by Jacob Richards
KREX, the Nexstar affiliate based in Grand Junction but in theory covers all of Western Colorado, on Friday ran a story about an ICE arrest that occurred allegedly in Grand Junction of Juan Carlos Membreno Portillo, an immigrant with alleged ties to the MS-13 Street gang.
The only source for the story was an infographic posted by ICE Denver on Feb. 17. This is unverified propaganda from the same administration that told us to ignore our own eyes after the state killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
Publishing unverified regime narratives is journalistically reprehensible, harmful to marginalized people, and qualifies as rank propaganda.
How do we know that ICE Denver is lying? Well, it’s called journalism.
Voces Unidas, an immigrant advocacy organization based largely in the central mountains of Colorado, did the work — they talked to Juan Carlos’ loved ones and they investigated.
“In this case, Juan Carlos wasn’t arrested in Grand Junction. He was in Glenwood Springs, on his way to work in the Aspen-area. Anyone who ever met Juan Carlos knows that he’s a cherished community member, and not a gang member. Getting the facts right matters. When federal authorities spread false narratives, it deepens the harm already inflicted on families being torn apart.”
The Revolutionist too was working on debunking the regime’s lies in this case, and we too had reached out to and did interviews with Juan Carlos’ wife and his employer. And everything we learned supports Voces Unidas’s reporting and discredits the regime and by default KREX’s reporting. Facts matter.
Early in the administration, famously, the regime accused Kilmar Abrego Garcia of being a member of MS-13 before illegally departing him to El Salvador’s CCOTE concentration camp. Lies cannot be left to stand unchallenged. Injustice festers in silence and/or lies. Don’t remain silent.
Small local media outlets are generally pretty susceptible to public pressure. Please take a minute to send an email to Scott Sheriff ssheriff@krextv.com
Asks:
- Retract the false story about Juan Carlos!
- Apologize to Juan Carlos, his loved ones, and the community at large for spreading government misinformation without verification, a cornerstone of journalistic integrity!
- Reaffirm to the community your station’s commitment to verified, accurate journalism with a promise to not publish government propaganda narratives without verification.
The Revolutionist 