A Border Patrol agent facing an August trial for allegedly hitting a migrant with a truck, nearly running him over, and lying about the incident has a history of hostile language for illegal border crossers, The Washington Post reported.
Matthew Bowen has referred to migrants in texts to other agents as "mindless murdering savages," "s–bags," and one as a "disgusting subhuman s– unworthy of being kindling for a fire," according to court filings, per reports.
The prosecutors are using the texts to paint the agent in his trial as having "great disdain" for illegal immigrations, according to the Daily Star, but Bowen's attorney, Sean Chapman, is arguing the texts are not germane to Bowen's specific case.
"How Mr. Bowen referred to aliens in specific text does not aid the jury in determining whether he, on this occasion, set out to use excessive force to apprehend the alleged victim," Chapman told the Post.
In another text in November 2017, Bowen lamented how Border Patrol agents had to give migrants human treatment even in the face of attacks.
"PLEASE let us take the gloves off trump!" Bowen texted another agent who was facing criminal charges for shooting an unarmed Mexican teenager through the border fence, according to the Post.
Bowen's run-in with a migrant he stands trial for happened less than two weeks later. Bowen allegedly chased down the running migrant in a Ford F-150, having "accelerated aggressively" and hitting him from behind twice, knocking him down the second time and coming "within inches" of running him over, prosecutors say, per the report.
Bowen was placed on leave indefinitely without pay in May 2018 after 10 years with Border Patrol and his trial is slated for Aug. 13, per the Post.
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