{"id":137135,"date":"2019-07-08T12:01:09","date_gmt":"2019-07-08T11:01:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=137135"},"modified":"2019-11-19T10:56:02","modified_gmt":"2019-11-19T10:56:02","slug":"border-patrol-agents-tried-to-delete-racist-and-obscene-facebook-posts-we-archived-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2019\/07\/border-patrol-agents-tried-to-delete-racist-and-obscene-facebook-posts-we-archived-them\/","title":{"rendered":"Border Patrol Agents Tried to Delete Racist and Obscene Facebook Posts. We Archived Them."},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Illustration: Soohee Cho\/The Intercept<\/p><\/div>\n

5 Jul 2019 – <\/em>The scrubbing began quickly. At 10:55 a.m., ProPublica published a story<\/a> reporting the existence of a secret, invitation-only Facebook\u00a0group for current and former Border Patrol agents that featured vulgar, violent, and misogynistic content directed at migrants and lawmakers.<\/p>\n

A little over two hours later, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, chair of the House Committee on Homeland Security, called for active-duty agents responsible for the posts to lose their jobs. Minutes after that, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the agency that oversees the Border Patrol, said in a tweet that the inspector general\u2019s office at the Department of Homeland Security was \u201cimmediately informed\u201d of the \u201cdisturbing social media activity,\u201d and an internal investigation\u00a0has been launched.<\/p>\n

Back in the \u201cI\u2019m 10-15\u201d Facebook group, evidence that might inform such an investigation was quickly disappearing. The name of the group \u2014 radio lingo Border Patrol agents use when they take a migrant into custody \u2014 was changed to \u201cAmerica First X 2,\u201d and the\u00a0group was archived.<\/p>\n

Read Our Complete Coverage: The War on Immigrants<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But the archived group, the version that investigators might examine, was not the same one that existed prior to the ProPublica article.<\/p>\n

The meme that group member Thomas Hendricks\u00a0shared of President Donald Trump forcing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to perform oral sex was gone \u2014 though ProPublica\u2019s tipster managed to grab that one. Investigators would not, however, see that Carrizo Springs resident Hector Garcia Jr. had posted something similar, sharing a meme\u00a0of the congresswoman performing oral sex through a detention center fence in a mock Porn Hub preview (\u201cLucky Illegal Immigrant Glory Hole Special\u201d). Similarly, investigators would not find the post from user Jorge Nunez: a video of a Trump impersonator grabbing the crotch of a woman in a red, white, and blue bikini,\u00a0in\u00a0which Nunez wrote, \u201cGrab her right in the pussy\u2026MAGA!!\u201d<\/p>\n

Hendricks deleted his account soon after the ProPublica story broke. Garcia and Nunez did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Some personal information, names, and URLs have been redacted for privacy.<\/p><\/div>\n

Anybody trying\u00a0to look further into \u201cI\u2019m 10-15\u201d after reading the ProPublica article would never see the Washington Post article that a poster named Bobby Matthews shared about asylum officers raising concerns about the administration\u2019s \u201cRemain in Mexico\u201d policy. Matthews\u00a0wrote \u201cFucking liberal traitors\u201d and \u201cmore lies from the tonks\u201d \u2014 using Border Patrol slang for migrants,\u00a0referring\u00a0to the sound a flashlight makes when it connects with a migrant\u2019s skull \u2014 to which Nelson Pou III, the Del Rio, Texas-based lead singer of the band Semper Acerbus, replied, \u201cFuck the whole country of Honduras.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matthews did not respond to a request for comment.\u00a0Pou declined to comment.<\/p>\n

And investigators would never see the posts that came right after the ProPublica story was published, in which they talked about \u201cthe rat\u201d in their midst, and Mike Herrero accused ProPublica of trying to \u201cdo away with the First amendment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe media is really the enemy because they know better and just feed the dissonance,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Some personal information, names, and URLs have been redacted for privacy.<\/p><\/div>\n

