Milo Yiannopoulos, the far-right activist known for being among the first high-profile figures permanently removed from Twitter, is now in ICE custody, TMZ reported on Friday.

Yiannopoulos was taken into custody by ICE in Louisiana and is being held at a detention center there, according to inmate records. TMZ said the circumstances of the detention remain unclear, though he was detained at an airport. As a foreign national detained in the federal immigration system, his case would fall under U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's authority to detain non-citizens, though immigration detention can occur for a range of reasons and no details about the basis of his detention have been made public.

Yiannopoulos is a U.K. national and not an American citizen. He previously worked for Kanye West as his "chief of staff" until the two parted ways in 2024. He was also part of the Ye24 campaign, where he served as director for political operations. West is scheduled to perform Friday night in New Orleans.

TMZ noted that one of Yiannopoulos's more recent controversies involved his accusation that West's dentist had supplied the rapper with nitrous oxide for recreational use. The dentist denied the allegations.

Yiannopoulos has been a far-right media personality for years and rose to prominence through the Gamergate controversies. He wrote for Breitbart News and cultivated a deliberately confrontational online persona, marketing himself as a gay conservative opponent of feminism, Islam, "political correctness" and social-justice movements. Critics contend his public career relied on inflammatory attacks and harassment of marginalized groups. His detention is notable in part because he spent years as a vocal ally of the same right-wing movement whose immigration-enforcement apparatus is now holding him, an irony that drew attention on social media after TMZ's report.

Twitter permanently suspended Yiannopoulos in July 2016 after actress Leslie Jones was subjected to a torrent of racist and sexist abuse following his posts about her "Ghostbusters" reboot. Twitter said he had violated its rules against "inciting or engaging in targeted abuse or harassment," though he denied responsibility and characterized the ban as censorship. His account was later reinstated under Elon Musk's ownership, NPR reported.

Opposition to Yiannopoulos also stems from other controversies, including past statements appearing to defend sexual relationships between adults and underage boys. The fallout from those remarks cost him his Breitbart job, a planned CPAC appearance and a book contract in 2017, KERA News recalled.

In late 2022, West introduced Yiannopoulos as his campaign manager and adviser. Yiannopoulos later said he helped arrange the infamous Mar-a-Lago dinner between Donald Trump and West, at which white nationalist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes also appeared.

Infighting within West's circle ultimately drove Yiannopoulos out. The Ye24 campaign's treasurer later resigned and alleged that Yiannopoulos had submitted potentially falsified invoices and engaged in improper campaign transactions. Yiannopoulos denied any wrongdoing.

The association between West and Yiannopoulos added to the controversy surrounding both men, combining already inflammatory public conduct with Yiannopoulos's record of far-right activism and online provocation. What remains to be seen is whether ICE or Yiannopoulos discloses the reason for his detention and whether he pursues any legal challenge to it; until then, the circumstances remain unexplained.

Source: Alternet