The Trump White House yesterday posted a manipulated photo of Nekima Levy Armstrong, a Minnesota civil rights attorney who was arrested after protesting in a church where a pastor is allegedly also an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official.
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem posted what seems to be the original photo of Armstrong being led away by an officer yesterday morning. A half hour later, the official White House X account posted an altered version in which Armstrong’s face was manipulated to make it appear that she was crying.
“The White House shared an AI-edited photo of Nekima, depicting her in tears and scared when, in actuality, she was poised, determined, and unafraid,” NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson said yesterday.
Reader-added context on X said, “This photo has been digitally altered to make Nekima Levy Armstrong appear to be in distress. The Director of DHS herself posted the unedited photo in an earlier announcement.” White House Deputy Communications Director Kaelan Dorr defended the post after criticism of the image manipulation.
“Enforcement of the law will continue. The memes will continue. Thank you for your attention to this matter,” Dorr wrote. The White House post with the manipulated image called Levy Armstrong a “far-left agitator” who “orchestrated[ed] church riots in Minnesota.”
A DHS press release about the arrest used the same image posted by Noem, without the alteration.
“There was no one crying”
Jordan Kushner, an attorney for Levy Armstrong, said, “It is just so outrageous that the White House would make up stories about someone to try and discredit them. She was completely calm and composed and rational. There was no one crying. So this is just outrageous defamation.”
Speaking to The Associated Press, Kushner also said that the “video Levy Armstrong’s husband shot ‘dismantles what they claim’ and that the video would be released soon.”