Does CNN Have Blood on Its Hands in Anti-ICE Shooting?

The anti-ICE shooting in Dallas this week wasn’t just the act of a deranged gunman. It was the predictable outcome of years of media-driven demonization of immigration enforcement. The left’s rhetoric lit the match, but it’s the corporate press that kept pouring gasoline on it.

FBI investigators say this was no spontaneous outburst. It was premeditated, deliberate, and designed to terrorize immigration officers. The shooter, 29-year-old Joshua Jahn, positioned himself on a rooftop overlooking the Dallas ICE field office and opened fire on a detainee transport van and the building’s secure entry point. The shooter hit three detainees, and one of them later died. Agents narrowly avoided the intended massacre. Jahn left a note making his intent crystal clear: “Hopefully this will give ICE agents real terror, to think, ‘is there a sniper with AP rounds on that roof?’”

The FBI has since confirmed that Jahn’s preparations were extensive. He obsessively searched for assassination videos, studied the Charlie Kirk killing, mapped out ICE facilities, and even used tracking apps to monitor agents. On the rooftop, police recovered a rifle, ammo, and bullets marked with anti-ICE slogans. His digital trail showed “a high degree of pre-attack planning.”

And here’s where the media’s fingerprints are all over this. Back in June, CNN promoted one of the same apps Jahn used. That kind of “journalism” isn’t reporting—it’s propaganda dressed up as virtue, and it emboldens radicals who see ICE agents as legitimate targets.

“Three months ago, CNN irresponsibly gave free publicity to an app that recklessly shares the location of ICE Agents,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday in a post on X. “It has now been revealed the leftist lunatic shooter who opened fire on the Dallas ICE Facility was using one of these apps. “

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Leavitt continued, “The liberal media is complicit in the increased threats and violence against ICE. We see it every day — they are quick to write a fake story portraying ICE in a negative light, often omitting the real facts of these cases, and they hardly ever write about the vicious criminals that ICE is arresting every day to make our country safer.”

She’s right. Democrats and their media allies have spent months portraying ICE as jackbooted thugs rather than professionals enforcing immigration law against criminals, traffickers, and repeat offenders. When outlets glorify apps built to track ICE movements, it’s no surprise when extremists take that coverage as a green light. The press didn’t hand Jahn the rifle, but they created the atmosphere where pulling the trigger could be justified as “resistance.”

This wasn’t just Joshua Jahn’s rampage—it was the inevitable result of a media machine that has spent years vilifying ICE agents. Hostile headlines casting them as villains, puff pieces glorifying activists who obstruct their work, and the reckless promotion of dangerous apps like the one CNN showcased all help create a toxic environment where radicals feel justified in turning propaganda into bullets.

The media didn’t hand Jahn the rifle, but they gave him the moral permission to pull the trigger. And let’s be clear: this will not stop with Dallas unless the left takes responsibility for the climate of hate they’ve fostered. The Democrats’ incendiary rhetoric and the media’s reckless coverage don’t just smear ICE—they encourage others to see law enforcement officers as targets, not protectors. Until they change course, more agents, more detainees, and more innocent bystanders will be at risk.

Violence like the Dallas ICE shooting is predictable when the media fuels hatred, portraying ICE agents as enemies. The left’s rhetoric lit the fuse, and CNN’s promotion of deadly tracking apps handed the radicals a roadmap. PJ Media VIP uncovers the truth mainstream media buries. Join PJ Media VIP for exclusive content and ad-free browsing using code FIGHT at 60% off. Don’t let lies silence the truth!