By Joel Langton
The 830 Times
Conservative activists turned Rev. Al Sharpton’s visit to Del Rio into a debacle.
Thursday Sharpton visited Del Rio to visit with Haitian immigrants waiting to be processed under the Del Rio nternational Bridge.
Sharpton, who has been described as an “American civil rights activist, Baptist minister, talk show host, founder of National Action Network and politician,” on social media and online, has also attracted attention for his controversial views. In an Associated Press article on Sharpton from 2020, the controversy surrounding him was described thusly, “Sharpton constantly courted controversy for using inflammatory language against his opponents. He reserved his most fiery rhetoric for elected officials and attorneys representing police officers and alleged assailants in case after case of racial violence.”
Shortly after Sharpton’s arrival at 11:05 a.m. on a chartered Citation III, he bumped into two local businessmen, Tommy Qualia and Dennis Charlton in the Pico Aviation Terminal.
“When I talked to him, it was very short,” Tommy Qualia said. “I was in the Pico Terminal and when he came out of the bathroom, he said ‘Who are you’ to my friend Dennis Charlton, then he looked at me and said, ‘Who are you?’ It was just rude.
“Then I told him why do you think Black Lives Matter more than people’s lives matter? No one, red, yellow, black or white should be shot. He said I attacked him so I ended the conversation.”
Waiting outside were about 30 activists who hoped for more than a conversation as they planned to block him in the airport. However, city officials helped his three-vehicle caravan navigate out a back gate, leaving the activists frustrated.
“That upset us … it was nasty and rude for him to slip out the back,” said Dr. Alma Arredondo-Lynch, a Uvalde dentist, state Republican party committee member and former U.S. Congressional candidate. “We wanted to show him the men and women in uniform have support in Texas.”
However, the group wasn’t going to be deterred. They headed for the Del Rio International Bridge, where more than 20 media outlets were camped out near the entry to the camp. The activists went up and down the line, being interviewed by Fox, CNN and Real America’s Voice Network.
While the local conservatives were sharing their message with the media, Sharpton was checking on conditions in the camp.
As soon as his visit wrapped up in the camp, he came out to meet with the media, in what was supposed to be a short press conference.
Moments after Sharpton stepped out of his vehicle, a voice began bellowing, “Mr. Sharpton, why are you not being an advocate for the children being trafficked to the border?” The yelling continued throughout the press conference, as the messages also included “Don’t sell your hate here” and “Del Rio is a loving community.”
Frontline America’s Ben Bergquam also began yelling questions at Sharpton, drowning out his statement. However, Sharpton continued speaking, knowing that the microphones in front of him would pick up his message.
One of those, the Daily Mail, had a microphone close enough to pick up the following:
“We went for an hour and toured the place that we feel is a real catastrophic and human disgrace as people around this world watch the Border Patrol use slave-like techniques — mounted on horses, It compelled us to come and show our voices and our presence.
“The Trump supporters and the right-wingers can scream all they want,’ Sharpton continued. ‘We gon’ continue to come back. We gon’ stand with our people to make sure that asylum [seekers] is treated in one way and one manner. And we will continue to come back over and over again.'”
As soon as Sharpton climbed into his SUV, the real theatrics began when Sharpton’s public relations representative approached Anthony Aguero of Border News Network.
Aguero is no stranger to controversy himself. A YouTuber who has been described by other media outlets as “far right” due to his strong conservative views, Aguero, who also failed in an election bid for a seat in US House of Representatives in 2020, was present at the Jan. 6 riot in Washington, cheering and supporting rioters, though he has not been charged in relation to the incident. In June, Aguero accompanied several conservative lawmakers on a trip to the US/Mexico border including Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina, Ronny Jackson of Texas and Mary Miller of Illinois, among others.
“Why are you doing this,” she asked. “Why are you even here?”
“Who are you? I’m not even talking to you,” Aguero said.
Rev. Freddie Haynes, senior pastor at Friendship West Baptist Church in Dallas who had accompanied Sharpton on his visit to Del Rio, stepped in to confront Aguero.
“You are the racist,” he shouted going nose-to-nose with Aguero.
“I am a first generation American,” Aguero said. “I am not backing down from you!”
Sharpton’s staffers then began pulling Haynes closer to the car where they eventually got in and returned to the airport.
At 2:03 p.m., Sharpton and his entire team lifted off the Del Rio runway.
The entire scene was recorded by an 830 Times staffer and can be seen here. (20+) Facebook Live | Facebook
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Contact the author at joelalangton@gmail.com.
