Far-right provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos detained by U.S. immigration authorities

Milo Yiannopoulos, the British far-right media personality and provocateur, has been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Louisiana. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security stated that Yiannopoulos legally entered the U.S. in 2019 but remained longer than permitted by his visa.

An immigration judge issued a final removal order for Yiannopoulos on July 22 after he failed to attend a hearing regarding his immigration status. He is currently being held in ICE custody pending his removal from the country. Yiannopoulos gained notoriety in the U.S. as a prominent figure on the far-right, particularly for his 2017 university tour where he championed free speech while attacking liberal ideas. His appearances often sparked protests, including a notable cancellation at the University of California, Berkeley, due to violent riots.

His political popularity coincided with Donald Trump's ascent, and Yiannopoulos was a vocal supporter, becoming a recognizable face of the more extreme elements of the American right. However, his influence has since diminished. He was permanently banned from Twitter (now X) in 2016 for online attacks on actress Leslie Jones, though his account was later reactivated after Elon Musk's acquisition of the platform.

In 2017, Yiannopoulos resigned from his role as editor at Breitbart News following criticism for his remarks on child sexual abuse. More recently, he was involved in the 2024 presidential campaign of Ye, formerly known as Kanye West. According to CNN, right-wing influencer Laura Loomer reported Yiannopoulos to U.S. immigration authorities and the FBI on Friday. Yiannopoulos himself has previously advocated for strict immigration enforcement and called for the deportation of individuals residing in the U.S. illegally.

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Milo Yiannopoulos has been detained.