The White House is using AI to alter the image of an arrested anti-ICE protester

Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Thursday that several organizers of a recent anti-ICE protest at a Minnesota church have been arrested. Soon after, the White House X account shared a photo of one of the protesters, attorney and activist Nekima Levy Armstrong, being led away by law enforcement in tears.

The post quickly received a fact check in public notes on X, which read: “Digitally altered image. See original arrest image here.” Public Note also posted a link to The New York Postwhich shows the real version of the photo, where Armstrong is clearly not crying.

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X’s White House post included the full caption, “ARRESTED. AGITATOR FAR FROM KIMA LEVY ARMSTRONG FOR ORGANIZING SUNDAY BREAKS IN MINNESOTA.”

Meanwhile, FBI Director Kash Patel’s X account released photos of Armstrong and other arrested activists; none of them seem to be crying. Crooked Media reporter Matt Berg sent X to ask White House officials if the memes had been changed and was reportedly told, “the memes will continue.”

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The recall of serious news events is par for the course on the Trump administration’s social media accounts. As Mashable previously reported, the Trump administration is using X and social media to humiliate and discredit their perceived enemies, often using 4chan-style memes and artificial intelligence in the process.

Bondi also posted about their arrest in X, and no Submit reported that the protesters were charged with “conspiracy against rights,” which is a federal charge of preventing a person from exercising their constitutional rights. Right-wing commentators have also denied that the protesters violated the FACE Act. Ironically, the FACE Act (Freedom of Access to Entrance Clinics Act) is a law signed by President Bill Clinton to prevent protesters from blocking the entrance to abortion clinics, but it also protects protesters from blocking the doors of houses of worship.

The First Amendment gives Americans the right to peaceful protest; however, it does not give protesters the right to enter the church without permission and shut down the religious service. In fact, this type of behavior violates some people’s First Amendment right to freely exercise their religion.

Videos of the anti-ICE protest at Cities Church in St. Paul quickly went viral, with many viewers torn between supporting the protesters and attacking them for going too far. Now, videos and photos of the arrests of protesters are going viral.

As more Americans get their news from social media, the Trump administration has grown adept at turning the news into reality TV-style entertainment, with Trump as the star.