Anti-Trump Streamer Hasan Piker Was Detained by CBP at Airport: 'Insane'
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
Hasan Piker, among the most influential voices in progressive politics, said over the weekend that he was detained and questioned by immigration officials at Chicago's O'Hare airport.
Newsweek reached out to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for comment via email on Monday.
The Context
Piker's detention came amid the Trump administration's harsh crackdown on immigration and border security, which has included detaining and questioning American citizens, permanent residents and those who are otherwise legally permitted to be in the U.S.
Hasan Piker detailed being questioned by immigration officials in a livestream that was posted to YouTube on Monday.
Hasan Piker detailed being questioned by immigration officials in a livestream that was posted to YouTube on Monday.
Screenshot via YouTube
What To Know
Piker, who hosts popular streaming shows on Twitch and YouTube, detailed his detention on Monday, saying CBP officials questioned him in Chicago about his views on President Donald Trump, the U.S.-Israel relationship, Hamas and a slew of other political issues.
"They straight up tried to get something out of me that I think they could use to basically detain me permanently," Piker said on his livestream, a video of which was posted on YouTube.
He added that the agent who questioned him "kept saying stuff like, 'do you like Hamas? Do you support Hamas? Do you think Hamas is a terror group or a resistance group?'"
The progressive streamer has long criticized the Israeli government over its military action in the Gaza Strip since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, accusing Israel of carrying out a "genocide" against Palestinians in Gaza.
Piker first announced his detention in an X post on Sunday, writing: "[I] got stopped by cbp at global entry for additional questioning. i'm out it wasn't that bad. very strange experience overall though."
Piker said on his livestream that he was "instantly" told to "step aside" for additional questioning while going through a Global Entry checkpoint after flying into Chicago's O'Hare International Airport from France.
"'Here we f------ go,'" Piker recounted thinking, adding that he immediately texted his family members and manager when he was on his way in for more questioning.
The progressive streamer, who is a U.S. citizen and passport-holder, said he was eventually taken to a separate room for questioning, adding that the experience was "an insane f------ situation."
"It's very obvious that they knew exactly who the f--- I was, it's very obvious that they knew exactly how to navigate the conversation," Piker said. He went on to say he believes the agent who questioned him was "very cordial" because "they wanted me to say something that was incriminating and say something that was enough to justify further detention from that point on."
"And let me tell you: they certainly did do that ... He was basically, like, broaching the conversation in a way where it was, like, free-flowing, where in the process of discovery, he was adding on additional talking points," Piker said.
The left-wing influencer said that the agent asked him what he does for a living, what topics he discusses on his livestreams, what he thinks about "the war" and whether he discusses Trump.
Piker said the stream of questions prompted him to respond, "Why are you asking me this? What does this have to do with anything?"
"None of these questions are actually valid questions to ask," Piker said to his livestream audience. "But I was entertaining it because ... I didn't want to present it as being difficult because I didn't want to extend the detention, and two, I actually wanted to see how far I could take it."
He said that on certain questions, he was "very revealing" about his political views, telling the CBP agent: "I don't like Trump ... I'm not fond of him. I don't like him. He said he was going to end the war. He hasn't ended the wars. What the f--- is up with that?"
Piker went on to characterize the agent as being "sympathetic" to his views but said he believes immigration officials wanted to assess if he had any involvement with groups like Hamas, Hezbollah or the Houthis.
When asked how he felt about Hamas, Piker said that he "kept repeating the same statement over and over again. I kept saying: 'I'm on the side of civilians. I want the endless bloodshed to end. I am a pacifist. I want wars to end.'"
