NBC lies about 5 year old autistic girl
NBC Said ICE Held a 5-Year-Old Autistic Girl To Pressure Her Father To Surrender. He Actually Abandoned Her While Fleeing Law Enforcement.
Rep. Ilhan Omar promoted the false claim and used it to call to 'Abolish ICE'
Jessica Costescu, Freebeacon
NBC News published an article on Tuesday accusing ICE agents of holding a five-year-old autistic girl "to pressure her father to surrender to authorities." Turns out the father actually abandoned his daughter while fleeing authorities and giving agents the middle finger.
"ICE held 5-year-old autistic girl in Massachusetts to pressure father to surrender, family says," the article's headline read. Less than nine hours later, NBC News deleted its tweet promoting the story and updated the article to state that ICE agents were simply "with" the girl as they attempted to arrest her father. It also issued a correction that said the original story "mischaracterized the activities of ICE agents." A Facebook post with the original headline was still live as of Wednesday morning.
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) promoted the false claim on X—and left it up even after NBC News deleted its own post.
"This is vile and beyond cruel. Abolish ICE," Omar wrote.
NBC News initially reported that Edward Hip Mejia, a Guatemalan national who has lived in the United States illegally for 20 years, told his wife that he was being followed and drove home. Once there, his wife said Mejia ran to the parking lot and claimed agents "grabbed" their daughter.
Now the article states that when Mejia ran, his daughter was "left with the agents" as a result.
It's unclear what prompted the changes or the correction given that NBC News updated its story hours earlier to include a denial and explanation from Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin—a denial that was moved higher after the correction was issued.
Mejia "ignored law enforcement emergency lights to pull over and drove back to his house," McLaughlin said in a statement. "He fled from the car, gave officers the double middle finger, and darted inside his house. He abandoned his 5-year-old daughter in the car. Officers helped rescue the child and called local police to report the abandonment."
McLaughlin also noted that Mejia has previously been arrested for domestic abuse and strangulation, details omitted even from the updated NBC News article.
"ICE agents NEVER used a 5-year-old girl as 'bait,'" McLaughlin added in an X post. "Disgusting smears like these peddled by the media are leading to a 1000% increase in assaults against our brave law enforcement."
NBC News also included a video showing the girl calmly sipping a drink outside her Leominster, Mass., home as law enforcement casually stood by. The original copy described the girl as being "surrounded" by agents.
According to DHS, ICE agents are facing a staggering 1,000 percent surge in assaults as they carry out their duties. On Wednesday morning, a shooting at an ICE detention facility in Dallas left at least two dead, including the shooter, and at least two injured. An unspent shell casing was engraved with "ANTI ICE," according to FBI director Kash Patel.
"The obsessive attack on law enforcement, particularly ICE, must stop. I'm praying for everyone hurt in this attack and for their families," wrote Vice President J.D. Vance on X.
