Note: This is the third of three articles about the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office’s collaboration with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s sweep of undocumented migrants. See the first, “At Least 205 Migrants Have Been Detained at Flagler County Jail So Far This Year as Part of ICE Sweeps,” and the second, “Flagler County Sheriff Participation in Federal Immigration Sweeps Raises Questions About Local Taxpayer Costs.”
The Flagler County jail is one of the state’s busiest holding facilities for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, collaborating with federal agencies in the Trump administration’s sweep of undocumented migrants. After the booking of three dozen unnamed migrants on Feb. 9, FlaglerLive sent a set of 19 questions to the Sheriff’s Office about the agency’s participation, costs and other issues related to the collaboration with ICE.
The Sheriff’s Office’s initial answer was a blanket deferral to ICE: “This information is subject to public disclosure pursuant to provisions of applicable federal laws, regulations, and executive orders,” a Sheriff’s Office spokesperson wrote. “As such, all inquiries regarding detainees must be directed to the Public Affairs Office for ICE.”
After further discussions, the agency provided answers to some of the questions, still deferring others to ICE. ICE did not respond to the submitted questions. The Q&A with the Sheriff’s Office follows as submitted and answered through the sheriff’s Public Information Office.
Due to the unusually high number of ICE-related bookings over the weekend, was there, and is there an ongoing, ICE operation in the county or the region, and if so, what is its operational name?
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office did not conduct an operation with ICE.
Have Flagler County deputies been diverted from their regular duties to assist federal authorities?
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office routinely assists both local and federal partners as part of our regular duties while maintaining services for our community. No deputies are being diverted.
Has the sheriff gone on any operations that resulted in the ICE-related detention of individuals?
Sheriff Staly routinely patrols our area and goes out on scene when individuals are arrested for a wide variety of crimes. To the Sheriff’s knowledge, he has not been on scene of an ICE detention.
I understand from the sheriff’s previous remarks on the subject that the county jail is an ICE-holding facility. What is the capacity for ICE-related detainees, and how long is a typical detainee held at the county jail?
The Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility has a max capacity of approximately 458 inmates for the entire facility.
Are all such ICE-related detainees considered to be under federal custody, and therefore once they leave the county jail, are they always headed to a different detention facility?
This information is subject to public disclosure pursuant to provisions of applicable federal laws, regulations, and executive orders. As such, all inquiries regarding detainees should be directed to ICE.
At the quarterly Public Safety Coordinating Council meeting, Chief Engert presents the latest jail census and the previous months’ averages. Are federal detainees included in those numbers?
Jail census data only includes those with criminal charges.
How many ICE-related detainees are there currently at the county jail, how many are there on average over the course of a month, and what is the average length of stay at the county jail for an ICE-related detainee?
This information is subject to public disclosure pursuant to provisions of applicable federal laws, regulations, and executive orders. As such, all inquiries regarding detainees should be directed to ICE.
How much money does the federal government pay the Sheriff’s Office to detain a federal inmate per day, and how much money has been paid under that program to the Sheriff’s Office this year?
This information is subject to public disclosure pursuant to provisions of applicable federal laws, regulations, and executive orders. As such, all inquiries regarding detainees should be directed to ICE.
Do ICE-related detainees have the same access to the jail’s medical services as do regular inmates?
If there is a medical emergency and the ICE-related detainee has to be taken to the hospital, is that the Sheriff’s Office’s responsibility, and are the costs reimbursed? All inmates received the same level of medical care.
Why are ICE-related detainees not identified in daily jail bookings?
This information is subject to public disclosure pursuant to provisions of applicable federal laws, regulations, and executive orders. As such, all inquiries regarding detainees should be directed to ICE.
To what extent does the jail document ICE-related detentions. Put another way: how does the data gathered about ICE-related individuals differ from data gathered about regular inmates?
Jail personnel follow and are compliant with National Detention Standards v. 2025; Florida Model Jail Standards; Florida Corrections Accreditation Commission standards and National Commission on Correctional Healthcare Commission standards. The facility (and personnel) undergo scheduled and unscheduled audits of the listed standards by at least five (5) independent auditing bodies throughout each year.
How do local residents know that a family member or a loved one picked up by ICE or ICE-related operations is at the Flagler jail, and what rights do those local residents have, if any, to have contact with the detainees while they’re at the county jail? Can they see them through the same video-communication system that the jail makes available to other local inmates and their families?
