NBC ‘News’ runs dizzying false spin on arrest of citizen during ICE raid, DHS corrects story

NBC News is proving that no matter how much disdain you have for the mainstream media, it’s not enough.

The illegal immigration crackdown being carried out by President Donald Trump’s administration has exposed the shameless side of legacy media, which have never met a story they aren’t willing to spin to match their narrative.

Take the arrest of Leonardo Garcia Venegas, a Florida citizen who was detained at a Foley, Alabama, job site on Wednesday. He was released after his identification was verified, but to hear NBC News tell the tale, he is the traumatized victim of an authoritarian government on a racist tirade against all brown people.

A U.S.-born citizen who was wrestled into the dirt, handcuffed and detained in a vehicle as part of an immigration raid had a REAL ID on him that was dismissed as fake, the man’s cousin said Friday. https://t.co/UImlznrLel

— NBC News (@NBCNews) May 24, 2025

“A U.S.-born citizen who was wrestled into the dirt, handcuffed, and detained in a vehicle as part of an immigration raid had a REAL ID on him that was dismissed as fake, the man’s cousin said Friday,” reads their description of events.

A glance over the article makes it clear what kind of picture the outlet is trying to paint.

U.S.-born citizen who was wrestled into the dirt, handcuffed and detained in a vehicle as part of an immigration raid had a REAL ID on him that was dismissed as fake, the man’s cousin said Friday.

Video of the arrest, aired by Noticias Telemundo, showed authorities grabbing Leonardo Garcia Venegas, 25, while at a job site in Foley, Alabama, on Wednesday and bending his arms behind him. Someone off-camera can be heard yelling, “He’s a citizen.”

Garcia told Noticias Telemundo that authorities took his ID from his wallet and told him it was fake before handcuffing him. REAL ID is the identification U.S. citizens are required by law to have in order to travel through airports and enter federal buildings. It is considered a higher security form of identification.

But as is often the case with such emotional reports, that’s not the whole truth.

Assistant Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin took to X to respond to the sensationalism.

No. During a targeted worksite operation, the individual in question attempted to obstruct & prevent the lawful arrest of an illegal alien. He physically got in between agents and the subject they were attempting to arrest, refusing to comply with numerous verbal commands.… https://t.co/HPJeYYAzTB

— Tricia McLaughlin (@TriciaOhio) May 24, 2025

“No. During a targeted worksite operation, the individual in question attempted to obstruct & prevent the lawful arrest of an illegal alien. He physically got in between agents and the subject they were attempting to arrest, refusing to comply with numerous verbal commands. Anyone who actively obstructs law enforcement in the performance of their sworn duties, including U.S. citizens, will face consequences which include arrest,” she wrote in her post.

Writer/Columnist

Sierra Marlee is a millennial whose hunger for the truth in a world of fake news has led her to BizPac Review.

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