For most of this week, journalists and Democratic politicians have been on an extended rant about images of Border Patrol agents chasing down illegal immigrants while on horseback; many insisted that the agents were "whipping" migrants with reins while attempting to apprehend them.
The hysteria became so frenzied that the White House announced that local border patrol agents would no longer be allowed to work on horseback.
But guess what? The guy who took the photo that launched this whole embarrassing spectacle just admitted that he never witnessed any whipping going on:
The photographer behind images depicting Border Patrol agents on horseback told KTSM things are not exactly what they seem when it comes to the photos.
The photographs, which were taken Sunday, appear to show agents on horses with a whip in hand. The photos caused outrage because from certain angles, it appears to show Border Patrol whipping migrants, but photographer Paul Ratje said he and his colleagues never saw agents whipping anyone.
"Some of the Haitian men started running, trying to go around the horses," Ratje said.
Ratje is a photographer based in Las Cruces and has been in Del Rio since Friday. He said took the photographs from the Mexican side.
"I've never seen them whip anyone," Ratje said. "He was swinging it, but it can be misconstrued when you're looking at the picture."
Oh, really, now? So you're telling us that the Biden administration made a significant policy decision based not on fact but on a petty, uninformed social media uproar?
Now that the White House's narrative has been rendered completely suspect—and very likely completely false—do you think they'll reverse their decision, reinstate the horses, and apologize to the border agents they indirectly slandered?
Ha ha! That was just a small joke to ease you into the weekend. Have a great Friday!
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