President Joe Biden’s pick to lead the U.S. Customs and Border Protection previously criticized the Covington Catholic High School students who were falsely accused of harassing a Native American man during the March for Life.
“High school students mock Native American elder/Vietnam veteran at Lincoln Memorial. Politics aside, how do kids get like this? What kind of parenting or school experience leads to this? Mob mentality, adolescent behavior — sure. But this has to be called out as cruel & wrong,” Chris Magnus tweeted on Jan. 19, 2019, accompanied by a photo of then-student Nicholas Sandmann.
High school students mock Native American elder/Vietnam veteran at Lincoln Memorial. Politics aside, how do kids get like this? What kind of parenting or school experience leads to this? Mob mentality, adolescent behavior–sure. But this has to be called out as cruel & wrong. pic.twitter.com/NJsCnJtCjA
— Chris Magnus (@ChiefCMagnus) January 20, 2019
Magnus’s Twitter account is unverified, but the Tucson Police Department, where he currently serves as police chief, identified him as the user behind the account.
Sandmann made headlines in 2019 when he was filmed wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat while encountering Native American activist Nathan Phillips during a high school trip to Washington, D.C.
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The Covington Catholic graduate settled a defamation lawsuit with CNN and other outlets last year over its coverage of the 2019 incident. Outlets had characterized the scene as Sandmann and other students confronting and taunting Phillips, which a full video of the scene debunked.
Biden announced Magnus’s nomination to head the CBP on Monday as the border crisis continues to intensify.
“I am, of course, very honored to be nominated by the President to lead Customs and Border Protection. I look forward to speaking with senators and hearing their thoughts and concerns,” Magnus said in a statement after the announcement.
Magnus has a history of criticizing the former Trump administration and advocating for Black Lives Matter.
“As the police chief here, I’m deeply troubled by the Trump administration’s campaign against ‘sanctuary cities,’ which refuse to turn over undocumented immigrants to federal authorities,” he wrote in an op-ed in 2017. “Washington is trying to retaliate against them by withholding funding for things like crime prevention, drug treatment and mental health programs.”
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In 2014, he was seen holding a sign reading, “#Black Lives Matter,” during protests over the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner.
Magnus did not immediately respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment when reached through the Tucson Police Department.
