As you’ve no doubt heard, HSI conducted a search of Ilhan Omar’s home this morning, purportedly as part of an investigation into the immigration paperwork her father submitted when she was a child. A lot of people are making much of the fact that HSI got a warrant to conduct the search.
But that means nothing, because there is a crime wave of HSI agents who have lied to frame Democrats or other Trump opponents, in one case on the direct orders of Todd Blanche’s office and in another after a wave of misconduct from Harmeet Dhillon.
There are at least 36 known affidavits attested by HSI agents targeting Democrats or Trump opponents that have included false claims, and when you count all the shenanigans in Minnesota, probably well over 50.
We have a crime wave — of HSI Agents who are lying to frame Democrats.
Ricky Patel submitted the false affidavit used to justify the kidnapping of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka on May 9, 2025. As Baraka laid out in his (unsuccessful, for Westfall reasons) lawsuit, Patel made two false claims in the affidavit.
40. Defendants Habba and Patel conspired, with others, to abuse their offices and effectuate the arrest premised upon a knowingly false Affidavit stating that “Ras Baraka, did, knowing that he was not licensed or privileged to do so, enter and remain in a place as to which notice against trespass was given. In violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 13 and N.J.S.A. 2C:18-3.” The Affidavit further details that the Mayor “unlawfully entered and remained in the Delaney Hall Facility.” Criminal Complaint, United States v. Baraka, No. 2:25- mj-11131-AME (D.N.J. May 9, 2025). In fact, Mayor Baraka was invited onto the property by an agent of the private company that owns the property and was instructed by that agent to remain there for approximately forty-five minutes until he voluntarily and peacefully exited the private property.
41. Additionally, Mayor Baraka left Delaney Hall when ordered to do so by someone who was not a representative of the owner of the property. Neither element of trespass is met in this case.
Patel conducted that kidnapping on Todd Blanche and Kristi Noem’s orders.
1:16: I am arresting the Mayor, so.
1:16: 30: I got it, I got it. We’re taking him right now.
1:16:50: I’m going to take him right now.
[Hangs up phone]
1:16:55: Okay, even though he stepped out, I’m going to put him in cuffs.
1:17: Guys, listen to me. We’re going to walk out of the gates. I’m going to place the Mayor in handcuffs. We are arresting the Mayor, per the Deputy Attorney General of the United States. Anyone who gets in the way, I need you guys to get me a perimeter.
See this post for more.
Ryan Ribner is the Cybersecurity Agent who first assaulted, then arrested, SEIU CA President David Huerta on June 6, 2025.
When he first submitted a report excusing his assault and the subsequent arrest, he falsely claimed Huerta had assaulted his buddy, Casey Crook, who was the first person to assault Huerta.
SDDO C[rook] exited the gate area and walked toward HUERTA, SSA Ribner followed behind SDDO C[rook] acting as his cover agent for officer/agent safety purposes. SDDO C[rook] confronted HUERTA and placed his hands on HUERTA’s chest area and pushed HUERTA out of the pathway of the USG vehicle. HUERTA then placed his hands on SDDO C[rook] and pushed him back. At that time SSA Ribner attempted to grab HUERTA as he was falling backwards. SSA Ribner attempted to place HUERTA under arrest for impeding the vehicle and battery to a federal officer. HUERTA fell on the ground as SSA Ribner again attempted to grab his arm to place him in custody. SSA Ribner verbally informed HUERTA he was “under arrest” a few times. HUERTA made comments to SSA Ribner that he was not under arrest. HUERTA’s body shifted to the side as SSA Ribner started issuing verbal commands informing HUERTA to “stop resisting”.
Not only did video evidence debunk that claim, but Crook told a different false story to excuse his actions when he was interviewed, that Huerta had splayed himself across a van like an “X.” And the claim he made on the arrest affidavit offered still another false story (that Huerta resisted arrest).
Much later — and in association with the MN-15 investigation, Ribner and his HSI buddies falsely accused SEIU of being involved in terrorism financing to get a PATRIOT Act legal process targeting SEIU.
See this post for more.
As laid out in this post, Richard Berger wrote the arrest affidavits for the arrests of 24 anti-DHS protestors whose prosecutions have since fallen apart.
