It was a report that fit perfectly with the narrative of those attacking President Donald Trump’s immigration policies: an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent photographed sporting a Nazi tattoo.
The outrage began when Talia Lavin, a staff member and fact-checker at The New Yorker, tweeted a photo of ICE agent Justin Gaertner with a caption that said he had a tattoo of an Iron Cross, a long-time German military honor used by Nazi Germany, Fox News reported.
That's right, ICE put an iron cross in their self-promoting tweet.
Once more for those in the back:
THAT'S A NAZI TATTOO ON HIS LEFT ELBOW AND THIS IS OFFICIAL INSTITUTIONAL PROPAGANDA https://t.co/gxvsxkdbHh
— Nuremberg Enthusiast (@HagueAficionado) June 18, 2018
After a weekend of invective aimed at ICE and Gaertner, ICE issued a statement Monday to clarify the situation and demanded an apology.
“Over the weekend, social media perpetuated by a tweet by New Yorker reporter Talia Levin (sic) erroneously implied that a tattoo on one of his arms was an Iron Cross and essentially labeled him a Nazi,” ICE wrote.
“Levin deleted her post after military veterans responded that the tattoo looked more like a Maltese cross, a symbol associated with fire fighters.”
“The tattoo on his left elbow is actually ‘Titan 2,’ the symbol for his platoon while he fought in Afghanistan,” ICE said.
I“The writing on his right arm is the Spartan Creed which is about protecting family and children,” the statement added.
“Anyone attempting to advance their personal political opinions by baselessly slandering an American hero should be issuing public apologies to Mr. Gaertner and retractions. This includes Levin and The New Yorker,” ICE added. – READ MORE
[give_form id=”79809″] [contentcards url=”https://www.westernjournal.com/ice-wants-an-apology-from-fact-checker-who-claimed-officer-had-nazi-tattoo/” target=”_blank”]