All detainees of the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility have the ability to communicate with/contact family members/loved ones via regular mail, phone, messaging and video visitation.
Can the ICE-related detainees see their or any attorney should they ask for one?
All detainees of the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility have the ability to communicate with/contact attorney(s)/family members/loved ones via regular mail, phone, messaging and video visitation.
What are the conditions of incarceration for ICE-related detainees. In other words, are they held as would be misdemeanor offenders, or felony offenders, or in a totally different way? Do they have phone or tablet access, do they get to keep their own cell phones, do they have television or internet and/or email access, and may they communicate by mail with anyone outside the jail?
Every inmate booked into the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility receives a classification based on their charges and behavior. All persons in the jail have access to phone and tablets. Personal cellphones are considered contraband and not allowed in the jail.
Has the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office needed to hire additional detention deputies to manage the ICE-related detainees?
No.
Is the arrangement with the federal government creating any unexpected burdens–financial, personnel, logistical, linguistic–and will we see that reflected in the coming budget?
Sheriff Staly will ensure that residents do not bear the burden of housing any federal inmates.
How does jail staff handle the language barrier with the detainees, if and when the detainee is not able to communicate in English?
In December, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office implemented Axon’s voice-enabled AI language translation technology paid with a grant received from the Florida State Board of Immigration Enforcement, which allows deputies to speak to inmates in over 50 languages, no matter the reason for their detention. Additionally, many jail employees speak other languages fluently.
How does the jail handle the separation of the sexes–if at all–and how does it handle children who may be part of the same group of people brought in by ICE?
All Jail inmates, regardless of their crime or reason for incarceration, are separated by gender and classification. Juveniles are housed at the Department of Juvenile Justice [in Volusia County].
Would you arrange a visit to the jail for FlaglerLive to see the ICE-related detention operation, with whatever conditions you may require?
This information is subject to the provisions of applicable federal laws, regulations, and executive orders. As such, all inquiries regarding detainees should be directed to ICE.
If there are additional observations, facts or information for us to know and that these questions have not elicited, please feel free to include.
None were provided.
R.S. says
For a goodly while, I’ve been impressed with the sheriff, particularly the work of Chief Engert; but it seems that we cannot rely on our sheriff to see to it that all inmates receive proper due process. The unanswered questions are most disconcerting. Visits to the jail should be open to any citizen of the County, with an appointment, of course. Keeping the jail out of sight is not at all typical for past sheriff’s departments. Also, past sheriffs had an open=door policy for visiting when individuals in jail requested a visit by, say, someone from the ACLU. I am very disappointed in the sheriff for his obedience to the current party in command, rather than to general principles of morality and humanity.
Sherry says
Thanks for asking these important questions Pierre. The whole ICE process is nothing like real “ice”. . It seems about as transparent as mud! “If” everything was on the up and up, the Feds would be happy and even proud to open those “concentration camps” to Congressional oversight and even to the press.
The money for housing and feeding those detainees has to come from somewhere. “Where exactly?”. . . It’s a good question.
Concerned community membet says
I would like to know if the Federal Govt are paying for these people being detained in our county jail?
PaulT says
In other words, Flagler County Sheriff’s Office will not coment on ICE detainees or the level of assistance the State requires them to give to ICE. The FCSO answers can be summed up as: ‘To tell you more would imperil my job and, trust me, the public really don’t need to know do they. The US is now a police state, and you’d better get used to it and keep your mouth shut.”
But I have one question to ask FCSO:
“Does Sheriff Staley recommend that all residents carry their passport when out of their homes since a Florida drivers license, even with RealID, doesn’t actually confirm citizenship?’ Should we now expect ‘Zeigt mit eure Papiere’ where ever we go?
Or perhaps white residents can relax because the detentions are due to racial profiling so only brown or black skons people will be targeted by ICE and FHP and FCSO.
Ed Danko, former VIce Mayor PC says
First and foremost, let’s be clear and accurate, these are not undocumented migrants, these are illegal aliens. Once they snuck across our border they broke our laws. They have no rights, we owe them nothing. The American public elected President Trump to remove them, and he is doing exactly that. Thank you Sheriff Rick, and your amazing staff, for working with ICE to remove these criminals from our country. Why Democrats would want to allow illegal criminal aliens to remain and commit horrific crimes against our citizens, is beyond imagination.
