MAGA political commentator Scott Jennings took up the shield to defend masked ICE agents from the criticism of Geraldo Rivera.
Rivera, 82, rhetorically asked why members of the law enforcement agency would want to maintain anonymity with a mask.
“Because they’re embarrassed by the job they have been tasked to do,” the former Fox News talk show host answered on CNN’s NewsNight. “Masks should be banned in law enforcement. What kind of world can we have where cops come into your door and they’re masked?”
Jennings, 47, gave a pithy, Jim Halpert-esque look to camera before chiming in, “Counterpoint: the reason they’re wearing them is because you have a dedicated group of people out there—and some of them, unfortunately, are Democrat political officials—who are doxing them and their families and putting them in harm’s way.”
Doxing is a malicious practice of broadcasting someone’s personal information, such as their home address, phone number, or names of their extended family, with the intent to inspire others to harass that person.
There are several incidents of alleged ICE doxing that Jennings may have been referring to. These include a hack that doxed members of several law enforcement agencies, including ICE. In a separate September incident, three activists live-streamed themselves following an ICE agent to his home address and were arrested on doxing charges.
There have been no instances of Democratic politicians doxing ICE officials. Democratic State Rep. Corey Paris of Connecticut warned his community of nearby ICE activity, which was falsely described as “doxing” by the LibsOfTikTok X account. Democrat Rep. Robert Garcia, of the House Oversight Committee, proposed a “Master ICE Tracker” to document abuses ICE agents commit in the line of duty, which has been criticized but is not “doxing.”
Mask-wearing remains a controversial practice, with critics arguing it allowsseveral agents to act as a secret force and avoid accountability. Federal Judge William Young, a Reagan appointee, wrote ICE wears masks to “terrorize Americans into quiescence” in a blistering, viral ruling against the Trump administration in September.
Though Jennings argued that the beleaguered ICE agents need to wear masks to protect themselves from people finding out who they are, he failed to address Rivera’s question of why ICE is the only law enforcement agency that deems masks necessary to “protect” agents.
ICE has grown increasingly unpopular after the agency committed several violent acts this year, including shooting a pastor with pepper bullets and injuring a journalist, and dragging naked children into the street as part of a Chicago raid.
Nearly six-in-ten Americans agree ICE should not be allowed to wear masks, according to an October poll by PRRI. allows
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