Trump, Noem Say CNN’s Coverage of ICE Tracking App Could Warrant Prosecution

The president and homeland security secretary allege that CNN’s reporting is harmful to law enforcement. Trump also criticizes its coverage of the Iran strikes.

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem looks on in Ochopee, Fla., on July 1, 2025. Evan Vucci/AP Photo

President Donald Trump on July 1 suggested that CNN should face possible prosecution both for reporting on a mobile app that alerts users to sightings of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and for publishing a leaked intelligence assessment about U.S. military strikes in Iran—a stance echoed by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who said she is working with the Justice Department to explore legal action against the network.

Trump and Noem made their comments during a visit to a detention center for illegal immigrants in Ochopee, Florida, where they were asked by reporters about border czar Tom Homan’s recent remarks suggesting CNN should potentially face prosecution for its coverage of the app.

“We’re working with the Department of Justice to see if we can prosecute them for that because what they’re doing is actively encouraging people to avoid law enforcement activities operations and we’re going to actually go after them and prosecute them,” Noem said. “What they’re doing, we believe, is illegal.”

When asked about Homan’s call for prosecuting CNN, the president said: “OK with me.”

CNN’s reporting on the app—which allows people to anonymously report ICE agent sightings—described its creator, Joshua Aaron, as a veteran tech developer who launched the app in April in response to the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration. Aaron told CNN that the app—called ICEBlock—is designed to help users steer clear of ICE, not to interfere with law enforcement operations.

Homan, during a recent appearance on conservative commentator Benny Johnson’s internet show, criticized CNN for covering the new app, calling it “disgusting.”

“I can’t believe we live in a world where the men and women in law enforcement are the bad guys,” he said. “It’s already a dangerous job.”

Beyond objecting to the reporting itself, Homan suggested that CNN was complicit in putting federal law enforcement officers at risk.

“This is horrendous that a national media outlet would be out there trying to forecast law enforcement operations,” he said. “I think DOJ needs to look at this. They’re crossing that line.”

“We need to send a strong message that we need to protect the law enforcement officers,” Homan added.

The controversy over the app comes after ICE arrests in the Los Angeles area sparked nationwide protests last month, with some devolving into riots, prompting the Trump administration to deploy National Guard troops and Marines to quell the unrest.

In a statement on social media, the Department of Homeland Security accused CNN of “contributing to our brave ICE officers now facing a 500 [percent] increase in assaults.”

“@Sec_Noem has been clear: If you obstruct or assault our law enforcement, we will hunt you down and you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” DHS added.

In response, CNN’s communication team defended its reporting on the ICEBlock app.

“This is an app that is publicly available to any iPhone user who wants to download it,” CNN’s communications team said in a statement. “There is nothing illegal about reporting the existence of this or any other app, nor does such reporting constitute promotion or other endorsement of the app by CNN.”

Separately, during Trump and Noem’s visit to the Florida detention center, the president also suggested that CNN should possibly be prosecuted over its reporting on a leaked intelligence assessment that cited four unnamed sources regarding the U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

“And they may be prosecuted also for having given false reports on the attack in Iran. They were given totally false reports. It was totally obliterated, and our people have to be celebrated, not come home and say what do you mean we didn’t hit the target? We hit the target,” the president said. “So they may be very well prosecuted for that. What they did there, we think, is totally illegal.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt rejected CNN’s reporting as “flat-out wrong,” accusing the network of using unreliable intelligence sources to undermine the president and U.S. fighter pilots.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also said the strikes were completely successful, saying the bombing campaign destroyed Iran’s nuclear capabilities.

The Epoch Times has reached out to CNN for comment regarding calls for possible prosecution over its Iran reporting.