Laurel says
Ed Danko etc., etc.: Do you have imagination?
Lynne says
Sorry, Ed, but you’re not keeping up to date on current arrests. There have been many documented arrests involving people who are US citizens and/or have the legal right to be in this country. What makes you think the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office is any different?
And the rest of your comment regarding the alleged crimes they commit is not even worthy of a response!
Ed Danko, former VIce Mayor PC says
Lynne (why do you not use your full name?) below is a brief list of victims of illegals.
Jocelyn Nungaray (12): Murdered in Houston, Texas, in June 2024; two Venezuelan nationals were charged.
Rachel Morin (37): Mother of five raped and murdered on a hiking trail in Maryland; a citizen of El Salvador was arrested.
Laken Riley (22): Nursing student beaten and killed while jogging on the University of Georgia campus in February 2024; a Venezuelan national was charged.
Kayla Hamilton (20): Murdered in her home in Maryland; a Salvadoran national with reported MS-13 ties was charged.
Sarah Root (21): Killed in a drunk driving crash in Nebraska in 2016 by a Honduran national.
Officer David Lee (44): Missouri police officer killed by a Honduran national in 2024.
Larisha Sharell Thompson (40): Shot and killed during a random robbery in South Carolina; six individuals, including illegal aliens, were charged.
Arya Cruz Asencio (8): Killed in a San Diego car crash in January 2026 by a Guatemalan national with previous DUI charges.
Fletcher Harris (20) & Skylar Provenza (19): Killed in a DWI crash in North Carolina in January 2025.
Melissa Powell (47) & Riordan Powell (16): Killed in a car crash caused by a Honduran national in Colorado in 2024.
Ivory Smith (7): Killed in a crash caused by a Venezuelan national in Texas in 2024.
Alex “AJ” Wise Jr. (10): Killed in a crash caused by a Mexican national in Texas in 2024.
Lynne says
Ed – ICE arrested over 300,000 people in just 2025. Certainly, some of them arrived in this country illegally and some have committed crimes. However, statistically, the illegals commit far fewer crimes than US citizens, and whether or not car crashes should be considered crimes is debatable
. You can cherry-pick the numbers if you want to – but you’re still wrong in your conclusions.
Sherry says
Thank you for trying Lynne. . . dealing with “indoctrinated’ members of the Maga PLAGUE is never easy.
Sherry says
@ Lynne. . . I would never use my full name in Flaglerlive comments simply because there are so many, armed to the teeth, “unstable/unhealthy” people in our society. In addition, trump’s goons are collecting data in order to intimidate everyone who speaks out against him.
Under the fascist trump regime, your constitutional rights are only as strong as your bank account. . . in order to hire attorneys to defend them.
Dennis C Rathsam says
I use my full name! I’m not AFFRAID of all you Jackasses! Ed has IMAJINATION, plus the facts to back it up! The murder rate is the lowest its ever been thanks to TRUMP, & ICE. If freedom of speech, like you have here on Flagler Live up sets you. maybe you should move to IRAN. They too will let you speak than hang you!
Lynne says
You really need to learn how to spell – or at least, check your comments before you hit ENTER.
Skibum says
Lynne, you are correct, but that maga loving individual has way more serious issues besides his inability to spell!!!
Lynne says
His math needs work, too, as does Ed’s.
Laurel says
Orange Kool aid and phonics
Deborah Coffey says
OMG! “AFFRAID, IMAJINATION, up sets, than?” Barely readable, but the hatred comes through loud and clear.
Ed Danko, former VIce Mayor PC says
Simply amazing how left-wing liberal Democrats try to look the other way when illegal aliens commit crimes. The bottom line is when the border is secure and all the illegals are deported, those crimes will not happen. Here’s an example that just occurred – an illegal Venezuelana kills a Loyola University Chicago freshman from New York. He entered the US under the Biden administration, and was released under Chicago’s sanctuary city laws before the killing. We can’t always prevent crimes by our own citizens, but we sure can stop crimes by illegals by not allowing them in the country and deporting them. America First!
