The challenge coin depicts a photo of last year’s incident in which a Border Patrol agent on horseback grabbed a Haitian migrant by the shirt.
Andy Christiansen
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Andy Christiansen
The challenge coin depicts a photo of last year’s incident in which a Border Patrol agent on horseback grabbed a Haitian migrant by the shirt.
Andy Christiansen
This week, a man in Utah found himself in the middle of an argument over a set of challenger coins he sold on eBay with a shocking image.
The coins depict the notorious, real-life image of a Border Patrol agent chasing Haitian migrants along the US-Mexico border last September.
Unless otherwise informed by authorities, the seller, Andy Christiansen, told NPR he still has about 20 coins and intends to sell them again.
“It’s absolutely a business for me,” he told NPR by phone. And it seems to be the popular one there.
When the eBay listing of this particular coin was done, Christianen said, at one point it was “flying out of price”. The interest is large enough to increase the cost of a coin by almost $500.
Although the coins are adorned with “US Border Patrol” and phrases like “You will be returned” and “Improve it since May 28, 1924” ( founding date of the Border Patrol), the agency’s leader confirmed that this is not an official coin of Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
A U.S. Border Patrol agent on horseback tries to prevent Haitian migrants from entering a plantation on the banks of the Rio Grande River in Texas on September 19, 2021. A coin shows the agent grabbing a person’s shirt. Men were recently sold on Ebay.
Paul Ratje / AFP via Getty Images
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Paul Ratje / AFP via Getty Images
A U.S. Border Patrol agent on horseback tries to prevent Haitian migrants from entering a plantation on the banks of the Rio Grande River in Texas on September 19, 2021. A coin shows the agent grabbing a person’s shirt. Men were recently sold on Ebay.
Paul Ratje / AFP via Getty Images
“These coins infuriate me because the hateful images on them have no place in a professional law enforcement agency,” CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus said in a statement to NPR. “Those who create or share these deeply offensive coins will distract and distract from the exceptionally difficult and often life-saving work that Border Patrol agents do every day across the country. country.”
An agency spokesperson told NPR that the agency’s Office of Professional Accountability is investigating whether anyone at CBP is selling the coin.
The spokesperson added in a statement, “The CBP Office of Chief Counsel (OCC) will also issue cease and desist letters to any vendor that illegally manufactures challenger coins using a in CBP’s registered trademarks.”
CBP said this week that it is investigating the origin of the coins. So, following those statements, Christiansen has taken down the eBay post for the time being.
But as of Friday afternoon, he told NPR, he had yet to hear anything from any of the investigators. He is planning to sell back about 20 coins he has left unless he receives notice from CBP or other authorities. A challenge coin is a type of small medal bearing the insignia of an organization or group and is usually carried by its members. Members of the military often have these coins.
Christianen said he was not the producer of the coins; The person or business that ordered or produced these coins remains a mystery.
A photo of the coin sold by Andy Christiansen
Andy Christiansen
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Andy Christiansen
A photo of the coin sold by Andy Christiansen
Andy Christiansen
According to Christiansen, the packaging in which he received the coins after buying them at auction was legible and gave no indication or indication of the coin’s origin.
He runs a business in Utah that buys auction items that have been lost or damaged in transit by FedEx or the United States Postal Service. That’s how he got possession of the coins – mixed in a box with other challenge coins, Christiansen said. He said that he did not know the meaning of what was depicted on the coin.
Christianen said he is still bewildered by the scene the coins depict.
“It’s not that I’m trying to be indifferent. I’m uneducated about the situation. And for me to say anything would be stupid,” he said. He added that he does not have any political views on the matter.
Plot
The dramatic scene the coin depicts took place last year when a large number Migrants tried to cross the US-Mexico border.
At the time, thousands of migrants – many of them Haitian – tried to get from Mexico to the US. That’s when Border Patrol agents used their horses to try to get back. Video of this particular clash caught an agent using the long reins of his horse to block a man from entering the US, leading many to believe he was hitting the man.
And in the widely seen photos – now depicted on these specific challenge coins – an agent dashes from the saddle of his bike to grab a man in a shirt.
After this incident, the Border Patrol said launch an investigation and has changed its policy about the use of horses on that Texas border. The White House also strongly condemns the actions of these agents.
Since news of these coins made headlines, Christiansen has received many supportive and critical comments about the option to sell them.
He read a comment he received that said, “Just wanted to say that all of us here in Phoenix, Arizona, absolutely love the CBP horseback challenger coin.” The person went on to say, “We want to buy one.”
He has also received several messages that “punish” him for selling them.
He was unfazed by those comments and said, “Everyone is entitled to their opinion.”
