Kristi Noem Repeatedly Pushed Fabricated Cannibal Story, Officials Say
Kristi Noem repeatedly told a grisly tale last summer about an immigrant who allegedly ate other people and then began to eat himself aboard a deportation flight; three federal law enforcement officials, including one from the Department of Homeland Security, now say the account was fabricated. The new disclosures intensify scrutiny of the Homeland Security secretary’s public statements and add to pressure over other controversies tied to her tenure.
Officials call story fabricated
Three federal law enforcement officials with knowledge of the matter have concluded that the cannibal account was not true. One senior official described the story as "completely false, " while two other federal officials called the claims ludicrous and said they found no corroborating evidence. The records checks produced no information to back up the incident.
Kristi Noem’s cannibal claim
In public remarks last summer, including at a press event alongside the president and in a television interview with a host named Jesse Watters, the secretary described a detainee who allegedly declared himself a cannibal, had eaten other people previously, and then began consuming his own limbs while seated on a deportation flight. At the time the account could not be substantiated; the recent statements by federal officials say the tale never occurred.
Political pressure and next steps
The revelation has compounded existing calls for accountability. Critics have urged resignation and raised the prospect of impeachment for a set of alleged actions and behaviors tied to the secretary’s handling of other incidents. One lawmaker described a pattern of abusive actions by officials and public falsehoods related to immigration enforcement. If the calls for removal persist, those demands may increase political pressure on the secretary and on department leadership.
Department officials have offered a differing explanation for the origin of the story, saying the secretary relayed what she was told by an air marshal. Federal law enforcement officials who investigated or reviewed the claim have rejected that account as inaccurate or uncorroborated.
What happens next will depend on whether the federal findings trigger formal inquiries or political actions. If additional records or corroboration do not emerge, the gap between the secretary’s public statements and federal law enforcement findings is likely to remain a focal point for oversight and criticism in the near term.
