Morning Joe Hosts Tear Into DHS Claim That Houston Man Shot by ICE ‘Weaponized’ His Van: ‘Massive Cover-Up’

Morning Joe hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski tore into the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) claim that a Houston man fatally shot by ICE agents had “weaponized” his vehicle during an altercation.

Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was shot and killed by an ICE agent on Tuesday after officers stopped the white van he was driving on his way to work, despite authorities later determining he was not the original target of the immigration operation.

ICE said Salgado Araujo, whose van was registered in his name, ignored repeated verbal commands and rammed a law enforcement vehicle, prompting an agent to fire in self-defense.

His family disputed that account, saying Salgado Araujo had no criminal record, was seeking a work permit, and would have pulled over and complied had he realized the vehicles following him belonged to federal law enforcement.

The MS NOW hosts, however, were skeptical of the DHS narrative on Friday’s Morning Joe as they talked about the story.

“The Department of Homeland Security says Salgado weaponized his vehicle and tried to run over an agent who fired in self-defense. Where have we heard that before?” Brzezinski said.

Scarborough then interjected, referencing the shooting of a woman in Minnesota in January: “Yeah, and it’s always been a lie before. I mean, when they gunned down Renee Good, through her side window [of her car], they claimed that she weaponized – it was a total lie. But that total lie was spread by ICE agents, that total I was spread by [former Secretary of Homeland Security] Kristi Noem, that total lie was spread by right-wing media people, that lie about the shooting down of the gunning down of Renee Good through the side window spread by the entire MAGA ecosystem.”

“And it was disgusting. Proved to be a lie. It proved to be a lie because they had video,” he added.

“And those ICE agents [who shot Good], one of them at least out on the job. So again, just like before, surveillance video –” Brzezinski said, trying to continue.

Scarborough cut in: “These people are being gunned down in the streets of America! Let me say that again, like Sam [Stein] said, I don’t think we’ve grown numb to this. I think people in the White House have grown numb to this: You’re gunning down people in the streets of America, gunning down people in the streets of America. This is not going well!”

“It traumatizes and terrorizes communities,” Brzezinski added.

Scarborough continued: “And politically, it’s horrible for you. And yet, you just continue. And as we have said here from the very beginning, you will never get the numbers that you want to get that this, that this is politically not sustainable. When you just go out and you put these random numbers out there telling ICE agents, you have to go out and you got to get these numbers, or else you’re going to get in trouble. You won’t be able to keep your job. That’s not sustainable because you will never reach those numbers!”

“You need to go to a Plan B or a Plan C, because this ends in tragedy every time,” he added.

Brzezinski then noted that all three witnesses to the shooting, including the victim’s brother, were being “pressured to sign” for self-deportation.

“This just sounds like a massive cover up once again, because this is what ICE does. This is what ICE does, they lie,” Scarborough said. “They continued lying after they gunned down Renee Good, through the side window, they continued lying about Alex Pretti but the video was there and it will come out here too. The lies will undo them and they are gunning down people.”

Watch above via MS NOW.

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