When Floriberto Perez-Nieto shot a deputy in the chest and ended up being killed by return fire, woke news outlets reported that he was a man from Johns Island, S.C. In reality, he was a criminal illegal alien from Mexico.
Whenever a mainstream media or leftist local affiliate outlet now tells me that a “Maryland man” or “Chicago man” or “Florida woman” was arrested or injured in a confrontation with law enforcement, red flags go up. So often, the supposed innocent victim or alleged American citizen turns out to be a criminal illegal alien. That is the case with the supposed South Carolina man who was actually a foreign national and was trying to commit murder to evade arrest for his other crimes.
ABC4 reported on February 12, for instance, “The Charleston County Coroner has identified the man shot and killed in a deputy-involved shooting Wednesday. Floriberto Perez Nieto, a 34-year-old male from John's Island [sic], was identified as the deceased.” Except he wasn’t simply a male from Johns Island.
WBTW News 13 was similarly deceptive: “Floriberto Perez Nieto, 34, of Johns Island, died on Feb. 11 from a gunshot wound sustained when deputies returned fire near the intersection of Edenborough Road and Caroline Lane, Coroner Bobbi Jo O’Neal said.” Meanwhile, The State claimed, “A Charleston man was killed during an officer-involved shooting after the man shot a deputy, according to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.”
Related: Another Illegal Alien Truck Driver Causes Fatal Crash, This Time in Indiana
What was the real story? On February 19, a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) press release clarified the truth. Perez-Nieto already had a conviction for illegal reentry at the time sheriff’s deputies responded to a shots-fired call in Johns Island, where the illegal alien was firing a gun for an unspecified reason.
On that date, February 10, the deputies did not find the suspect. In the very early hours of February 11, however, a call from the same individual about the suspect caused the sheriff’s deputies to return to the area. Officers attempted to make Perez-Nieto pull his car over, at which point he fired a bullet into an officer’s chest. Fortunately, the deputy was wearing body armor and so did not die. Understandably, however, the deputies then fired back at Perez-Nieto, killing him.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin noted that even the fact that Perez-Nieto had a firearm was also a crime: “This criminal illegal alien illegally obtained a firearm and nearly killed a law enforcement officer. Thankfully, the officer’s body armor saved his life. There could have been quite a different tragic outcome for this officer and his family.”
It is amazing how different the story is with the relevant facts about Perez-Nieto’s criminal record and his illegal status, isn’t it? Unfortunately, leftist media usually runs with whatever is the most convenient narrative to fit their ideology instead of digging deeper. And in doing so, they fuel a false and dangerous narrative against law enforcement, while simultaneously hiding how much crime illegal aliens commit in American communities.
