Sometime yesterday a group of left-wingers on Twitter started claiming that this picture tweeted by ICE last month featured an employee with an Iron Cross (i.e. Nazi) tattoo on his elbow:

Learn more about HERO Child-Rescue Corps, a program for wounded, injured & ill Special Ops Forces to receive training in high-tech computer forensics & law enforcement skills, to assist federal agents in the fight against online child sexual exploitation https://t.co/g0DpFeb3fE pic.twitter.com/b7qTIbnuRR — ICE (@ICEgov) May 25, 2018

I’m not going to point to everyone who was promoting this but actor Ron Perlman was one:

I know I’m a leftist, “D List” actor, so my twitter feed is probably deceiving me, but is that an iron cross tattooed on this hero’s arm? This is a mistake, right? Cuz the Iron Cross was a symbol of Nazi Germany. Gotta be my twitter feed is leaning left again. https://t.co/qsA6ynOfzB — Ron Perlman (@perlmutations) June 18, 2018

And whoever this is:

Meet Justin Gaertner, a retired Marine corporal in Florida with what looks to be a massive Iron Cross tattoo radiating around his elbow, inside of which some folks have identified a SECOND example of neo-Nazi iconography. Maybe ICE should call it their outfit the Heldenkorps, eh? pic.twitter.com/iiZP80bfIO — Ron Hogan (@RonHogan) June 18, 2018

And this anonymous guy who has spent the last 24-hours crowd-sourcing this:

That's right, ICE put an iron cross in their self-promoting tweet. Once more for those in the back: THAT'S A NAZI TATTOO ON HIS LEFT ELBOW AND THIS IS OFFICIAL INSTITUTIONAL PROPAGANDA https://t.co/gxvsxkdbHh — Abolish ICE (@QuantumTakes) June 18, 2018

Apparently, a reporter for the New Yorker was also sharing this nonsense. It caught on enough that ICE issued a response on Twitter this morning. The person in the photo is Justin Gaertner, a seriously wounded Marine who lost both his legs to an IED. He now works with ICE helping to rescue children from sexual abuse:

Justin Gaertner is a combat wounded U.S. Marine who continues to serve his country as an ICE computer forensics analyst, helping solve criminal cases & rescue abused children. The tattoo shown here is the symbol for his platoon while he fought in Afghanistan. pic.twitter.com/BaOBxaAMHS — ICE (@ICEgov) June 18, 2018

Per Gaertner, the tattoo on his left elbow is “Titan 2,” the symbol for his platoon while he fought in Afghanistan. The writing on his right arm is the Spartan Creed which is about protecting family and children. pic.twitter.com/qs8H3tkd6l — ICE (@ICEgov) June 18, 2018

Gaertner’s best friend is “Gabe Martinez” who was injured by the same IED and who probably isn’t a white supremacist either:

Read about how Gaertner and his friend, Gabe Martinez, also a Human Exploitation Rescue Operative (HERO) & computer forensic analyst (CFA) with ICE HSI, provided support to Boston Marathon bombing victims: https://t.co/5PewXy6OMd pic.twitter.com/Ijm2nlYw4v — ICE (@ICEgov) June 18, 2018

Here’s the full statement put out by ICE which specifically criticizes the New Yorker reporter:

In response to finding out that a) they were wrong about the tattoo and b) the person they were attacking is wounded vet, some of the accusers have apologized:

My apologies! I mistook the symbol on this man’s arm before I actually knew the facts. So again, I apologize to the man in this picture for my mistake. Maybe it was the gusto, the relish this agency seems to project in their obsession to racially profile decent people. https://t.co/7heFecxSY4 — Ron Perlman (@perlmutations) June 18, 2018

Talia Levin, the New Yorker reporter, has since protected her tweets. But some of the folks who went all in on this are still pushing the Nazi claim. Here’s a local news report about Justin Gaertner from 2013: