The White House posted a digitally altered image of a woman who was arrested on Thursday in a case touted by attorney general Pam Bondi, to make it seem as if she was dramatically crying, a Guardian analysis of the image has found.
The woman, Nekima Levy Armstrong, also appears to have darker skin in the altered image. Armstrong was one of three people arrested on Thursday in connection to a demonstration that disrupted church services in St Paul, Minnesota, on Sunday. Demonstrators alleged that one of the pastors, David Easterwood, was the acting field director of the St Paul ICE office. Bondi announced the arrests on social media Thursday morning.
Homeland security secretary Kristi Noem posted an image of Armstrong’s arrest at 10.21am on Thursday, less than an hour after Bondi’s announcement. The image shows a law enforcement agent, face blurred out, escorting Armstrong, who appears to be handcuffed. Armstrong, dressed in all black, appears to be composed in the picture.
A little more than 30 minutes later, the White House posted an image of Armstrong’s arrest in which she is crying. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt reposted the image. The image posted by the White House is altered, a Guardian analysis found.
The Guardian overlaid the White House photo with the Noem photo and found that the law enforcement agents in both pictures line up exactly, confirming they are the same image. There are other similarities between the photos. An unidentified person can be seen in the same place behind the arresting agent. And the arresting agent’s arm appears to be exactly behind Armstrong’s back.
Asked whether the image had been digitally altered, the White House responded by sending a post on X from Kaelan Dorr, the deputy communications director.
“YET AGAIN to the people who feel the need to reflexively defend perpetrators of heinous crimes in our country I share with you this message: Enforcement of the law will continue. The memes will continue. Thank you for your attention to this matter,” he said.
The White House X account, which has around 3.5 million followers, has made at least 14 posts with AI since the start of Trump’s second term, Poynter reported in October.
Julius Constantine Motal and David McCoy contributed reporting
