Gov. Newsom Joins Critics Calling DHS Border Video 'Fascist' After SS Look-Alike Claims Go Viral

A Department of Homeland Security promotional video featuring Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino sparked widespread comparisons to Nazi imagery this week and drew condemnation from California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who called the footage evidence that "they aren't even trying to hide who they are."

The video, posted on X, shows Bovino standing outside a federal courthouse in Chicago, spliced with a stylized black-and-white portrait of him in a calf-length black coat with star collar pins and a close-cropped haircut. Overlaid text reads "WE WILL NOT BE STOPPED," with a fast remix of Coldplay's "Viva la Vida" playing beneath.

DHS added a caption that said that Bovino "is putting his life on the line to protect our citizens, and no amount of radical terror or anarchy will stop us in our mission."

Online reactions quickly likened the imagery in the video to the SS-era, as The Daily Beast reports. The images of Bovino quickly went viral with users on X pointing out the similarities:

Newsom reposted the original DHS video on X, writing that "if you think the calls of fascism and authoritarianism are hyperbole pause and watch this video. They aren't even trying to hide who they are."

The footage by DHS was released the same day U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis ordered Bovino to report to her Chicago courtroom daily to explain ongoing immigration sweeps that have sparked accusations of excessive force. On Thursday, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals paused the daily-check-in requirement as it considers the Justice Department's objection that the order would cause "irreparable harm."

Bovino has defended his agents' tactics, telling Fox News he welcomed a direct audience with the judge to show "how bad things really are on the streets of Chicago."

DHS told The Daily Beas that Bovino was simply "wearing his Border Patrol uniform" and did not answer questions about whether the styling was intentional. The department has more broadly faced criticism over social media messaging that echoes far-right language. Just days earlier, DHS posted the word "Remigrate," a term associated with white-nationalist calls for mass deportation, prompting another pointed response from Newsom.