he blamed rising crossings on the Biden administration, resulted in a temporary demotion, which was quickly reversed after Republican complaints.
  • Summary: During testimony, Bovino mentioned being ordered to delete a post about terrorists, and his demotion was viewed by Republicans as retribution for criticizing the administration. Despite admitting crossings were at an all-time high under his command, he was reinstated at El Centro shortly thereafter.
Operation Return to Cinder Raid
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(01:09:23)
  • Key Takeaway: Following his reinstatement, Bovino led Operation Return to Cinder, a mass raid in January 2025 that targeted 78 people, 77 of whom had no known criminal history, leading to an ACLU lawsuit.
  • Summary: Bovino publicized the raid on Facebook, claiming to protect the nation from ‘bad people’ while seizing only 33 pounds of marijuana. Investigations showed agents used brutal force, failed to present warrants, and arrested numerous farm workers who were likely present illegally, constituting potentially illegal actions.
LA Raids and MacArthur Park
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(01:11:31)
  • Key Takeaway: Bovino was named tactical commander for mass raids in Los Angeles, including the military-style operation at MacArthur Park, where agents used violence against residents and created action movie propaganda.
  • Summary: Bovino’s agents blew open doors, gassed people, and detained random Angelinos, while he claimed ignorance about Governor Newsom being present during an armed patrol outside a political rally. Two undocumented individuals died attempting to flee agents during this period.
Tear Gas Lie and Commander-at-Large
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(01:13:15)
  • Key Takeaway: Bovino lied to a U.S. District Judge about throwing tear gas at peaceful protesters in Chicago, claiming he was hit by a rock, which led to him being made ‘commander-at-large’ to serve as a public distraction.
  • Summary: After being enjoined against using gas without justification, Bovino deployed it and then lied under oath about the provocation, an act deemed potentially fireable. His subsequent role as commander-at-large was a political maneuver to keep him visible as the face of Trump’s deportations while allowing him to be a sacrificial lamb.
The Fascist Coat Controversy
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(01:14:28)
  • Key Takeaway: Bovino deliberately wore a coat resembling fascist military attire, claiming it was a standard 25-year-old DHS garment, but the hosts assert he wore it specifically to evoke the look of Doogie Hauser from Starship Troopers.
  • Summary: Bovino defended his outerwear by citing its long history of use, including a 2022 DHS ceremony where he received compliments. Survivors argued the design draws from U.S. military traditions, but the hosts believe Bovino chose it for its intimidating, authoritarian aesthetic.
Retirement Plans and Final Assessment
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(01:16:03)
  • Key Takeaway: The Trump administration likely positioned Bovino in high-profile roles with the understanding that he would eventually retire with full benefits after serving as the public face of brutal enforcement.
  • Summary: Bovino had previously mentioned retiring soon, suggesting the special roles were a reward for his willingness to be brutal and visible, allowing the administration to cut bait when public outrage peaked. The hosts conclude he is a ‘weird little guy that got too much power’ who may retire soon after continuing to hurt people in El Centro.