These are just a handful of examples of posts from the days before, and shortly after, the ProPublica story went live. The Intercept gained full access to the\u00a0invitation-only Border Patrol\u00a0group weeks ago and, for more than a month has collected and archived hundreds of posts\u00a0that show that the content shared with ProPublica was no aberration. In fact, the Border Patrol\u00a0group was a hotbed for the kind of right-wing memes and anti-immigrant hate common in some corners of the internet. The only difference\u00a0is that the group \u2014\u00a0which had nearly 10,000 members at the time it was exposed and has since dwindled to a little over 4,000 \u2014\u00a0was\u00a0meant to be used by current and former federal law enforcement personnel.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere Old Patrol meets New Patrol,\u201d the about section of the\u00a0group\u00a0read.\u00a0\u201cPost your pics. BP and AMO [Air and Marine Operations] related. Funny, serious and just work related. We are family, first and foremost. This is where the Green Line starts, with us. Start a chat or discussion, or use the\u00a0group\u00a0as a message board or Q and A session. We are here for each other. Remember you are never alone in this family.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Intercept messaged\u00a028 Facebook users\u00a0named in this article, whose accounts remained active in the immediate wake of the ProPublica article, and requested comment. Although Facebook prohibits the use of aliases, it is possible that members of the group\u00a0used assumed names. The Intercept is publishing the names of individuals quoted in this story as displayed on the \u00a0\u201cI\u2019m 10-15\u201d\u00a0group to accurately portray the contents of the postings.<\/p>\n

Of the individuals\u00a0contacted whose accounts were still active, only\u00a0two responded, both\u00a0declining to comment. Several of the members of the Facebook group cited in this story had previously posted photos of themselves on their profile pages in uniform, whether with the Border Patrol or other law enforcement agencies or military units, or openly listed their employment for the federal government on their profile. At least three identified themselves as retired.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday morning, Kevin McAleenan, the acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security tweeted \u201cthat any employee found to have compromised the public\u2019s trust in our law enforcement mission will be held accountable.\u201d\u00a0The Intercept shared the names and posts of\u00a031 users with Customs and Border Protection and requested confirmation of whether these individuals were\u00a0currently employed by the agency. In a statement to The Intercept, a spokesperson for CBP said the agency was reviewing screenshots from the\u00a0group and that some of the individuals appeared to be active duty employees of the agency.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) is investigating information provided to the agency regarding postings to a private Facebook group,\u201d the statement read. \u201cCBP has been provided several screenshots of Facebook postings, with posting names visible. OPR has been working to determine if these posting Facebook identities are connected to current CBP employees. Several of the names in the screenshots do appear to match names of current CBP employees. Additionally, there are postings attributed to accounts bearing common names, that appear to match to multiple CBP employees. CBP is fully investigating these postings and will hold accountable any CBP employee who is found to have engaged in misconduct.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, Politico reported<\/a> that CBP officials and Border Patrol leadership knew about the secret group for up to three years, with one former DHS official stating that CBP\u2019s public affairs office monitored the \u201cI\u2019m 10-15\u201d group\u00a0\u201cas a source of intelligence\u201d to see \u201cwhat people are talking about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Posts on the \u201cI\u2019m 10-15\u201d\u00a0group routinely fantasized about violent or deadly action that could be taken against migrants.<\/p>\n

Just a few weeks before the deaths of a father and his daughter while crossing the Rio Grande captured national attention, the Border Patrol Facebook\u00a0group was filled with posts about alligator sightings in the river. \u201cMedieval solutions to a modern problem,\u201d Israel Valentin wrote. \u201cLet\u2019s stock the river with gators,\u201d suggested John Tedford, who lists himself as a retired Border Patrol agent. \u201cThis needs to be crowd funded,\u201d added Riley Gl\u00f6ck, whose recent postings indicate that he operates helicopters for the federal government. \u201cCan the river ecosystem support sharks?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Some personal information, names, and URLs have been redacted for privacy.<\/p><\/div>\n

Sierra Mowery contributed a meme featuring Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs this kid still alive?\u201d asked Mark Ponch, whose Facebook profile indicates that he works in the El Paso sector. \u201cFigure by now he\u2019d have committed suicide already.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe hasn\u2019t made Hillary mad yet,\u201d Mowery replied. Reached by phone, Mowery told The Intercept she and her colleagues were not authorized to speak to the press.<\/p>\n

