Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) defended anti-ICE rhetoric Thursday, telling MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that criticism of federal immigration enforcement does not amount to incitement to violence, even as attacks against agents and facilities escalate nationwide.
The Connecticut Democrat’s remarks came just days after a deadly shooting at an ICE facility in Dallas. Investigators said 29-year-old Joshua Jahn targeted the center with a rifle, killing one detainee, critically wounding two others, and then taking his own life.
Authorities later discovered handwritten notes Jahn left behind describing plans to terrorize ICE personnel. One note read: “Hopefully this will give ICE agents real terror, to think, ‘is there a sniper with AP rounds on that roof?’” Law enforcement officials said the writings show Jahn’s clear intent to spread fear and inflict violence on federal officers.
Murphy, however, insisted that strong criticism of ICE does not cross the line into incitement.
“No, criticizing the way that ICE is rounding up people in this country in a deeply inhumane and immoral way is not an incitement to violence,” he said. “That’s not how our system works.”
Murphy added that the threshold is only crossed when individuals explicitly plan or direct attacks. He claimed political opponents use violent incidents selectively to stifle dissent on the left and to suppress criticism of immigration enforcement.
The senator’s defense of forceful rhetoric highlights the growing national debate over free speech, political protest, and public safety.
ICE agents have increasingly been targeted in recent years, with DHS reporting a sharp rise in physical assaults, doxxing of officers, and threats against their families since January, when the Trump administration intensified immigration enforcement.
In July, a gunman ambushed an ICE facility in Alvarado, Texas, injuring a police officer. That same month, another attacker targeted a Border Patrol agent in McAllen, Texas. Officials say the surge of incidents reflects both heightened enforcement efforts and a wave of hostile activism directed at federal immigration authorities.
Murphy’s own past statements have drawn scrutiny, with critics pointing to his use of combative language in political speeches.
The day before the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk earlier this month, Murphy told a crowd, “We’re in a war right now to save this country. And so you have to be willing to do whatever is necessary in order to save the country.”
Many conservatives say such rhetoric sends the wrong message, blurring the line between passionate advocacy and calls to violence. They argue that when political figures describe opponents in wartime terms, it encourages extremists to act out those words in dangerous ways.
Meanwhile, protests against ICE continued Friday in Chicago, where demonstrators blocked a federal vehicle from entering a facility in Broadview. Video published by The Blaze showed protesters striking the SUV and shouting threats. According to The Post Millennial, chants included “arrest ICE” and “shoot ICE.” Police responded with pepper balls and tear gas and made several arrests.
It was the fourth consecutive week of demonstrations at the site, underscoring how sustained anti-ICE activism has become in some communities. Authorities say while most protests remain nonviolent, the overlap of street-level disruptions and high-profile political rhetoric raises the risk that individuals could escalate to more serious attacks.
Security experts warn that the combination of aggressive political language, real-world demonstrations, and an already polarized climate creates fertile ground for lone actors who see themselves as soldiers in a larger conflict.
“When you have elected officials talking about war, and protesters in the streets chanting about violence, it doesn’t take much for someone unstable to connect those dots,” one former DHS official told Fox News.
