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I am trying to understand what DHS is doing in Portland.
BORTAC is the unit in DHS/CBP/Border Patrol that rescues migrants dying in the summer hear. They are special ops. https://twitter.com/bymikebaker/status/1284603574345887744
BORTAC is the unit in DHS/CBP/Border Patrol that rescues migrants dying in the summer hear. They are special ops. https://twitter.com/bymikebaker/status/1284603574345887744
We all saw this video of someone being taken off the street by people who turned out to be CBP agents. https://twitter.com/LionelMedia/status/1283707995877253121?s=20 https://twitter.com/lionelmedia/status/1283707995877253121
I defended what was happening immediately because I surmised the activity was anti-terror.
@DAL9001 disagreed with me. https://twitter.com/DAL9001/status/1283869088293376001?s=20 https://twitter.com/dal9001/status/1283869088293376001
@DAL9001 disagreed with me. https://twitter.com/DAL9001/status/1283869088293376001?s=20 https://twitter.com/dal9001/status/1283869088293376001
The problem here is that one of us trusts the Administration is behaving lawfully and one of us is looking at the situation and saying, this looks like an egregious violation of civil rights.
But another problem is that CBP’s statement doesn’t seem to match what happened.
What we saw in the video was someone standing alone who was then approached, grabbed, and taken away.
What we read in the statement was that there was a “large and violent mob,” and the agents had to move the person away from the mob for safety reasons.
https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/speeches-and-statements/statement-cbp-response-portland-oregon
https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/speeches-and-statements/statement-cbp-response-portland-oregon
Keep in mind we only saw a very short clip, but the statement doesn’t address the apparent lack of a mob, so there is a discrepancy there.
The reason this person was approached was that “CBP agents had information indicating the person in the video was suspected of assaults against federal agents or destruction of federal property.”
The problem there is that the person is totally covered in black and a mask, so how would they know?
The statement says that the agents “identified themselves and were wearing CBP insignia during the encounter,” but if you watch the video they clearly don’t say anything, and in fact someone is asking them to “use your words.”
They don’t.
They don’t.
The CBP statement cites this Executive Order which basically says they’re supporting the protection of Federal property. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-protecting-american-monuments-memorials-statues-combating-recent-criminal-violence/
Twitter is breaking my threads. I continue here.
(Duplicate tweet) The statement says that the agents are part of a new DHS Protecting American Communities Task Force (PACT) designed to uphold the EO. https://www.dhs.gov/news/2020/07/01/dhs-announces-new-task-force-protect-american-monuments-memorials-and-statues
The DHS announcement says that Federal agents are being “pre-positioned” to protect Federal property.
To cut the bullshit out of this, it seems like @POTUS is deploying DHS to restore order by intimidating the violent anarchists who have taken over Portland.
You can’t stop protests, so the excuse is property.
You can’t stop protests, so the excuse is property.
If I am wrong, I think CBP will need to do more to prove that the incident in question involved a threat to property (or Federal agents, which isn’t in the scope of the task force but is in the statement).
Alternatively, DHS could simply say that they can’t say more, due to ongoing investigations/confidentiality.
The communication problem is that CBP’s statement doesn’t align with what we see in the video, and needs more context or explanation to bridge that gap.
The strategic problem is that @POTUS followers who also follow #QAnon (like me) universally believe that the superficial explanation is just that, superficial, and not to be taken as real information.
Why we believe this is, to be blunt, that we can see — and are told by Q and @POTUS — that the US government is held hostage by the “Swamp.”
Of course, if this is true (and I believe it is) then CBP statements are irrelevant to us. We are basically reading Q.
But other people are reading the newspaper and the statements, and they don’t see fairness.
But other people are reading the newspaper and the statements, and they don’t see fairness.
If I were in charge of DHS communications (a job I did audition for gratefully) I would ask that the superficial communications at least be full, clear, and logical.
Because if you insist on fighting the open war and the hidden war at the same time, the open war has to be won as well.
The war is a war of words.
And this is why DHS loses when it opens its mouth with bombast instead of clear information that makes sense to non-insiders.
And this is why DHS loses when it opens its mouth with bombast instead of clear information that makes sense to non-insiders.
(End.)
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