On the topic of dead children, Eric Castillo separately posted a video of a large, child-sized portion of meat being wrapped in foil and then roasted over an open flame. The foil resembles the mylar blankets that unaccompanied children are given in Border Patrol custody.<\/p>\n

\u201cLittle tonk blanket ideas!\u201d Castillo wrote.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Some personal information, names, and URLs have been redacted for privacy.<\/p><\/div>\n

Castillo\u2019s account appears to be deleted, though his posts appeared elsewhere in recent months, including a heated comment section about whether Border Patrol agents can use lethal force against migrants who throw rocks \u2014 the president previously encouraged<\/a> them to do so.<\/p>\n

When a member of the group raised the point that \u201c\u2019I was just following orders\u2019 hasn\u2019t been an effective defense in about 72 years,\u201d Bob Wilkinson, who lists his former occupation as Border Patrol supervisor and his current occupation as a U.S. government contractor, replied, \u201cAre you a PA or a fucking snowflake.\u201d Wilkinson went on to write that while he had \u201cnever killed anyone,\u201d he had \u201cused my share of force.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that the President recognizes rocks as deadly weapons is a good thing,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Some personal information, names, and URLs have been redacted for privacy.<\/p><\/div>\n

At that point, Castillo joined the conversation, lamenting about missing an opportunity to\u00a0shoot\u00a0a\u00a0migrant while on the job. \u201cBro im gonna go home alive to my family and stop the threat!!\u201d he wrote. \u201cSee it how you will. Ive been rocked before and missed my chance to pop a round before due to me falling to avoid the rock.. Fucker ran back to the river..But I learned for next time.. Don\u2019t be a freaking debbie downer bro..\u201d<\/p>\n

Wilkinson described a similar experience, writing to Castillo, \u201cas I was drawing my trainee who was on my right grabbed my arm and screwed up my draw. They were both lucky that day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBRO NEXT TIME ITS ON,\u201d Castillo wrote back.<\/p>\n

In what could be of interest to investigators down the line, several members of the Border Patrol group shared photos of documents that included identifying information of migrants in Border Patrol custody.<\/p>\n

It began with Angel Avilez, whose personal page suggests a recent posting at the Border Patrol\u2019s Carrizo Springs station,\u00a0sharing a meme that read, \u201cYOU KNOW WHAT? I\u2019M JUST GOING TO SAY IT [\u2026] HONDURANS HAVE THE STUPIDEST NAMES EVER.\u201d The post generated more than 100 comments.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Some personal information, names, and URLs have been redacted for privacy.<\/p><\/div>\n

Members shared Central American names that they considered stupid. Multiple users asserted that \u201cGuats\u201d \u2014 Guatemalans \u2014 also have names equally worthy of ridicule. Before long, group members, including Gabriel Gonzalez, Zack Smith, Anthony Ramos, Rick Mora Jr., and Michael Scherer, were sharing photos of documents \u2014 including what appears to be intake forms \u2014\u00a0that showed\u00a0migrants\u2019 names. Christian Macias added photos of government IDs belonging to five different individuals to the comment thread.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Some personal information, names, and URLs have been redacted for privacy.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cNon of these ignorant people can spell or write but somehow they think they deserve to be let in,\u201d wrote Jose Ortiz, whose profile picture is a gold badge that reads \u201cInspector 211 S.F. Police.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Some personal information, names, and URLs have been redacted for privacy.<\/p><\/div>\n

Seething anger at asylum seekers and migrants in general was the common thread in the \u201cI\u2019m 10-15\u2033 group. On May 31, a user shared an image of the U.S. embassy in Honduras on fire. \u201cEasy enough to do the same thing to all their asylum paperwork\u2026\u201d Gamel Lechner commented. When a member of the group later asked where a friend could drop off food and supplies for people in detention in Los Angeles, he was met with dozens of trolling replies.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are like wild animals, stop feeding them and they wont hang around and shit on the street,\u201d wrote Richard Tyler Jr. \u2014 Tyler\u2019s Facebook profile identified him as a former trainer for the Border Patrol, a former sheriff\u2019s deputy, and a former sergeant in the U.S. Army.<\/p>\n

