Hey, it rhymed! So, our latest jumping-off point gives us more details about the people who were shot and how DHS is bullshizzle. Yes, we knew that, but this is interesting. We have a lot more information now. We should remember the people we lost, even if it’s ‘old news’. We have innocents who no longer have friends or parents. We should remember what happened. With gratitude to Raw Story:
After a US Border Patrol Agent shot two Venezuelan immigrants in Portland, Oregon, in January, the Department of Homeland Security claimed that the two victims were “vicious Tren de Aragua gang members” who “weaponized their vehicle” against federal agents, who had no choice but to open fire in self-defense.
However, court records obtained by the Guardian reveal that a Department of Justice prosecutor subsequently told a judge the government was “not suggesting” that one of the victims, Luis Niño-Moncada, was a gang member.
The CYA is strong with this organization. Krispi Gnome has been caught in lie after lie. How someone could do that when people are dead, well, there’s no telling. They don’t have any grief, but we do. We carry memories. This was not one or two bystanders in a ‘gang fight’. It was real, regular people like us. And it was DHS’s fault that they are dead. It was someone with an itchy trigger finger.
The Guardian also obtained an FBI affidavit contradicting DHS claims about the second victim, Yorlenys Zambrano-Contreras, being “involved” in a shooting in Portland last year, when in reality she was a “reported victim of sexual assault and robbery.”
Attorneys representing Niño-Moncada and Zambrano-Contreras, who both survived the shooting and were subsequently hospitalized, told the Guardian that neither of them has *any* prior criminal convictions. Legal experts who spoke with the Guardian about the shooting said it appeared that DHS was waging a “smear campaign” against the victims.
Are you ready? Gee, ya THINK???!!! That’s at least 6 that we know of. There was someone shot in Arizona, but it seems he’s not the nice, down-to-earth person like the others. You can read about it here. Human smuggling, well, there’s a lot more to that. We can theorize, but can’t make any judgments about this one, since he had a prior history of that. Definitely not a nice person. And there was someone shot in Chicago by CBP who then crowed about it. This lack of morals is really something. Gloating. Enjoying the attention. We’ll move along now.
DHS, in recent months, has made a number of claims about people who have been shot or killed by federal immigration officers that have not held up to scrutiny. In November, federal prosecutors abruptly dropped charges against Marimar Martinez, a woman who was shot multiple times by a US Border Patrol agent in October in Chicago’s Brighton Park neighborhood.
However, uncovered text messages showed the Border Patrol agent apparently bragging about shooting Martinez, as he boasted that he “fired five rounds and she had seven holes” in a message sent to fellow agents. An attorney representing Martinez also claimed that he had seen body camera footage that directly undermined DHS claims about how the shooting unfolded. No explanation was provided for why charges against Martinez were dropped.
Here is another interesting October article that provides more details on the differences between ICE and CBP. Did you see that DHS (supposedly) will all be given body cameras? That’s all well and good, but we know they sure as hell won’t actually *use* them. These a$$holes aren’t going to turn them on because it will show that nothing has changed. What’s the point? Why bother? It’s up to us. As Denis said, keep your phones ready to record these moronic thugs. They should be aware that people will be recording them by now. That likely won’t make a difference, but if we record them, we’ll have the truth of the matter, just like the very brave lady who kept recording when Mr. Pretti was killed. That took more guts and bravery than I’ll ever have.
Friends, I know everyone begs you for money. I promise that among all those asking for spare change, we are the smallest and the hardest-working. We’re a group of old, disabled people, except for one writer in his mid-50s. The rest of us are in our sixties and seventies, and this is a labor of love. All we’re asking for is the chance to keep telling the truth about Trump and help ensure democracy survives. If you can help, please do. Thank you. Ursula
If Hegseth can change the Dept. of Defense to Dept. of War, should we change the name of DHS to DHT, the Dept. of Homeland Terrorism?
how can someone do that? probably pretty easily if they are a sociopath. and surely tren de aragua isn’t the only gang in venezuela. c’mon, mix it up a biy people.