The photographer who took the now-infamous pictures of Border Patrol agents on horseback attempting to keep illegal Haitian immigrants from crossing the border demolished the false narrative pushed by Democrats and the mainstream media that they used whips.
Paul Ratje spoke to KTSM and told them that he and his colleagues never saw the border agents use whips on anyone.
“Some of the Haitian men started running, trying to go around the horses,” Ratje stated. “I’ve never seen them whip anyone. He was swinging it, but it can be misconstrued when you’re looking at the picture.”
“I thought the Haitians were quite scared, and I think there was probably some panic, which resulted in them trying to run around the horses,” the photographer told NPR’s Morning Edition.
His eyewitness account runs counter to what the left has been claiming and hyping for days. They have falsely accused the agents of whipping the migrants continuously and have branded them as racists. It has resulted in them being assigned desk duty and an investigation by the Department of Homeland Security is now underway. The unit has been ordered to stand down and halt operations in the Del Rio Sector.
(Video Credit: News4JAX)
“Agents use their reins for a lot of reasons. Primarily it’s used to steer the horse, but agents will also spin them sometimes to deter people from getting too close to the horse. If they get too close, the horse can step on them, breaking bones or causing other injuries. Agents also need to maintain control of their reins so they don’t lose control of the horse, which can cause injuries to immigrants, the agents, and the horses,” a Border Patrol source stated.
“We are not aware of anyone being struck with the reins,” the source contended.
On Friday, President Biden gave a press conference and when asked about the incident, he said the agents involved “will pay.”
“I promise you, those people will pay,” Biden told reporters at the White House. “There will be consequences. It’s an embarrassment. But beyond an embarrassment, it’s dangerous. It’s wrong.”
(Video Credit: ABC News)
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki also announced on Thursday that the Border Patrol will no longer use horses.
Jon Anfinsen, who is the president of the Border Patrol’s Local 2366 in Del Rio, stated that without the horse unit the border is even less secure.
“The horse patrol unit is an effective means of apprehending immigrants who illegally cross our borders every day, along with searching for those who are sick or injured and stranded in the brush,” he remarked.
“Suspending them all for even a brief amount of time takes away one of the few remaining units that have been in the field making arrests and rescues on a regular basis. When the rest of our agents are indoors processing, unable to make arrests and rescues of their own, we should be using all the resources we have to patrol the border,” Anfinsen asserted.
“How can President Biden continue with this false narrative when the photographer who took the photos of the horse patrol unit has already said nobody was whipped? What happened to due process?” he angrily concluded.
The false narrative being promoted by the left angered many on social media:
Yesterday Al Sharpton actually said the “weaponization of horses” will not be tolerated.
— Cari Kelemen 2.0 (@CariKelemen) September 24, 2021
I’m honestly amazed at how clear the lies have been around this. And how often people just believe whatever certain people or news outlets tell them.
— JoggleThatToggle (@JoggleThat) September 24, 2021
Imagine that.. Another false narrative.
— Kevin Witte (@KevinWitte_10) September 24, 2021
Anything to distract from their Afghanistan debacle!!
Agent can’t have the guy’s shirt in his hand and be ‘whipping’ him at the same time.— Lynn (@lynn_c_v) September 24, 2021
They are desperately trying to change the narrative from Biden leaving up to 1000 American citizens to certain torture and death at the hands of the Taliban after he surrendered Afghanistan.
— Silvergirl20🇺🇸 (@alexandraheuser) September 24, 2021
Y’all forgetting the part where the Haitian in the picture had just stolen food from a woman and the BP was trying to apprehend him to get the food back for the woman. But sure, whips…
— Mike Escudero (@escudero_mike) September 24, 2021
Never let a generated crisis go to waste.
— Just A Simple Man (@DBDvl) September 24, 2021
They just want to defund the border patrol so illegals can walk in
— Elle Cee (@aurrie11e) September 24, 2021
I saw the video and there is no violation of civil rights, on the contrary, they have an obligation to fulfill their duty.
Entering a country illegally is a crime.— Ma. Verónica Welkner Ballas 🇨🇱 (@VeronicaWelkner) September 24, 2021
Awful! Wish the truth would be told! God bless our boarder patrol!! They do an amazing job & should be praised for all they do!!
— Gale Braverman (@glbraverman) September 24, 2021
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