In late May, user Waldemar Ortiz shared a meme that said \u201cHUNGARY LOCKS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS IN SHIPPING CONTAINERS TO STOP ILLEGAL BORDER CROSSINGS.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCan we apply this here?\u201d Ortiz wrote.<\/p>\n

Ortiz\u2019s personal Facebook page indicates that he previously served in the U.S. Marine Corps and now serves in the U.S. Army. In 2018, he captioned a photo in his Marine Corps uniform with the hashtags\u00a0\u201cfuckmuslims\u201d and\u00a0\u201cfuckislam.\u201d He has since posted dozens of right wing memes, including one suggesting that Rep. Ilhan Omar is a terrorist.<\/p>\n

Some of the members of the Border Patrol group appeared to deeply hate the populations they are mandated to work with.<\/p>\n

On May 24, Adam Matott, whose personal page includes photos of himself in a Border Patrol uniform and t-shirt, posted, \u201cThe excitement of leaving McAllen really sinks in \u2026 when the flight is full of OR tonks.\u201d<\/p>\n

The post sparked a conversation. Jess Cabe, who listed himself as a retired Border Patrol agent, wrote, \u201cWait til they start following you at the next airport to get you to help them find their connection, they\u2019re waving that paperwork in your face like it\u2019s the winning lottery ticket.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cOne of them asked my partner if she had the right gate,\u201d Matott replied. \u201cNew fucking low point in my career.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMine too,\u201d Cabe replied. \u201cI actually lost it in the airport and told him to get the fuck away from me loud enough to have other passengers leave the gate area.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matott replied, \u201cAt our gate a family unit came and sat near us. So we swiftly stood up, and relocated our seats.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShould have grabbed it and ripped it up. Fuck them,\u201d added Mike Kotwicki, who deleted his account before The Intercept could message him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWay too many cameras and witnesses,\u201d Cabe wrote.<\/p>\n

The conversation about migrants on airplanes continued in another thread.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe wife flew out last week said people were pissed cus it smelled like shit,\u201d Jesus E. Nunez wrote.<\/p>\n

JD Lopez, whose personal page includes photos of himself in a CBP helicopter crew uniform, replied: \u201cSmells like detention.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Some personal information, names, and URLs have been redacted for privacy.<\/p><\/div>\n

Commentary on current events made up a significant chunk of the content on the \u201cI\u2019m 10-15\u201d group.<\/p>\n

In recent weeks, that translated into an uptick in outrage over the number of children and families entering Border Patrol custody and, in particular, hate directed at Rep. Ocasio-Cortez. In addition to the sexually violent posts, members of the group created numerous memes out of photos of\u00a0Ocasio-Cortez during a 2018 visit to a border detention center. Group member Brian Fawcett, who lists his current location as Laredo, Texas, and previously posted a photo in his Border Patrol uniform on his personal page, shared one such image. It included Ocasio-Cortez accompanied by Pepe the Frog, the internet meme synonymous with white nationalist internet culture.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

At left, one of Fawcett\u2019s posts to the Facebook group \u201cI\u2019m 10-15\u201d. At right, a selfie Fawcett posted to his personal Facebook page, in uniform. Some personal information has been redacted for privacy.<\/p><\/div>\n

Recently, when it was announced that Ocasio-Cortez would be making another visit to detention centers along the border, the Facebook group reacted in typical fashion. Chad Wamsley posted a comment that said \u201cAOC\u201d and included a drawing of a man defecating into a woman\u2019s anus.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

At left, one of Fawcett\u2019s posts to the Facebook group \u201cI\u2019m 10-15\u201d. At right, a selfie Fawcett posted to his personal Facebook page, in uniform.
Some personal information has been redacted for privacy.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cPoop in her to show dominance,\u201d the drawing said. Wamsley listed his occupation as United States Border Patrol agent. Justin Blue Ortiz, who lists his employer as the Department of Homeland Security and his residence as El Paso, Texas, suggested a \u201cstation wide bang in because the stress of their visit is too much.\u201d<\/p>\n

_________________________________________________<\/p>\n

Related:<\/em><\/p>\n