Reporter Gets Laughs for Wearing Bulletproof Vest at the Border

Fox News might be getting into the comedy business. They often have laughable personalities (Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson) and hilarious headlines (“Three Mexican countries“). Yesterday, a Fox News reporter got roaring laughs on social media after he appeared “live from the border” wearing what looked like a bulletproof vest.

https://twitter.com/LawrenceBJones3/status/1113763507101741056

Fox News reporter Lawrence Jones III was doing on the ground coverage of the ongoing immigration issue at the border, but instead of garnering views for his hard-hitting story, he got laughs and confused people on social media wondering why he wore the vest in the first place.

Several reporters who’ve covered immigration at the border told him they have never worn a bulletproof vest nor have they’ve been told to by the Border Patrol.

Journalist Claudia Tristán, who covers El Paso, Texas, tweeted, pictures of herself wearing casual clothes while reporting on the border. She tweeted, “I covered the border in El Paso Sector for two years. This is what 5 ft tall me wore on the border interviewing immigrants recently apprehended by #BorderPatrol, on international bridges talking to asylum seekers denied entry to the U.S., and in the desert. No vest ever.”

“Daily Show” correspondent Roland Martin said on Twitter, “Y’all need a good laugh? Look at this. Lawrence thinks he’s headed to a war zone. Is this gonna increase your speaking fees, Lawrence? Game recognize game.”

Even Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez chimed in making fun of Jones’ flimsy vest, tweeting “Does ‘live from the border’ mean Party City? Fox is really out here doing the most on a budget to make the border look more dangerous than it is ?.”

Does “live from the border” mean Party City?

Fox is really out here doing the most on a budget to make the border look more dangerous than it is 😂

h/t @jacobsoboroff pic.twitter.com/uvzIPE5jPG

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) April 5, 2019

Lawrence commented on the criticism he received over trying to exploit an issue by making it seem more dangerous than it actually is. But he fired back saying he wore it for safety reason.

“They don’t know that the Border Patrol agent that’s standing right here and keeping us safe told me to put it on to keep us safe here,” Jones said during a segment with Fox News host Sean Hannity. “What people don’t understand is we control this side of the border, but the cartel controls the other side of the border. So there’s been gunfights. I’m going in danger with these Border Patrol agents to report on this story.”

He went on to claim that over the past two years, there’s been an “uptick” in violence causing a surge of more than 200 percent of violence against these agents. “And so in order to do my job, in order for the border agents to do their jobs, I have to come with this vest that they supply.” He never did say where he got that 200 percent number from.

I recognized the pack; it's similar to one I bought my kid for a costume. So I cropped it for a reverse image search, and… pic.twitter.com/FgXm51g1mb

— ➖Dustin Miller➖ (@spdustin) April 4, 2019

Jones also alleges that the Border Patrol made him wear it, but MSNBC correspondent Jacob Soboroff is calling him out.

“This is totally ridiculous,” Soboroff said on Twitter, “I have never once worn a bulletproof vest at the border, nor has CBP ever asked me to —  even while on a chase with Border Patrol to apprehend migrants in remote Arizona desert in the middle of the night. Because. The. Border. Is. Not. A. War. Zone.”

Whether he was forced to wear the vest or not is beside the point, we’re just glad there’s a new comedy channel we can tune into.