Mounted Border Patrol agents falsely accused of whipping Haitian migrants have reportedly been cleared, but they're *still* being punished

Sarah D | 2:38 PM on May 11, 2022

Last September, Julián Castro’s PAC director Sawyer Hacket kicked off a social media and mainstream media firestorm with footage of mounted Border Patrol agents whipping Haitian immigrants.

Border patrol is mounted on horseback rounding up Haitian refugees with whips.

This is unfathomable cruelty towards people fleeing disaster and political ruin. The administration must stop this. pic.twitter.com/BSjT91NSj0

— Sawyer Hackett (@SawyerHackett) September 20, 2021

The problem was that Hackett’s tweet completely misrepresented what was actually happening. Those weren’t whips in the agents’ hands; they were reins. But the narrative was just too good to check, and so media and liberals and even the White House ran with it.

Fast-forward to the present day, when the agents have reportedly officially been cleared of criminal wrongdoing. It was a long time coming — and it still comes up way too short:

NEW: The Border Patrol agents falsely accused of "whipping" migrants by the media and powerful Democrats have been cleared of criminal wrongdoing but still can't use horses.https://t.co/2xK42ZP40J

— Joe Gabriel Simonson (@SaysSimonson) May 11, 2022

More from the Washington Free Beacon:

All of the agents implicated in the controversy have been cleared by the Department of Homeland Security to carry out most of their professional duties, according to Chris Cabrera, a spokesman for the National Border Patrol Council and Local 3307.

“They’re just not allowed on horseback,” Cabrera said. “There’s obviously no criminal element.” The Border Patrol agents never faced any criminal proceedings, Cabrera said. In November 2021, two months after the incident took place, the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General declined to press charges on the matter and punted it to a Customs and Border Protection office to open an administrative investigation.

…

DHS did not respond to a request for comment on why the agents are not allowed to use horses despite their innocence. Border Patrol has been using horses since the agency’s founding in the 20th century, with staff preferring to use animals instead of vehicles to navigate tough terrain and pursue suspects.