Streamer reveals he was detained by ICE after giving blunt four-word response to question about Trump
A streamer has revealed that he was detained by ICE after giving a blunt four-word response to a question about President Donald Trump.
Hasan Piker, a political streamer who is known for being outspoken about his views, shared that he was stopped by agents while traveling through O’Hare International Airport in Chicago.
Piker was returning from Paris on Sunday (May 11), when he said that he was detained by agents with US Customs and Border Protection.
Recalling the incident on a stream, where Piker goes by the username HasanAbi, he revealed that he had to answer questions by the agents before being allowed to re-enter the country.
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The streamer claimed that he was taken into a ‘detention center’ in a back room of the airport where he was quizzed about his job, what he covers on his platforms and whether he talks about President Trump.
Piker said: “That was the first time where I was like, ‘what is this question?’ I literally straight up told him, ‘why are you asking me this?’”
The streamer said that he told the agent, ‘I don’t like Trump. What are you going to do? It’s protected by the First Amendment. I don’t like Trump’.
Piker went on to say on his stream: “Nothing I’ve done online is illegal as of now. Now laws may change in the future and they might actually start prosecuting speech, which I do fear is the goal of this administration. But so far, everything I’ve done is fully protected under the First Amendment.”
Many viewers of his video were shocked by the incident, with some taking to the YouTube comment section to share their own reactions to the news.
One user wrote: “100% do not talk without a lawyer, because incrimination can occur to anyone. Period. Don’t ever do what Piker just did. You’re not going to be smarter than them; you’re not going to speed the process; they’re not going to care if you’re a good person.”
Another said: “Chat was 1000% right. I’m an attorney. You don’t have to do anything illegal to be charged. You don’t have to do anything illegal to be convicted. You should not have spoken to them without a lawyer. This may not be your last run-in with them, don’t make the same mistake twice.”
And a third person added: “Actually insane that they can ask if you talk about Trump. Like why does that matter, are you not allowed to talk about him now???”