It’s been interesting to watch members of the Trump administration, specifically Vice President JD Vance and White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, repeat the falsehood that federal agents have blanket immunity from state prosecution while in the line of duty. First of all, they’re wrong, according to virtually every legal expert who didn’t get their credentials from whoever sold Herschel Walker that police badge. Secondly, one might get the impression that the federal government is fully expecting police brutality to happen wherever they deploy agents, and it’s brazenly telling agents on live television that they won’t be held accountable for any number of violent offenses, including but not limited to killing people.
“You have immunity to perform your duties, and no one—no city official, no state official, no illegal alien, no leftist agitator or domestic insurrectionist—can prevent you from fulfilling your legal obligations and duties,” Miller said. “The Department of Justice has made clear that if officials cross that line into obstruction, into criminal conspiracy against the United States or against ICE officers, then they will face justice.”
You might remember that when President Donald Trump was running for his second term in 2024, he stood on a stage and just before he suggested that former Vice President Kamala Harris was “mentally impaired, he mused that police officers across the nation should be allowed “one real rough, nasty day,” or “one rough hour” where they could presumably commit violent acts of police brutality freely and without fear of consequence.
So, apparently, Miller has taken things a step further and told ICE and Border Patrol agents that every day is Free Purge-like Police Brutality Day for them.
Of course, to put everything in context, Miller is presenting his false immunity claims as a response to “anybody who lays a hand on you or tries to stop you or tries to obstruct you.” However, since the government can never seem to provide much evidence that agents are being physically attacked by protesters, and there’s a wealth of recorded evidence of agents getting violent without physical provocation — some of which was released by a federal judge late last year — maybe we shouldn’t take legal advice from the guy who once claimed the president had “plenary authority.”
What legal experts have generally said is that, while federal agents do enjoy certain protections while in the performance of their duties, they can still be charged and prosecuted by local authorities if said local authorities believe they are guilty of a criminal action (or two, or nine), and, ultimately, it will be up to a judge to decide if the case has merit — which is generally how all law enforcement everywhere is supposed to work.
Anyway, even if Miller knew WTF he was talking about, and federal agents did have absolute immunity from state prosecution, they still wouldn’t have immunity from the general public, apparently, because the court of public opinion isn’t just judging them, it’s doxxing them, too.
The identities of around 4,500 federal agents were shared with the ICE List website by a Department of Homeland Security whistleblower, according to The Daily Beast.
The data includes information on around 2,000 agents and 150 supervisors, according to Dominick Skinner, who launched ICE List. Early analysis from the volunteer-led organization suggests that around 80 percent of those identified are still employed by
the DHS.
Welp, thoughts and prayers, guys. May all feds have the days they deserve and the treatment they show others.
