Sorry, Greg Bovino, the Gestapo Boot Fits

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In the wake of the execution-style killing of another American citizen at the hands of his men, Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino lamented that some people, including journalists, used “heated rhetoric” to describe the masked government goons who are terrorizing Minnesota. Specifically, he mentioned the term “Gestapo.” 

Well, let’s take a look then. 

Gestapo stands for Geheime Staatspolizei, which means “secret state police.” It was the colloquial term Germans used for the special police force the Nazis used to fight their political enemies.

It was known for its brutality, for disappearing people, and for operating outside the law (of course, the law was what the Nazis said it was). The Gestapo also played a vital role in sending Jews and others off to concentration camps. 

Of course, this secret police force didn’t do all of those things right away when Adolf Hitler became Germany’s chancellor after winning a relatively free election. Instead, the Gestapo’s powers, lawlessness, and brutality increased over time along with the regime’s authoritarian ambitions. 

So, why would we (and others) compare those masked and heavily armed goons in Minnesota to the Gestapo? It’s not just the brutality or that ICE and Border Patrol agents can make people disappear. 

More than anything, it’s the stunning lack of accountability. In Nazi Germany, especially once the fascist regime was firmly entrenched, there was no recourse when the Gestapo targeted you.

That’s where we are headed now. 

The Gestapo part of the killing of Alex Pretti is not that it happened.

It’s that it happened in broad daylight, with cameras recording it from multiple angles. And his killers knew they were being recorded. And one of their own had just shot another American citizen to death a few days earlier. And that the federal government is trying to control and/or shut down an investigation into what happened (just as it did following the shooting death of Renee Good). And that the perpetrators are back on the job instead of being placed on leave pending an investigation and some psychological examination to see how they are dealing with taking a life. 

Those are the parts that say “unaccountable secret state police.”

Those things don’t happen in a democracy governed by the rule of law. They happen in authoritarian regimes — and the names of these secret police forces strike fear into the hearts of citizens… whether they are called Gestapo, Stasi, or KGB.

And that’s their point, of course.

It’s not to maintain order, it’s to terrorize the populace. To let the people know that, if they step out of line, for example by helping a woman who was pushed to the ground or recording the work of masked government goons, their lives can be snuffed out at any time… and that the state will do nothing about it. 

So, our advice to Bovino is this: If you don’t want your men to be compared to the Gestapo, then don’t act like them.