A New Yorker fact checker admitted she got her facts wrong about an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) employee she called a Nazi and resigned Saturday. As Fox News reports, Talia Lavin, who worked for the liberal journal for three years, quit her job and apologized to Justin Gaertner on Twitter.
“To Justin Gaertner, I apologize, sincerely: all I saw in you was the photo ICE tweeted, and not the human being depicted inside it. It was uncharitable, and the hasty deletion doesn’t change that. I’m sorry and I have voluntarily resigned after three years at the New Yorker,” Lavin tweeted.
To Justin Gaertner, I apologize, sincerely: all I saw in you was the photo ICE tweeted, and not the human being depicted inside it. It was uncharitable, and the hasty deletion doesn’t change that. I’m sorry and I have voluntarily resigned after three years at the New Yorker.
— Talia Lavin (@chick_in_kiev) June 23, 2018
Lavin had noted that Gaertner apparently had an Iron Cross tattoo on his arm, something she said was synonymous with Nazi Germany, although the symbol predates the Hitler era was first adopted by Imperial Germany.
It turned out that Gaertner had insulted a wounded warrior war and Marine Corps veteran of Afghanistan whose tattoo was “the Titan 2” symbol of his platoon — and had nothing to do with Germans, Nazi or otherwise. (RELATED: Push To Abolish ICE Picking Up Steam Among Some Democrats)
ICE officials struck back at Lavin’s accusations on Twitter, pointing out, “The writing on his right arm is the Spartan Creed, which is about protecting family and children.”
The New Yorker distanced itself from Lavin’s remarks even before her resignation. Despite the apology, Lavin has continued to condemn ICE.