Video footage posted to Facebook, cited in a January 6, 2023 letter from three Democratic U.S. Senators to the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice, depicts a Border Patrol agent having a friendly, supportive conversation at a Texas checkpoint with members of a militia group, which the letter identifies as “Veterans on Patrol.” (Original link)
The unidentified Border Patrol agent tells the militia members:
You guys are very effective and a lot of fun. You can’t talk to every agent the way you talk to me. Maybe 90% of the people you can. We’ve got some strange f—ing ducks, man. When you talk about confiscating guns, they’re like [mocking voice] “yeah you should do it.”
The agent appears to accept the militia members’ offer of a memory card with drone footage on it. “I’ll pass this along to the right people,” he says.
“Citizens, I don’t mind anything you guys do,” the agent concludes. “Really, I’m telling you, dude. Whatever you do, man. … Hey, I appreciate it.”
(.mp3 file of audio excerpted from the video)
— “Arizona Southern Border Nightmare.” Dsw74News on Facebook, May 24, 2021. <https://www.facebook.com/DSW74/videos/arizona-southern-border-nightmare/142350517880294/.>
— Markey, Sen. Edward J., Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and Sen. Cory A. Booker. “Senators’ Letter to the Biden Administration on Vigilante Groups at the Southern U.S. Border,” January 6, 2023. <https://www.markey.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/senators_letter_to_the_biden_administration_on_vigilante_groups_at_the_southern_us_border_-_january_2023pdf.pdf>.
Sector(s): Border-Wide
Agency(ies): Border Patrol
Event Type(s): Vigilantism Tolerance or Collaboration
Last Known Accountability Status: Unknown
Victim Classification:
