Operation Charlotte's Web nets over 130 arrests
81 arrests initially reported on the first day; operation said to head to Raleigh
Arrests in Customs and Border Patrol’s (CPB) Operation Charlotte’s Web have increased to over 130; up from 81 reported on the first day of the immigration enforcement action.
(Update: Arrests are now up over 200 as of the evening of Nov. 18)
Indications are that immigration officers are headed to Raleigh today.
Raleigh Mayor Janet Cowell said no one had coordinated with her office about an upcoming operation. That’s not unusual; law enforcement activity is not typically shared with local elected officials.
“Every day, DHS enforces the laws of the nation across the country. We do not discuss future or potential operations,” Department of Homeland Security’s Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said in a media statement.
Operation Charlotte’s Web
“There is absolutely no excuse to continue allowing criminal illegal aliens to terrorize our American communities,” a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson said of Operation Charlotte’s Web. “These are violent assailants, gang members, and repeat offenders who have zero regard for the rule of law in our country. They are here illegally and should never have been here in the first place.”
The spokesperson added, “Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, we are REMOVING the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens from our communities once and for all.”
According to a DHS press release, 44 of the illegal aliens arrested had criminal records including charges of “aggravated assault, assault with a dangerous weapon, assault on a police officer, battery, driving under the influence, and hit-and-run.”
Additionally, two known gang members were taken into custody: 18th Street gang member Manuel Vasquez-Gavarrete and MS-13 gang member Humberto Pozada-Rodriguez.
Both men are from Honduras and both had been previously deported. Pozada-Rodriguez has illegally reentered the country at least three times.
Pozada-Rodriguez has been convicted of trespassing, public disorderly conduct, giving false information to a police officer, and was previously arrested for assault on a police officer while resisting arrest, larceny, and receiving stolen goods.
Other examples in the press release included charges of DWI, aggravated DWI, larceny, shoplifting, as well as a hit and run charge.
CPB Commander Greg Bovino posted several examples on X, including a four-time deportee with DWI and hit and run charges.
More To The Story
Democratic North Carolina Governor Josh Stein issued a video statement on Sunday evening that the operation was “stoking fear” in the community.
Citing no evidence, Stein also said immigration officials were randomly picking up people using racial profiling.
“We’ve seen masked, heavily armed agents in paramilitary garb driving unmarked cars, targeting American citizens based on their skin color, racially profiling and picking up random people in parking lots and off of our sidewalks,” said Stein. “This is not making us safer. It’s stoking fear and dividing our community.”
Arguably, misinformation posted on social media by activists and Democrats has stoked more fear than the actions themselves.
The situation has been made worse with an increasing number of AI generated fake deportation images and videos have added to the spread of false information about immigration enforcement actions.
Bovino also debunked misinformation about an arrest in Pineville.
Bovino was responding to this post, which included a video, and claimed the person being arrested was a 15-year-old minor.
Former Governor Roy Cooper, who is running for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat next year, was also responded to by DHS for his statement which was similar to Stein’s. DHS’s response noted, “North Carolina refused to hand him over to ICE.”
