Former Border Patrol agents on Wednesday filed a “defamation” lawsuit against Missouri Democratic Senate candidate Lucas Kunce, alleging he was “BORTAC-certified” when in fact he was not.
Kunce released the ad in August, claiming that he was “Border Patrol trained on our southern border” and “certified with Border Patrol Tactical Units.”
But retired Border Patrol agents dispute Kunce's claims, arguing he should never have been certified by BORTAC.
BORTAC is an elite unit that makes up less than 1% of the Border Patrol. Get Involved In “high-risk incidents that require specialized skills and tactics,” BORTAC is headquartered in El Paso, Texas, with operational teams deployed across the country.
A former Border Patrol agent told Breitbart News in an interview that becoming BORTAC-certified is a lengthy process, which includes:
- Being a border patrol officer. Kunsth was not.
- Border Patrol agents must be selected through a rigorous application process just to participate in BORTAC selection.
- Border Patrol agents must endure a rigorous selection course to become BORTAC certified.
A Border Patrol official said that at best, Border Patrol units would provide their soldiers with “minimal training,” including small team tactics.
The retired official said he is “pretty diligent” in answering inquiries about the resumes of retired Border Patrol agents to see if they were members of BORTAC, and noted that he has a directory of everyone who graduated from the program. Imposters range from military personnel to podcasters and fraudulently claim qualifications.
The retired agent said Kunce “was not a member of BORTAC.”
“No, the Border Patrol does not technically certify people for border enforcement,” a second retired Border Patrol officer said.
“You can't in any way say that a short deployment, a short deployment to the border or a joint training session with BORTAC makes that person an expert in border security. That's ridiculous,” the second agent said.
Kunce's campaign manager told Breitbart News:
During his time in the Marine Corps, Lucas was assigned to the I Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF) Advisory Training Group at Camp Pendleton, California, where he was preparing to deploy to Iraq with the Border Training Team. Marines from I MEF preparing to deploy with the Border Training Team were deployed to the southern border to train with the Border Patrol to learn the tactical skills necessary to train Iraqi Border Patrol agents. During the course of his training, Lucas successfully completed the BORTAC/SRT Border Transition Team Training Course in Yuma, Arizona. The document states: attached This is the certificate Lucas Kunce received from the U.S. Border Patrol Yuma Division for completing his training.
Lucas never claimed “it was BORTAC.” He was stating a fact. As a MarineHe trained alongside Border Patrol agents and was certified by the Border Patrol Tactical Unit. As evidenced by this certificate from his official military file:You should give this detailed background information to the agent you mention before publishing your story.
The first retired Border Patrol officer said Kunce's claim to be a member of BORTAC amounted to “honor theft.”
“We take it personally, just like when Don Shipley exposed the SEALs as fakes,” the retired agent said.
“If they are trying to do it for personal gain or public interest, they will be exposed,” he added.
“Simple allegations of fraud like these are a shortcut to devalue and discredit the elite troops assigned to BORTAC teams,” the retired agent added.
“The Border Patrol agents in the area, who I still keep in contact with, saw it and were offended,” the second retired agent said.
A source familiar with the process said officials at BORTAC headquarters have asked CBP's Office of the Chief Counsel to issue an order suspending Kunce from work.
“That's how bad they believe it is,” said the second retired Border Patrol agent.
A second Border Patrol agent questioned why the DNC would glamorize the border record when there was clear evidence to the contrary.
He or she said, “Why are they trying to mislead America? What is their goal? Why not? Why not just tell the truth and let the rest take its course?”
The agent continued: “In fact, as you are speaking [Tim] Waltz, when you're talking [Kamala] Harris, the fact is, neither of them support border security, neither of them support law enforcement, and to me, it looks like they're trying to say otherwise right now to get votes. But if America digs into it, we have a track record that's just facts and evidence. Do you really think that's going to change completely just because they're elected?”
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter. Sean Moran 3.
