Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez grills DHS on "10,000 officers in a violent, racist group sharing rape memes"

https://www.newsweek.com/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-grills-kevin-mcaleenan-border-patrol-1450149?fbclid=IwAR2J2WwTSP-S4_CJvzZ3LsNP5-M6L1iCwd-mLJ-K5XFocjA699ueswG8emQ
"New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez confronted acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan on Thursday over the "dehumanizing culture" she said appeared to be pervasive within Border Patrol. Her comments came after a secret "violent, racist" Facebook group sharing rape memes of members of Congress came to light. The exchange unfolded during a congressional hearing on Thursday, in which McAleenan sought to assure lawmakers that his department was carrying out an "aggressive" investigation into the secret Facebook group. More than 9,000 current and former Border Patrol agents were reported to be a part of the group, according to ProPublica. In addition to featuring derogatory posts about members of Congress, including Ocasio-Cortez, the group also joked about the deaths of migrants at the border. "Did you see the posts mocking migrant children's deaths?" Ocasio-Cortez asked McAleenan during the hearing. "I did," he responded. "Did you see the posts planning physical harm to myself and Congresswoman Escobar?" "Yes and I directed an investigation within minutes of reading the article," he responded. "Did you see the images of officers circulating photoshopped images of my violent rape?" she asked. "Yes, I did," McAleenan confirmed."