'This is despicable!' President Trump blames anti-ICE rhetoric for Dallas shooting

Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram on Sep 24, 2025

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President Donald Trump is among the chorus of Republican elected officials condemning Democrats for anti-ICE rhetoric following a deadly shooting at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Dallas.

Trump, in a Wednesday afternoon post on Truth Social, said he’d been briefed on the shooting, where one detainee was killed and two were critically injured as of early evening. No law enforcement officials were injured.

The shooter, who ICE officials said began “firing indiscriminately” around 6:30 a.m., died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Messages that are “anti-ICE in nature” were found on at least one bullet casing near the shooter’s body. In a post on X, FBI Director Kash Patel said an unspent shell casing was engraved with the phrase “ANTI ICE.”

Patel said the investigation was ongoing, but that evidence shows there was an ideological motive behind the attack.

Trump referenced the message in his response to the shooting posted Wednesday afternoon.

“I have been briefed on the deadly shooting at the ICE Field Office in Dallas, Texas,” Trump said.

“It has now been revealed the deranged shooter wrote ‘Anti-ICE’ on his shell casings. This is despicable! The Brave Men and Women of ICE are just trying to do their jobs, and remove the ‘WORST of the WORST’ Criminals out of our Country, but they are facing an unprecedented increase in threats, violence, and attacks by Deranged Radical Leftists.”

He and other Republican officials have blamed Democrats for the shooting.

“This violence is the result of the Radical Left Democrats constantly demonizing Law Enforcement, calling for ICE to be demolished, and comparing ICE Officers to ‘Nazis,’” Trump said. “The continuing violence from Radical Left Terrorists, in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, must be stopped. ICE Officers, and other Brave Members of Law Enforcement, are under grave threat.”

Little is known about the shooter and his motives. Officials identified the sniper as Joshua Jahn, a 29-year-old from Fairview in Collin County.

Trump evoked Antifa, the leftwing antifascist movement, as he weighed in on the shooting in Dallas.

“We have already declared ANTIFA a Terrorist Organization, and I will be signing an Executive Order this week to dismantle these Domestic Terrorism Networks,” Trump said

He also urged Democrats to not engage in anti-ICE rhetoric.

“I AM CALLING ON ALL DEMOCRATS TO STOP THIS RHETORIC AGAINST ICE AND AMERICA’S LAW ENFORCEMENT, RIGHT NOW!” Trump said. “The Trump Administration is fully committed to backing Law Enforcement, Strong Borders, securing our Homeland, deporting Violent Illegal Criminals, and fully rooting out the Left Wing Domestic Terrorism that is terrorizing our Country. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”