AOC Calls for Firing of Border Patrol Agents for “Working With SPLC-Designated Hate Groups”

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-CortezD-N.Y., proposed Tuesday that Border Patrol agents who work with Southern Poverty Law Center-branded organizations should be fired “hate groups.”

John Modlin was the Tucson sector chief of the Border Patrol. Ocasio-Cortez wanted to know if members of a militia group were involved in the Border Patrol. SPLC Brands “hate group” Had “regular contact” Agents in his sector

“Are you aware of the militia group known as Veterans on Patrol?” She asked. Modlin replied, “Yes.”

“And are you aware that this organization is a designated hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center?” She asked. He answered again. “Yes.”

Ocasio Cortez asked Modlin if he knew. Agents of Border Patrol “have had regular contact and, according to this report, seem to have received assistance from this organization?”

Modlin pointed out that “assistance” A variety of meanings can be used.

“If someone calls and says there’s illegal activity on the border, then we do respond, and obviously some of these calls will come from militia groups,” He said.

“I ask because Veterans on Patrol, again, a designated hate group, does publish quite a bit of their own media,” Ocasio Cortez continued to note one video in which she stated these words “an agent greets militia members with a high-five.”

“This is an organization that spreads antisemitic conspiracies and beyond, and I was wondering if your sector has a policy regarding agents interfacing with known members of designated hate organizations?” Ocasio-Cortez pressed.

“I don’t know that it’s possible to separate all interaction with any group that’s down at the border,” Modlin responded. “Certainly we do not encourage militia groups, or anyone else, to be in the border environment, but we do respond, again, if someone calls and says there’s someone in distress that needs us or if they’ve witnessed some illegal action on the border.”

The New York Democrat then asked point blank if Border Patrol agents would lose their jobs for working with “hate groups.”

“If you were to discover agents actively working with hate groups and militias, would their employment be terminated?” Ocasio-Cortez asked.

Modlin observed that Border Patrol agents were not a problem. “are all part of a bargaining unit,” They are offered “the right to representation.”

“I don’t know that I could say what would and wouldn’t trigger an automatic termination, but there would certainly be a disciplinary process,” Modlin concluded.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, a left-leaning activist organization and pro-bono litigation group, is well-known for its notoriously poor performance. “hate group” Anger directed at mainstream Christian and conservative organizations

As I describe in my book “Making Hate Pay: The Corruption of the Southern Poverty Law Center,” The SPLC seized the program it used for bankrupting Ku Klux Klan-affiliated organizations and weaponized it against conservatives groups. Partly to scare donors and part to silence ideological opponents,

After the SPLC fired its co-founder amid a racial discrimination and sexual harassment scandal in 2019, a former staffer claimed that the SPLC’s accusations of “hate” These are some of the benefits. “cynical fundraising scam” This is the goal “bilking northern liberals.” Critics across the political spectrum have voiced opposition and alarm at the organization’s “hate group” smears.

In 2012, a terrorist targeted the Family Research Council’s headquarters in the nation’s capital, entering the lobby with a semiautomatic pistol and then shooting and wounding a guard. The man told the FBI that he found the conservative organization on the SPLC’s “hate map” It was intended to kill all the people in the building.

He pleaded guilty later to terror acts and was given a sentence. 25-year sentence in prison. The SPLC condemned this attack but kept the Family Research Council in its place. “hate map” Since then.

The SPLC doesn’t consider Veterans on Patrol to be a terrorist organization. “hate group,” But rather an “antigovernment militia.” SPLC claims the militia “advances initiatives that are founded on common antigovernment and anti-immigrant ideas,” And has “anti-Indigenous, antisemitic, anti-Catholic and anti-Mormon falsehoods.” The SPLC quotes the militia’s mission page as stating that “The Jews have used their political puppets to alter the constitution and create new laws that allow mass-immigration, same-sex marriage, unregulated market, bribing of politicians, funding of Israel, and many more destructive policies.”

It is not clear how much power this militia holds. The official website of the militia does not show up in a Google search. A review of the site did not reveal it. “Veterans on Patrol” Facebook page It claims the page is fake.

Ocasio-Cortez did not immediately respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment about her suggestion that Border Patrol should fire agents who work with organizations that the SPLC brands “hate groups.”

U.S. Customs and Border Protection was the parent agency of Border Patrol. They did not immediately respond when asked about any interactions between agents and SPLC-accused. “hate groups” This would lead to disciplinary action.

This report can be updated with a reply from Ocasio-Cortez (Customs and Border Protection).

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