8 Years: Family of Slain Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry Still Waiting for Answers

The family of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry is still waiting for answers about the U.S. government’s role in the circumstances leading to his December 2010 murder. Two firearms found at the crime scene were purchased through a federal gun-running scheme that became known as “Fast and Furious.”

Shortly before midnight on December 14, 2010, Agent Terry and his fellow BORTAC agents were dispatched to search for a Mexican “rip crew” in the mountainous terrain of the southern Arizona border. Rip crews are groups of bandits that prey on human and drug smuggling hikers near the border to rip off whatever valuables or drugs are being transported. Agent Terry’s team came upon a group shortly before midnight on the 14th and the group opened fire in the agents. Terry was struck by the gunfire and died shortly after midnight on December 15 from his wounds.

In the years following Terry’s murder, many of those in the rip crew have been brought to justice. In 2017, Breitbart Texas first reported that Mexican law enforcement authorities arrested the final suspect in the shooting death of Agent Terry.

While the Mexican rip crews who carried out the murder are in U.S. custody and are facing justice, no one in the federal government has been held accountable for their actions that put two guns in the hands of the killers, Terry’s family told Breitbart News. Despite promises from President Donald Trump, documents relating to the Fast and Furious scandal remain secret.

“Another year has passed and we are still waiting for answers — it has been eight years,” Agent Terry’s sister Michelle Balogh told Breitbart News in an email. “We still want those in the previous administration to be held accountable for their actions in the botched gun program, Fast and Furious, that killed Brian.

“Not only does Brian deserve answers and justice, but, the American people deserve to know the truth as well,” Balogh continued. “Every holiday for us now has not been the same as Brian was killed just ten days before Christmas. It’s supposed to be a joyous season, but instead, we are reminded of his death and pain of his senseless murder.”

Agent Terry died during his final shift in the Arizona desert before a scheduled Christmas homecoming in Michigan.

Balogh said the Trump Administration needs to make the remaining Fast and Furious’documents available so her family and the family of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agent Jaime Zapata can get the truth and close these open wounds.

Agent Terry’s other sister, Kelly Terry-Willis also responded the anniversary of her brother’s death, saying, “Can you believe its been eight years? It’s been hard because we have not gotten much further with getting the truth regarding the executive privilege on theFast and Furious documents. When we get one step closer, it’s another roadblock.”

“What keeps us going is knowing Brian deserves his justice,” she explained. “One of the things we are proud of is the Brian Terry Foundation. To date, we have awarded over 60 college scholarships to young adults going into a criminal justice field. We have helped families of the fallen and agents with serious illnesses within the Border Patrol family. Our love for the entire Border Patrol family is unwavering. We strive to be there for them no matter what they need from us.”

Agent Terry’s brother, Kent Terry, has been very vocal in his criticism of the government and their failure to hold responsible government officials accountable.

“It’s frustrating that oversight has never followed through with their investigation,” Kent Terry expressed. “Eight years into this and no one [in the federal government] has been held accountable for their involvement in supplying guns to known criminals through the Fast and Furious gun scandal.”

“It’s sad and very disappointing how corrupt our Department of Justice is in not getting documents released under Attorneys General Eric Holder, Loretta Lynch, and Jeff Sessions.”

“What is our justice system really hiding?” Terry asked. “It has been eight years and my family is still without closure.”

“I been begging trump through Twitter to follow through with his promise — ‘promises made promises kept,'” Agent Terry’s brother explained. “He promised me if he became president he would open the books into Brian’s death. I like the man, I respect the man, and I even voted for him. But we have waited long enough.”

“The lies and being misled on purpose under Holder are scars that will never heal. I am losing faith in our justice system,” Terry continued. “What do I have to do, stand in front of the White House until we get answers?”

“My brother deserves honest justice as, a Marine and law enforcement officer he did his part — they need to do theirs,” he concluded.
Full Measure’s Sharyl Attkisson originally reported the government’s Fast and Furious (then referred to as “Project Gunrunner”) connection to Agent Terry’s murder in southern Arizona.

Attkisson told Breitbart News this weekend, “Who would have thought all these years later, that we still wouldn’t have documents the government has kept hidden through Obama’s executive privilege… that we’ve never gotten to see the White House emails and communications … and that even under a new administration, (ATF Agent) John Dodson’s name is uttered by Department of Justice officials as if he did something wrong rather than holding him up in training as a hero who told the truth and stopped deadly, dangerous practice…”
The Terry family has repeatedly expressed frustration about the lack of transparency from the federal government about its role in their brother’s murder. It has now been eight years and the calendar marches on.