At least three people in three different US states have been arrested for allegedly impersonating Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. This comes on the heels of ICE agents intensifying immigration enforcement activities under the Trump administration.
The first incident was reported in South Carolina, where 33-year-old Sean-Michael Johnson was charged with kidnapping and impersonating a police officer after allegedly detaining a group of Latino men along a Charleston County road.
Court documents allege that Johnson "willfully and unlawfully presented himself as an ICE agent and detained a vehicle of individuals from moving." The incident occurred on Sullivan's Island in Charleston on January 29.
As per jail documents, Johnson was charged with three charges of kidnapping and one count each of assault, battery, petty larceny, and impersonating a law enforcement officer.
According to CNN affiliate WCIV, Johnson bonded out of jail over the weekend, and during his court appearance on Saturday, his family begged the judge, saying their son had mental health problems and "tried to get help" in the past, but "he needed to continue with that therapy."
In the second case, police in Philadelphia charged a Temple University student for allegedly impersonating ICE officers on campus. Three people attempted to enter a residence hall on campus on Saturday night; two of them were wearing shirts that said "Police" and "ICE" in white letters, according to Temple University.
They were later seen disrupting a local business after being denied entry into the residence hall, according to the university.
Aidan Steigelmann, 22, was detained by Philadelphia police and charged with impersonating a public servant. The institution has placed him on "interim suspension." According to the Philadelphia Police Department, two more people involved in the matter fled the site in a light-coloured SUV
In another case, Carl Thomas Bennett was arrested in Raleigh, North Carolina, for reportedly posing as an ICE officer and sexually abusing a lady at a Motel 6 while threatening to deport her if she didn't comply, CNN affiliate WRAL reported.
According to police investigations, the 37-year-old Bennett, "showed a business card with a badge on it" and "threatened to deport the victim if she did not have sex with him," WRAL said.
