Portland Gestapo Misidentification: "ZT1" is likely not a mercenary but a US Border Patrol combatant

You may have seen an imaage with captions claiming to show private contractor mercenaries assaulting nonviolent protestors in Portland, Oregan. As best I can tell this is a misidentification and unfortunate coincidence.

While the aggressor does have an unholstered sidearm drawn, and other similar images show weapons pointed directly at the photographer, insignia and attribution differ from the meme.

Whilst there is a company called “ZTI” (zed-tee-eye), on close examination the left shoulder patch the patch reads “ZT1” (zed-tee-numeral-one), and by one source (Cato) is apparently a US Government insignia for Customs and Border Patrol:

In a Friday tweet, Customs and Border Patrol official Mark Morgan acknowledged that the agents were not wearing name badges. He said this was in order to protect them from retaliation. But he claimed that the officers did wear unique identifiers. In one photograph, “ZT1” is visible above an officer’s agency patch.

https://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/what-we-know-dont-know-about-portland-dhs

The company ZTI (letter “i”, not numeral one) provides information technology services, not paramilitary services, best I can tell.

Other officers pictured as in this Buzzfeed article have other identifiers, with “MN1” (emm-enn-one) visible in another photograph.

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/amberjamieson/portland-photographer-takes-picture-officer-pointing-weapon

All appearances are that these are Federal agents. Not mercenaries. So far.

(That this is in the least comforting is a sign of just how sick the U.S. has become.)

#Portland #BLM #GeorgeFloyd #BlackLivesMatter #misinformation