Laura Loomer says it was her intel that triggered the US arrests of two reported relatives of slain Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani. The far-right commentator said on social media that ICE agents detained Soleimani's niece, Hamideh Soleimani Afshar, and her daughter after Loomer compiled months of Afshar's online posts and sent them to Homeland Security and Secretary of State Marco Rubio's team at the State Department. Last month, Loomer said officials would be "looking into my evidence immediately," per the Hill. She now claims credit for exposing Afshar's "life of luxury" in Los Angeles as well as social media posts in support of Iran's regime.
Federal officials said the women were taken into custody Friday night and moved to a detention center in Pearsall, Texas, after Rubio revoked their green cards. In a statement, Rubio claimed Afshar had "celebrated attacks on Americans" while describing the US as the "Great Satan." A department rep declined to say whether Loomer's outreach played any role in the arrests, citing a policy against discussing private conversations. However, the department's top public affairs official reposted Loomer's post taking credit for the arrests.
While US officials applauded the move, others questioned the "need to arrest the distant relatives of long-since-dead Iranian commanders." Aaron Reichlin-Melnick of the American Immigration Council notes that the Trump administration is justifying the arrests by citing a legal authority that has been challenged in court as unconstitutional, per Common Dreams. Meanwhile, Iranian media outlets have claimed the women are unrelated to Soleimani, who, according to their reports, had no nieces.
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