OOPS? — Los Angeles TV Station Updates Story that Falsely Accused Border Patrol of Abusing Landscaper

A Los Angeles CW network affiliate had to update a news story that falsely accused Border Patrol agents of abusing a man working as a landscaper in Santa Ana, California, on Saturday. The update followed Department of Homeland Security officials posting a video showing the man attacking Border Patrol agents with a weed wacker before the incomplete video, published by KTLA.

KTLA posted a video on social media reporting that seven or more masked men wearing U.S. Border Patrol vests “are seen violently detaining a Santa Ana father before forcing him into the back of an unmarked car.

The following day, Department of Homeland Security officials posted “the rest of the story” on social media with a video showing the man assaulting the agents with a weed wacker. “Perhaps the mainstream media would like our officers to stand there and be mowed down instead of defending themselves?” officials wrote.

KTLA was forced to update its article with an editor’s note, stating, “This article has been updated to include a response from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.” However, that DHS statement does not appear in the article until well-down the page, making it less likely for people to read before forming an opinion of the Border Patrol agents’ actions.

Before the update appears, the article quotes the son of Narciso Barranco, the man seen allegedly assaulting agents. “I think part of it is racial profiling,” Alejandro Barranco told KTLA’s Sara Welch. “They probably assumed because he was working the landscaping he had no documentation.”

The opening paragraph of the article states:

In a video circulating on social media, a group of masked U.S. Border Patrol agents is seen striking and subduing a man in Santa Ana before forcing him into the back of an unmarked car on Saturday.

Later in the article, KTLA writes:

The video shared by the Instagram account @SantaAnaProblems shows a group of Border Patrol agents wearing face coverings and tactical vests surrounding Narciso, holding him down while one agent repeatedly strikes him on his right arm and near his head.

Other agents then pull Narciso to his feet and push him into the backseat of a silver SUV using a metal rod. He did not appear to be seriously injured.

It is not until the seventh and eighth paragraphs that the DHS statement is introduced.

Democrat California Congressman Lou Correa, whose district includes Santa Ana, jumped on the Trump-bashing bandwagon, telling KTLA, “We cannot have federal agents inciting violence in our streets and attacking innocent parents.” The congressman makes no mention of the alleged assault of the Border Patrol agents. “Clearly, we need immigration reform—­­­especially for people like Mr. Barranca who have lived in this country for 25-30 years and raised his sons to put their lives on the line to defend the United States,” Correa added.

KTLA said Correa called the incident “another example of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown striking fear in Southern California’s Latino community.”

El Centro Border Patrol Sector Chief Patrol Agent Gregory Bovino posted a response to CBP’s posted video.

“In case you ‘missed’ the media’s coverage of this assault on our agents, we got you,” Chief Bovino wrote. “Our agents will defend themselves and illegal aliens who resist arrest will face legal consequences,” Bovino wrote in a prior post on X. “Media outlets continue jumping to conclusions on our enforcement actions.”