Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was criticized after she had an ICE officer seemingly dodging her aim after she pointed a gun towards his head while filming a video.
In a 20-second video posted to X on Tuesday, Kristi Noem stands flanked by two Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, brandishing a gun. Wearing a vest marked "ICE," along with dark cargo pants and a cap, Noem addresses the camera while the two agents remain silent beside her—though some X users expressed concern for the safety of one of them.
In it, she says:
“Here we are with Marco and Brian today. They’re letting me roll with them. We’re going to go out and pick up somebody who I think got charges of human trafficking."
"We earlier had an op that swept up somebody that was wanted for murder. So appreciate the good work that they do every day, and we appreciate them working to make America safe.”
You can see the video below.
People were alarmed by Noem's gun-handling—or lack thereof.
Noem's experiences using guns have previously made national headlines, specifically after she laid out her decision to kill her dog in her memoir No Going Back. She wrote that “Cricket was a wirehair pointer, about 14 months old" with an “aggressive personality." She said she "hated" the "untrainable" dog and decided to shoot Cricket after taking her to a gravel pit.
The disturbing anecdote first garnered attention after The Guardian reported on it, noting that Noem also wrote about killing a goat she claimed was "nasty and mean" and “loved to chase” Noem's children.
Noem has defended the decision to kill her dog, framing the story as an example of the grimmer aspects of farm life that sometimes have to be faced. She said she has "never passed on my responsibilities to anyone else to handle" and that she had simply "followed the law and was being a responsible parent, dog owner, and neighbor."
Noem has pushed back against criticism, saying that she is not one to "shy away" from tough challenges. She added that she hopes those who read her book "will have an understanding that I always work to make the best decisions I can for the people in my life."
