ICE agent grilled in court over offensive social media posts including VERY tasteless remark about female hunger striker's weight

Published: 04:06, 23 May 2026 | Updated: 04:13, 23 May 2026 A US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent accused of shoving protesters during a heated anti-immigration demonstration was grilled in federal court over a series of racist and anti-transgender social media posts, including one mocking a female hunger striker’s weight. Jeremy Burlingame, a supervisory officer with ICE since 2007, took the witness stand for a second time on Friday during a federal conspiracy trial stemming from June protests outside Spokane’s ICE facility. The trial took a turn after prosecutors confronted Burlingame, their own witness, over posts linked to a now-deleted X account tied to him. Among the messages read aloud in court was a response to a woman announcing a hunger strike. ‘She could miss a few meals,’ the account allegedly replied, according to The Spokesman-Review. Assistant US Attorney Lisa Cartier-Giroux reportedly called the posts ‘horrendous’ before questioning Burlingame in front of the jury. The account also allegedly targeted Sarah McBride, the first openly transgender member of Congress, calling her ‘a mentally ill man.’ Another post mocked former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg as a ‘mentally ill soy boy.’ ICE supervisory detention officer Jeremy Burlingame was grilled over racist and anti-trans social media posts linked to a deleted X account as he took to the witness stand in a federal conspiracy trial stemming from protests outside Spokane’s ICE facility Protesters Bajun Mavalwalla II, Justice Forral and Jac Archer are accused of conspiring to impede or injure ICE officers during anti-ICE protests last year The account allegedly referred to black people as participating in ‘jungle behavior’ and ‘thug culture,’ while calling Texas Representative Jasmine Crockett ‘lying ghetto garbage,’ ‘racist’ and a ‘complete idiot.’ Transgender representative Sarah McBride was also referred to as 'a mentally ill man.'  According to Range Media, the account reposted footage of ICE agents smashing the window of a pregnant woman’s vehicle during an arrest in Spokane Valley alongside the caption: ‘Nobody f***ing cares. Go have your baby in Guatemala.’ The woman was reportedly a US citizen married to one of the detained immigrants. Other posts allegedly called Senator Chris Van Hollen ‘a treasonous traitor’ for visiting wrongfully deported migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia in El Salvador.  The account also suggested former Spokane City Council President Ben Stuckart should face federal incitement charges for urging demonstrators to block a van transporting asylum seekers to a Tacoma detention center. Burlingame admitted in court the account belonged to him but insisted the comments were not his ‘true opinion,’ blaming them on ‘a hard time’ in his life. The courtroom gallery reportedly scoffed at the explanation as prosecutors revealed ICE had begun disciplinary proceedings. Burlingame was asked about inflammatory posts he made including transphobic remarks about Rep Sarah McBride The ICE agent took the stand at Thomas S. Foley United States Courthouse in Spokane, Washington, for the second time Burlingame is testifying in the federal conspiracy trial of protesters Bajun Mavalwalla II, Justice Forral and Jac Archer, who are accused of conspiring to impede or injure ICE officers during June protests outside Spokane’s ICE office.  Defense attorney Carl Oreskovich noted that Archer is black and uses they/them pronouns while questioning Burlingame about the social media posts. Daily Mail has contacted Burlingame, ICE, Oreskovich and the US Attorney’s Office for comment. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.