PaulT says
Ed Danko (why do you need to use ‘Former Vice Mayor PC in yor posts, we all recognize your name and know your reputation.).
Nice ‘immigrant crime’ dredging job. Maybe you could also list the names of the victims of mass shootings by white US citizens or even those of US citizens resident in Flagler County who have been charged with the molesting or rape children.
Skibum says
Nearly all of this nation’s mass school shootings have been committed by Caucasian teens, and there have been a LOT of these killings nationwide. But nobody is stupid enough to condemn or want to lock up every Caucasian teenager or otherwise punish them for the crimes of others because there are many, many more good teens than bad ones.
So, the bottom line is this. Is Ed Danko honest enough, does he have the moral capacity to acknowledge and state for the record that the same holds true for undocumented immigrants? We’ll see.
Dennis C Rathsam says
You forgot one very important thing, these teens were all trans. Mixed up to begin with, then drugged out of thier minds. This is another assinine Jackass topic. Thank God TRUMP closed all the hospitals chopping kids parts off, so they cant have a lifetime of sorrow & medical bills. DEMOCRATS have made a fortune on these poor kids! In my generation the only trans thing we had was a 4 speed or automatic. Things were safer back then, kids played outside, during the winter months, we were sure to be home as the street lights came on, it was time for dinner.Summer time after dinner, we went outside to play some more. Not like todays parents, they put a tablet in front of them…. INSTANT BABY SITER! And then you wonder what’s wrong with todays youth!!!! Look in the mirror
Skibum says
I call BULLSHIT, Dennis! Despite what a wacked out, convicted felon pedo prez vomits from his pie hole, it was then and still is a total lie! All of the teens who committed mass shootings in the U.S. have definitely not been trans, you idiot!
In fact, less than .01% of all mass shooters have identified as transexual. I would implore you to educate yourself on the facts by reading this fact check below, and then we’ll see if you are man enough to eat your words and apologize for trying to spread false information:
https://www.factcheck.org/2025/09/few-mass-shooters-have-been-transgender/
Deborah Coffey says
Some of us are wondering what’s wrong with you, Dennis. Seriously, the hatred you spew on here is quite overwhelming.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/anger-in-the-age-of-entitlement/202508/the-mental-health-of-haters
Whathehck? says
2 white USA born Christian males killed 168 people including 19 children, injured 684 in the worst domestic act of terrorism. They cause an estimate of 652 million.
On January 6th five officers died, and 140 law enforcement officers were injured by white Christian USA born terrorists.
Where should these high criminal terrorists be deported to?
Samuel L. Bronkowitz says
Meat Spanko, the politically irrelevant former vice mayor of palm coast, once again has opinions that no one cares about.
Pete says
I think your paper sucks
Laurel says
Pete: lol!
So, Mr. Pete, let me ask you a few questions, and please answer specifically and don’t go off on tangents:
You say “I think your paper sucks.” That’s quite a general statement. Could you be more specific, and give us real, thought out and researched reasons why you think the paper sucks? There should be some reasonable, soul searching background why you think what you think.
Does it “suck” because it asks questions?
Does it suck because we not need to know what is going on in our country?
Does it suck because you don’t want to know where your tax dollars go?
Does it suck because some people should be kept in the dark about rights while others enjoy a different level of rights, just as human beings?
Why do these brown people bother you so, in this ultra white county?
Why should some people be thrown away without due process (hopefully, none of your family members look different)?
Why should you want foreign “criminals” be treated differently from local “criminals” under the exact same laws?
Does the humane treatment of human beings suck?
Would this paper continue to suck if it was helping you?
Does the world, in general, suck?
This is too easy.
Sherry says
Thank you Laurel! I’m guessing you’ll hear nothing but crickets from that obviously empty head. . .
Laurel says
Even the maga crickets don’t chirp without a preset comment from Fox Entertainment, Newsmax or other far out podcast. That would require thought, and possible change of mind.
Sherry says
Right On Laurel! Puppets don’t really speak. . . except in “Maga LaLa Land”. . . LOL!
Tired of it says
Never an intelligent, well thought out reply. When cult followers lash out, it is always to insult and denigrate.
PaulT says
Hey Pete. Reading Flagler Live is a personal choice just like you watch Fox News all the time.
