An illegal alien from Peru rammed his van into an ICE agent during an arrest operation in New Jersey on Monday, sending the agent to the hospital — and ABC News covered it like the attacker was the victim. David Muir, anchor of ABC World News Tonight, described the man who weaponized a vehicle against a federal officer as an "escaping suspect."
Because nothing says journalism like watching a guy try to kill a cop with a car and worrying about hurting his feelings.
Here's what actually happened, since ABC couldn't be bothered. Friedrich Castillo-Ormeno, an illegal immigrant from Peru who entered the country during the Biden administration, was the target of an ICE arrest operation in Stafford Township, New Jersey — down by the Jersey Shore. Instead of surrendering, Castillo-Ormeno rammed his vehicle directly into an ICE officer, forcing the agent to discharge his weapon at the fleeing vehicle. The agent was transported to a local hospital. Castillo-Ormeno remains at large.
An immigration judge entered a final deportation order against Castillo-Ormeno back on January 30. He wasn't supposed to be here. He was ordered to leave. Instead, he tried to flatten a federal agent with his car.
Here's Muir's exact words from the June 15 broadcast, "Tonight, police outside New York City say an ICE agent has been injured by an escaping suspect in Stafford Township, New Jersey, along the Jersey Shore." He followed up with: "That agent firing a shot at the suspect's vehicle as it drove off."
An escaping suspect. Not an illegal alien. Not a man under a final deportation order. Not a foreign national who tried to murder a law enforcement officer with a two-ton weapon. A "suspect." As if he maybe shoplifted a candy bar and we just aren't sure yet.
This was a deliberate editorial minimization. ABC made a conscious choice to strip the criminal and immigration angles from a story that is entirely about immigration enforcement. The Daily Wire's Jennie Taer reported it straight: "An illegal immigrant rammed his car into an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer during an arrest operation Monday, forcing the agent to fire back."
See how easy that was? One sentence. Complete. Accurate. No editorial gymnastics required.
This is what the corporate press does. They don't lie outright — they just sand down every edge until the story can't cut anyone. An illegal alien becomes a "suspect." A deportation fugitive becomes someone "escaping." A vehicular assault on a federal agent becomes an "injury." By the time Muir is done with it, you'd think the ICE agent tripped over a curb.
Meanwhile, CBS and NBC weren't exactly lighting it up with hard-hitting coverage either. The entire mainstream media apparatus treats immigration enforcement stories like they're handling radioactive material. Acknowledge it happened, strip all context, move on before anyone starts asking uncomfortable questions about who's in this country and why.
We have a man with a final deportation order who decided his best move was attempted vehicular homicide against a federal officer. He's still on the loose somewhere in New Jersey. And ABC News — the network that wants you to trust them with the truth every evening — thought the most important editorial decision was making sure nobody used the words "illegal alien."
They're not journalists. They're a PR firm for people who assault law enforcement.
