Trump posted a photo of Abrego Garcia’s hand with an MS-13 knuckle tattoo. Internet sleuths say it’s photoshopped
Trump posted a photo of Abrego Garcia’s hand with an MS-13 knuckle tattoo. Internet sleuths say it’s photoshopped
President Donald Trump reportedly held up an altered image of the hand of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man who was wrongfully deported by the Trump administration, in an attempt to prove that Garcia was a gang member.
Summary
Trump reportedly held up a digitally altered image of the hand of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man who was deported by the Trump administration, in an attempt to prove Garcia is a gang member.
Trump can be seen holding a printed-out photo... demonstrating that "MS-13" is tattooed across his knuckles.
"This is the hand of the man that the Democrats feel should be brought back," Trump posted. However, many have pointed out that the image appears photoshopped.
"MS-13 looks like it was typed on the photo." "Needing to have a photo doctored... is definitely something a psychopath would do."
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It’s more like Microsoft Paint…it doesn’t even look slightly real. That’s if it even is his hand.
It's his hand. You can find other angles of it in the same article. It seems to me that the ms-13 edited onto his digits is meant to be a translation of the symbology of his tattoos:
Marijuana leaf = M
Smiley face = S
Cross = 1
Skull = 3
Is that an accurate representation of what his tattoos mean? I have no idea, I'm not an expert on gang symbology. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. The presence of a gang tattoo is something that could be submitted as evidence in court - which is a right the accused was never afforded.
What I am sure of, is that trump intentionally presented this information in such a vague manner so as to muddy the waters so he can come back later and claim his claims were misrepresented by the "lying, dishonest media" - which is itself dishonest.
It's an inkblot test. His detractors will take the claim at face value, and his supporters will dig in and claim we're stupid for not immediately taking his claims as gospel. He doesn't care if his claims hold up in court. He only cares about the court of public opinion, and right now, he's defining that conversation.
Why does "Cross = 1, Skull = 3"? I did my best to google it but every result is comments from posts made within the last day.
What I did find was this quote in https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-posts-image-kilmar-abrego-175852020.html :
"The four symbols – “Marijuana,” “Smiley,” “Cross” and “Skull” – have not been found in any law enforcement guidelines or manuals to stand in for MS-13 gang identification."
There is nothing supporting it, MS-13 members tend to be pretty unafraid to get just MS-13 tatted on their bodies
I have no idea why. But I'm sure trump's DOJ will be releasing new guidelines shortly that back up what their boss is saying, sans any provable evidence.
Is that an accurate representation of what his tattoos mean? I have no idea, I’m not an expert on gang symbology.
I'm not an expert either, but I'm from another country. Does the gang speak English? If it's an Ecuadorian gang, why would they use English abbreviations in their symbol language? It seems natural for them to use Spanish. :)
Marijuana is Marihuana and Smiley is not adapted, so it's still Smiley.
The cross and the skull being 1 and 3 I have no idea what means.