Controversial British figure Milo Yiannopoulos, who gained a reputation as a right-wing provocateur more than a decade ago, has been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Friday. Yiannopoulos was arrested on Thursday at a Louisiana airport, DHS said. He was still in custody as of Friday afternoon, according to the agency’s online detainee locator. Yiannopoulos legally entered the country in 2019, but “chose to overstay his welcome in violation of our nation’s laws,” DHS added. “Yiannopoulos was issued a final order of removal by an Immigration Judge on July 22, after failing to show up for his immigration hearing,” the agency said in a post on X. “He will remain in ICE custody pending removal.” Yiannopoulos is known as a conservative firebrand. Among other public statements and appearances, he attracted considerable public attention after embarking on a bus tour of U.S. college campuses, which he said was intended to promote free speech and bring his perspective to universities where he believed liberal ideas may dominate the campus conversation. His disparaging remarks about Muslims, transgender people and others drew outrage from many who argued the racist and hateful language was an attempt to stoke tensions on campus and should not be platformed by colleges and universities. His appearances on some campuses drew loud protests. While many demonstrations were peaceful, Yiannopoulos’ visit to University of California, Berkeley in February 2017 resulted in the event being cancelled after a large protest became violent and destructive and two Republican students were attacked, the university said at the time. Yiannopoulos has voiced support of immigration enforcement as recently as last year. In a post on X, he called for ICE checkpoints in California supermarkets and other common areas and “on the spot deportation for anyone who can’t prove they are in the U.S. legally.” His rise to prominence coincided with U.S. President Donald Trump’s entry to the White House, and Yiannopoulos had positioned himself as one of the president’s avid supporters, sometimes referring to Trump as “Daddy.”
