The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) denied Wednesday an individual arrested during a prostitution sting operation in Bloomington, Minnesota worked as a background checker for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Brashad Johnson, 36, was one of 30 arrested during Bloomington Police Department’s “Operation Lookin’ For Love…In All The Wrong Places,” Bloomington Police Department Booker Hodges said in a press conference on Tuesday. Hodges called the arrest “the most disturbing” the department has made.
“He is a backgrounder for ICE, Homeland Security, and federal agencies. So, when you’re getting your security clearance, this is one of the guys that does your backgrounds,” Hodges claimed during the press conference.
“Which is kind of scary,” the police chief added. “We locked him up. I don’t think he’s gonna be passing a background check no time soon.”
The DHS denied Johnson is affiliated with ICE in any capacity.
“This individual is NOT an ICE employee or contractor,” a DHS spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation in a statement. “He has no affiliation with ICE. This is just another smear peddled by sanctuary politicians and the media leading to a 1,300% increase in assaults against our brave ICE law enforcement.”
Local outlet KSTP — a St. Paul-based ABC affiliate — first reported Johnson’s alleged status as an ICE contractor Tuesday. The claim was later reported by The Daily Beast and The Independent. Media clippers also posted Hodges’ statement to X. Independent journalist Nick Sortor claimed on the platform that Johnson was a Department of War (DoW) contractor.
The DoW has not verified this claim and did not immediately respond to the DCNF when asked for a comment.
A spokesperson for the Bloomington Police Department contacted the DCNF after publication stating, “It is our understanding that he works for the Department of Defense as a contractor,” referring to the DoW by its other name.
According to the spokesperson, Johnson was “in possession of United States of America Department of Defense identification card and indicated he was a contractor that was authorized to conduct federal background investigations.” The spokesperson added that the department “confirmed this with the Federal Government.”
The Bloomington Police Department did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s emails asking for comment and transferred the DCNF’s call to voicemail.
“For clarification, Chief Hodges stated the individual was a backgrounder for ICE, Homeland Security [and] Federal Agencies, for the purpose of security clearances,” the spokesperson added in a later separate statement sent to the DCNF. “Later in the press conference, during the question portion, [at the 19:52 minute] even clarified the individual worked for the Department of Defense (DOD). He again reiterated, the individual did background checks.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect the comments from the Bloomington Police Department sent post-publication.
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