US Immigration officials arrested controversial British far-right commentator Milo Yiannopoulos on Thursday in New Orleans, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Yiannopoulos has long been an internet personality for his frequent, provocative public positions criticizing feminism, Islam and immigrants, and is a close associate of several prominent promoters of antisemitic conspiracy theories. He has also himself cheered on US President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown and mass deportations.
Immigration officials announced Friday that Yiannopoulos was arrested at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport and accuse him of overstaying after entering the United States legally in May 2019 through New York City. An immigration judge issued a final order of removal on July 22 after Yiannopoulos failed to show up for his immigration hearing, a DHS spokesperson wrote in an email.
“He chose to overstay his welcome in violation of our nation’s laws,” a spokesperson for DHS wrote in an emailed statement.
ICE’s online detainee locator did not say where Yiannopoulos was being held, but directed family and legal representatives to the agency’s office in Alexandria, Louisiana, a deportation hub for international flights.
