Far-right provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos deported from US to UK
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained and then deported British far-right media figure Milo Yiannopoulos over an expired stay authorization and a final removal order. UK sources cited by the Telegraph say he was flown back to Britain.
A US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson said Saturday that 41-year-old British provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos was deported from the United States on Friday, a day after being detained by ICE. The DHS statement did not specify a destination, but the UK's Telegraph, citing two senior US sources, reported he had been flown back to Britain.
According to DHS, ICE agents arrested Yiannopoulos on Thursday at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. Officials said he had legally entered the US in May 2019 through New York but subsequently overstayed his authorization. An immigration judge issued a final removal order on 22 July after Yiannopoulos failed to appear for his hearing. The DHS spokesperson added that the administration is working to prevent people unlawfully in the country from flying, except on flights leaving the US.
Yiannopoulos, who has previously voiced support for ICE and for swift deportation of anyone unable to prove legal US residency, was reportedly on his way to a concert by rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, at the time of his arrest. West performed at New Orleans's Caesars Superdome on Friday. In 2022 Yiannopoulos worked on West's short-lived 2024 presidential campaign, and his social media activity suggests he had been working for a company linked to the rapper.
A controversial history
Yiannopoulos, a former Breitbart News editor, had also interned for former congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. He became embroiled in a feud with fellow far-right commentator Laura Loomer, who claimed on Friday that she had reported him to ICE over his immigration status.
At the height of his prominence, having supported Donald Trump's first presidential campaign, Yiannopoulos was invited to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in 2017. He subsequently fell out of favor with conservatives after a video surfaced in which he appeared to condone sexual relations with boys as young as 13, prompting his resignation from Breitbart. He was banned from Twitter, now X, in 2016 over racist and misogynistic posts targeting a Black actor, with his account reinstated in 2022 following the platform's acquisition.