This story is developing and will be updated as more information becomes available.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Yemen's Houthis threaten to target ships linked to firms dealing with Israeli ports
(Reuters) -Yemen's Houthis said on Sunday they would target any ships belonging to companies that do business with Israeli ports, regardless of their nationalities, as part of what they called the fourth phase of their military operations against Israel. In a televised statement, the Houthis' military spokesperson warned that ships would be attacked if companies ignored their warnings, regardless of their destination. "The Yemeni Armed Forces call on all countries, if they want to avoid this escalation, to pressure the enemy to halt its aggression and lift the blockade on the Gaza Strip," he added. Since Israel's war in Gaza began in October 2023, the Iran-aligned Houthis have been attacking ships they deem as bound or linked to Israel in what they say are acts of solidarity with Palestinians. In May, the U.S. announced a surprise deal with the Houthis where it agreed to stop a bombing campaign against them in return for an end to shipping attacks, though the Houthis said the deal did not include sparing Israel. Solve the daily Crossword
The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
Obama calls for action to stop ‘preventable starvation' in Gaza
Former President Obama on Sunday called for action to stop what he described as the 'preventable' starvation reported in the Gaza Strip. 'While a lasting resolution to the crisis in Gaza must involve a return of all hostages and a cessation of Israel's military operations, these articles underscore the immediate need for action to be taken to prevent the travesty of innocent people dying of preventable starvation,' Obama wrote in a post on the social platform X, linking to two New York Times articles. 'Aid must be permitted to reach people in Gaza. There is no justification for keeping food and water away from civilian families,' he added in a subsequent post. Israel's military said earlier Sunday that it would start a 'tactical pause' in fighting in Gaza amid mass starvation concerns. President Trump on Sunday told reporters that Hamas is stealing food meant for people in Gaza, when asked for his response to the images of starving children in the Palestinian territory governed by the militant group. 'When I see the children and when I see, especially over the last couple of weeks people are stealing the food, they're stealing the money, they're stealing the money for the food. They're stealing weapons, they're stealing everything,' the president said. He added, 'It's a mess, that whole place is a mess. The Gaza Strip, you know it was given many years ago so they could have peace. That didn't work out too well.' The Israeli military has reported that there is no proof that the Palestinian militant group had systematically stolen aid. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed back against international criticism on Sunday, saying Israel has allowed limited humanitarian aid into the strip, as long as the aid doesn't enhance Hamas's military capabilities or harm hostages. Netanyahu said Israel must continue to do so, The Jerusalem Post reported. 'We've done this so far,' Netanyahu said, according to the Israeli newspaper. 'But the UN is spreading lies and falsehoods about Israel. They say we don't allow humanitarian supplies in, yet we do. There are secure corridors. They've always existed, but now it's official. No more excuses.'
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Good riddance to UNESCO — a hate-America shouting gallery
President Donald Trump is pulling America out of UNESCO for the third time. Maybe this time it'll be for good. Once lauded for its work in preserving important cultural sites, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizations became a platform for miseducation by every tinpot tyrant trying to score points by defaming America and its allies. It also adopted a full-on woke agenda, backing divisive DEI and social-justice causes that, as a Team Trump aide explained, conflicted with American values. Advertisement 'Continued involvement in UNESCO is not in the national interest of the United States,' the State Department declared. The agency's focus on the UN's 'Sustainable Development Goals,' for example, follows the Paris Climate Accords program of deindustrializing the developed world, while paying the Third World to help it catch up. It admitted the 'State of Palestine' as a full member, though the United States does not recognize such a state, believing the Palestinian issue should be decided by Israel and Palestinian Arabs, not the striped-pants brigade from third-party nations. Advertisement UNESCO has also politicized Jewish holy sites, calling Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem a 'mosque,' which it never was. And it's been China's running dog, promoting Beijing's domination of Tibetan and Uyghur culture — arguably genocidal — as perfectly fine. UNESCO's odious record goes back decades. Washington first withdrew from the group in 1984, under Ronald Reagan, when it sought to have US media companies submit to the control of a 'New World Information Order.' Advertisement Trump's withdrawal from UNESCO follows his exit from the UN's equally vile Human Rights Council, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio's sanctioning of its 'special rapporteur' on Palestinian issues, Francesca Albanese, who was obsessed with falsely depicting Israel as a perpetrator of genocide. Those moves were well deserved. Call it a Turtle Bay trifecta.