Note, a disproportionate number of these arrests claimed an assault of CBP officers; Berger worked at CBP for years before joining HSI.
On April 14, Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Cowan Wright picked apart multiple ways Berger’s affidavit supporting the arrest of Kirubele Adbebe differed from the video evidence.
On April 28, Magistrate Judge David Schultz described Berger submitted a false affidavit about a different defendant, Gillian Etherington.
That affidavit was filed by Agent Richard Berger. And the affidavit states in paragraph 4 that “This affidavit is based on my personal knowledge, as well as information that I have learned.”
Now you, Ms. Stark, or the folks observing this hearing, may not be aware of this; but while I was on criminal duty in January, when a good number of these assault on federal officer cases were being filed by way of criminal complaint and we had affidavits from Mr. Berger, in all of them I became concerned with the veracity of the affidavits.
And so I questioned Mr. Berger about the basis for his affidavits, and specifically I asked him to outline the process by which he and other agents were conducting the information download at the Whipple Building.
It became quite clear, it is without doubt in the court’s mind, that Mr. Berger does not, did not have any personal knowledge of the events described in the affidavits that he has submitted to this court as sworn affidavits. He swore that the affidavit was based on “personal knowledge,” among other things. That’s a false affidavit.
At least 36 arrests made based on HSI affidavits (that is, 12 attested by people other than Berger, just one of whom seems to have the same kind of serial problems with sworn affidavits) have fallen apart.
According to filings from Georgia Fort, HSI Agent Timothy Gerber submitted at least eight affidavits falsely claiming that Fort chanted along with protestors at the Cities Church protest.
To make matters worse, Special Agent Timothy Gerber’s rejected application about Ms. Fort is predicated on materially false information. He falsely stated under oath in an affidavit in case number 26-MJ-206-JFD that “FORT went into the Cities Church, using her camera as the weapon to intimidate, threaten and scare the congregants.” See 26-MJ-206-JFD, ECF 3, ¶ 27. There is of course no factual (or legal) basis for such an assertion. Special Agent Gerber also falsely stated that Don Lemon’s livestream depicted Ms. Fort participating in various chants, including “ICE Out!,” “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot!,” and “Stand Up, Fight Back!” Id. at ¶ 16. The agent’s statements about Ms. Fort are plainly contradicted by multiple livestreamed video streams from the church, including the Church’s own. In fact, those videos—and all other evidence produced so far by the government, including statements taken from eyewitnesses—shows the opposite, conclusively demonstrating that Ms. Fort did not chant with the agitators on January 18, 2026, and acted purely in her capacity as a journalist.
Regrettably, the government doubled down on these false assertions. For example, it repeated in numerous other investigative reports and sworn affidavits the allegation that “Broadcast video obtained from Cities Church shows” Ms. Fort “chanting with agitators,” including:
- 26-MJ-88-SGE;
- 26-MJ-89-SGE;
- 26-MJ-107-DJF;
- 26-MJ-108-DJF;
- 26-MJ-109-DJF;
- 26-MJ-113-DJF; and
- January 31, 2026 Pen-Trap submitted in E.D. of Pennsylvania.
He only started making that claim after Douglas Micko denied Gerber’s first attempt to get an arrest affidavit, making it more likely that Gerber lied because he had already been told there was not probable cause that Fort committed a crime.
A top Harmeet Dhillon lawyer, Robert Keenan, has confessed that the claim Fort chanted at the church is false. He claims it is just “inadvertence.”
The statement about Fort chanting was incorrect, but the error was due to simple inadvertence. The characterization of the camera as a weapon, though not ideal editing, is immaterial. Although the Government regrets any error and does its best to avoid them, mistakes are inevitable.
He did so, of course, after Harmeet engaged in multiple kinds of misconduct — disseminating AI slop, platforming people talking about betting on an indictment, lying about what the Eighth Circuit said, claiming she would hunt Don Lemon “to the end of the earth,” platforming false claims that defendants were terrorists, and exhibiting all kinds of animus towards defendants.
See these posts (one, two, three) for more.
The post HSI Agents Ricky Patel, Ryan Ribner, Richard Berger, and Timothy Gerber All Made False Claims to Frame Democrats appeared first on emptywheel.