Federal immigration authorities arrested right-wing provocateur and online influencer Milo Yiannopoulos at an airport in Louisiana after he was accused of overstaying his visa.
Yiannopoulos was arrested at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport Thursday after a federal immigration judge on July 22 ordered his deportation when he missed a court hearing, according to a statement from the Department of Homeland Security. The agency said Yiannopoulos would be jailed until he can be deported.
A British media personality and former editor at the conservative outlet Breitbart News, Yiannopoulos had been a supporter of President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign. Yiannopoulos claimed he helped broker a 2022 meeting between the president and the rapper Ye. More recently, he founded a public relations and management firm giving celebrities advice, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Although Yiannopoulos entered the country legally in 2019, “he chose to overstay his welcome in violation of our nation's laws,” the department said in its statement.
The US is offering $3,000 and a free flight to people who self-deport as part of Trump's overall immigration crackdown. The administration hit a high of nearly 50,000 arrests in July, according to information collected and published by the Deportation Data Project at the University of California and UCLA. As part of that arrest surge, immigration agents have been targeting foreigners as they pass through domestic airports, including people who say they are visa holders or green card applicants.
Laura Loomer, a right-wing online personality and Trump supporter who has clashed with Yiannopoulos, posted on X that she reported him to ICE and the FBI.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Essential Business Intelligence, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice, Daily Fuel, Gold and Silver Prices and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.