If you don’y like the content it’s very easy to stop reading, but I believe Flagler Live offers valuable commentary on issues that affect us all and I’m grateful for Pierre’s contribution to this community. In the case of this series of articles about the county jail it is interesting to learn how my tax dollars are being used.
Sheriff Staley’s assurance that the Federal government will cove extra costs doesn’t reassure me when the Feds made the same promise about the governor’s ICE detention centers but so far have refuse to reimburse the State of Florida.
R.S. says
I think we should give this Pete-guy a medal for lowest standard ad hominem comment, suppose? High honors and cum laude for being deplorable simpleton!!! ;-)
Sherry says
@ pete. . . so, what does it say about you that you spend your (valuable?) time reading an award winning news site that “sucks”? Do you print out articles from Flaglerlive? If not, it’s actually NOT a “paper” at all, is it?
Wow! The Maga “brain trust” is astounding!
Dennis C Rathsam says
CNN gave TRUMP a 100% APRUVAL of Republicans 100%…..When was the last time party of Jackasses scored 100% on anything?
Tired of it says
And that, in it itself doesn’t strike you as odd? No intelligent, thinking, educated group of people is ever going to agree 100% on anything. That level of agreement is only possible when people are afraid to speak out such as in a dictatorship.
PaulT says
Oh Dennis, it wasn’t actually 100% of Republicans.
When Karoline Leavitt announces that 100% of MAGA (it’s a cult y’know) approve of Trump’s morning TV show comments even though Trump is doing stuff he promised MAGA he’d never-ever do, MAGA members jump up and down in self congratulation like sugar crazed toddlers at a birthday party.
What the hell was in that Kool-Aid?
Mark Webb says
Dennis, always seeing thinks through a MAGA filter.
The report said it was MAGA supporters , not Republicans.
Thoughts?
Skibum says
I hope you’re not not expecting any coherent thoughts from Dennis, who seems barely capable of doodling and playing tiddlywinks in-between bouts of vomiting maga BS in abject adoration of a pedophile and convicted felon con man. Those like him should be pitied, or simply ignored.
Laurel says
Mark Webb: My thoughts are more Republicans should become Independents, and Democrats, dissatisfied with the lack of action on the part of their politicians (Social Security, Medicare, etc.), should become Independents as well. No one has to drop their ideals, but this crazy tribalism needs to become more of the sane, national tribalism we have known in the past. Division may work for the politicians, but it doesn’t work for us. Current politicians are not sufficiently fighting back against division, and instead are promoting it. Become an Independent, and f**k with their heads!
Dennis believes that all Republicans are magas. That’s not so. Many are very unhappy with the direction of our country, but it’s hard to prove. As the Independent group grows, the politicians will be forced to listen to us for a change. Then, you can either stay Independent, or take back your parties. Do it before the midterms. Hell, Trump changed his party loyalty five times!
Ed P says
Hello Laurel,
How does changing one’s registered political party change anything in the voting booth? Except of course when voting in a closed primary of either Democrat or Republican, you are excluded and have no say.
Finally, you are correct, every Republican is not a MAGA and some Democrats and Independents could be MAGAs. There’s nothing exclusive in a fictional title, is there?
A party affiliation does not alway define the voter, just as skin color, nationality, or gender.
Why should anyone really care, because a critical thinker who is politically engaged would rarely vote the straight party line.
Ps republicans have been accused and vilified of many things, but “lack of action” is a misnomer.
Dennis C Rathsam says
I’ve come in contact with some ignorant know it all’s in my 73 yrs, But not as many fools hear at Flagler Live. Its the same old folks suffering from TDS. You all think your gods gift to journalism. Now you all can add to your headstone, (when you die) published author, along with the rest on your accomplishments. Speaking of accomplishments, when was the last time the JACKASS accomplished anything? Wasn’t it great to see Musks size 10.1/2 shoe, shoved up Schumers ass yesterday when he said he would pony up the money to pay the the folks that keep us safe. Schumer, the clown of Washington, had a total melt down, more & more Americans hate him everyday. He,s a Democrat disaster, & America sees it. As MAGA MUSK, a real American hero. He wasn’t born here yet he loves the USA as much as TRUMP! Heres the real kick in the donkeys ass…. MUSK can write it off on his taxes!
Laurel says
Heavens to Murgatroyd! Will somebody let him out?
Atwp says
Dennis you are old and in need of mental help.
Sherry says
A Must Read from the Wall Street Journal’s analysis f ICE/DHS “falsely” accusing and abusing protestors. . . this from Robert Reich:
Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more
A Report You Need to Read
Robert Reich
Mar 24
Friends,
The Wall Street Journal — hardly an outpost of left-wing propaganda — reported yesterday on the results of an investigation conducted by the Journal’s Hannah Critchfield and her team.
I’m summarizing it below because it deserves your attention.
Critchfield and her team found that 279 people have been accused online by the Trump administration of assaulting federal ICE and Border Patrol agents, and more than half of these people — 64 percent — are American citizens.
Of the 181 American citizens that the Trump administration has accused of attacking federal ICE and Border Patrol officers, close to half have never been charged, and none have been convicted at trial. But the public charges alone have caused them significant harm.
The investigation
The Journal’s team analyzed more than 200 videos associated with allegations of assault against ICE and Border Patrol agents, using both police body camera footage and bystander recordings from social media. Many of the videos cast doubt on the federal government’s claims that agents were assaulted.
The Journal also reviewed more than 100,000 posts on X, posts made in the last year by accounts linked to government agencies and senior government officials.
Each time the government identified a person on a post, the Journal tracked that case through the legal system to see what charges were brought, under what statute, whether the charges were later modified, and what happened to the person in the case.
One of the cases they investigated was that of Sydney Lori Reid, a 44-year-old veterinary assistant in D.C. and a U.S. citizen.
In July, Reid went to a jail to witness an immigration enforcement action. Federal officers had gone there to arrest two migrant men, and Reid said she felt a duty to document it.
As Reid began videotaping, an agent grabbed her and pinned her to a wall. Reid was then surrounded by several federal law enforcement officials. One of them was an FBI agent wearing a face covering and an FBI vest. Two others were ICE officers, dressed in plain clothes, plaid shirts, and khaki pants.
Reid was handcuffed and told she was being arrested for interfering with their operation. Videos reviewed by Critchfield and her team cast doubt on the agents’ claims.
Reid was then placed in a government vehicle and transferred to federal custody. Like many American citizens who wind up in the crosshairs of DHS, she was accused of assault.
The government alleges she assaulted an FBI agent on the basis of scrapes on the agent’s hands, but the scrapes occurred in the process of putting handcuffs on Reid.
The government later charged Reid with felony assault of a federal official, a charge punishable with up to 20 years in prison — a serious federal charge that’s being applied far more broadly now than at any time in recent history.
When Reid was being arrested, she dropped her phone, but the phone was still recording. An agent picked up the phone and put it into the same vehicle that she was riding in on her way to detention.
One officer says: “We’re at the D.C. jail. We’re at the D.C. jail. We have an agitator in custody for …”
Reid was handcuffed in the backseat. You can hear agents going back and forth about exactly how Reid had assaulted them. First, it was a raised knee, then an elbow.
Another officer: “Yeah, it appeared that there was an elbow that was … When she was resisting, but she definitely interfered. So we have interfering and I’m going to get …”
One of the ICE agents called her a stupid female as he was talking to a colleague: “Hey brother, are you good? I have to return to 1D and process this stupid female now that I fucking don’t want to process her.”
Reid was held by federal authorities for roughly two days. She wasn’t allowed to make a phone call during that time.
In the aftermath of her arrest, prosecutors tried to indict her, but that needed to be done through a grand jury, and the grand jury declined to indict her. They tried again before another grand jury, which also declined to indict her. Then they went back to a third grand jury, which declined to indict her.
This is almost unheard of. It showed both the resistance from the public to charge her based on the evidence and the government’s determination to bring charges in this case.
Prosecutors ultimately charged Reid with misdemeanor assault of an officer, a lesser offense that doesn’t require going through a grand jury. Reid was acquitted of that misdemeanor charge at trial.
The Trump Administration’s Strategy
Critchfield and her Journal team found that the push to charge more people for assaulting federal officers — as happened to Reid — is an administration-wide strategy.
Attorney General Pam Bondi and her Department of Justice have pledged to prosecute these cases aggressively. From the very beginning of Bondi’s tenure, starting on her first day in office, she issued a flurry of memos, including one that encouraged prosecutors to aggressively investigate any instances of violence against law enforcement or obstruction of law enforcement.
Gregory Bovino, then the head of Border Patrol, directed his agents to arrest anyone who touched them. “Arrest as many people that touch you as you want to. Those are the general orders all the way to the top, everybody fucking gets it if they touch you. You hear what I’m saying?”
In addition to an increasing number of prosecutions, the Department of Homeland Security has been using social media to exaggerate these alleged attacks, often with a warning to the public: “Don’t be like this person. If you behave in this way, we will come for you.” And they have posted people’s pictures and their full names, seeking to make an example out of these people even before they’re convicted of a crime.
This happened to Reid. A week after she was arrested, her mug shot and name went up on the official ICE account on X, along with the fact that she’s based in Washington, D.C., and a post that said, “Assault an officer or agent get arrested. It’s not rocket science.”
ICE also publicly alleged that Reid assaulted federal agents on behalf of two alleged international gang members.
The Purpose of This Strategy
The Journal’s investigation makes clear that the purpose of this strategy has been to intimidate and silence Americans who might otherwise protest what ICE and Border Patrol are doing.
ICE publicly describes many of these protesters as rioters, agitators, thugs, and terrorists.
Here’s Vice President JD Vance speaking of Renee Good’s death:
“I can believe that her death is a tragedy while also recognizing that it’s a tragedy of her own making and a tragedy of the far left who has marshaled an entire movement, a lunatic fringe against our law enforcement officers.”
And here’s then-DHS Secretary Kristi Noem on the death of Alex Pretti:
“This individual who came with weapons and ammunition to stop a law enforcement operation of federal law enforcement officers committed an act of domestic terrorism, that’s the facts.”
Renee Good was in her car when she was killed. Critchfield and her team found that federal government officials have accused 32 U.S. citizens of intentionally using their vehicles as weapons. DHS considers a vehicle to be a deadly weapon, justifying the use of force. Of those 32 drivers, only one pleaded guilty to an assault charge. Three had their cases dismissed; the rest were never charged.
The Journal investigation found that in most cases where citizens were accused by the government, the outcome was similar to Reid’s.
181 citizens were accused by the government on X of attacking federal officers, but close to half of them were never even charged at all. When people were charged, more often than not, the cases fell apart. Either they were acquitted or found not guilty at trial.
Fifteen people mentioned in government posts pleaded guilty before going to trial. Ten of whom pleaded guilty for lesser offenses than what the government initially charged them with.
Videos have often played major roles in contradicting the government’s case. Critchfield and her team viewed videos that repeatedly cast doubt on the government’s allegations. Protesters were often called violent rioters or professional agitators and accused of making physical contact in some way with agents, but video footage often showed immigration agents being the first to lay their hands on demonstrators.
The Journal found that most of the government’s assault allegations against American protesters posted on X were unsubstantiated. Even federal prosecutors themselves acknowledged that in some cases, the evidence to back up these charges wasn’t there.
Federal prosecutors across the nation told Critchfield and her team that they are facing intense pressure to charge demonstrators and bystanders with crimes even when video evidence contradicts what officers initially claimed about what occurred, or in situations where they wouldn’t normally pursue federal charges.
The costs to those who are arrested are substantial. Even in cases where the person is exonerated, they must still deal with posting bail, securing defense attorneys, and taking days off from work to appear in court. In more extreme cases, people are doxed online and face death threats.
Reid says she’s been more hesitant about engaging in political speech, even though, as she put it, “Those are our rights as U.S. citizens and they’re being stifled.”
Conclusions
The Journal’s investigation concluded that:
“U.S. citizens are caught in the crosshairs of an aggressive government campaign to detain and demonize detractors, including by calling them terrorists, rioters, and agitators. The Department of Homeland Security, which was created in 2002 to protect Americans, has turned its force against U.S. citizens.”
By putting a public bull’s-eye on Americans whom the government accuses of assault, the Journal also found that the Trump administration is chilling First Amendment expression:
“People who had been accused publicly by the federal government of assaulting federal officers … are less likely to participate in protests and less likely to put themselves in situations where their name might be tracked…. There is a real pressure to crack down and send a message to people who the government views as perceived dissenters, even if video contradicts what agents have initially claimed happened.”
Again, let me remind you that this comes from The Wall Street Journal.