(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) Leonel Moreno, a “migrant influencer” from Venezuela who posted videos on social media encouraging his fellow illegal immigrants to squat in the homes of American citizens and commit other various acts of borderline criminality, faced arrest and may incur charges for illegal possession of a firearm, according to the New York Post.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives may charge Moreno under the Gun Control Act, which prohibits parolees from possessing or receiving firearms or ammunition.
It is unclear whether the charges were related to a series of videos Moreno posted in a gun store on March 14, appearing to gloat over a judge’s recent determination that illegals were protected under the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms.
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Authorities arrested Moreno in Columbus, Ohio after failure to appear for required check-ins with the local police force and his extreme social media posts.
Many of Moreno’s posts feature him holding fat stacks of cash, which he alleged to be from government handouts, and bragging about his taxpayer-funded checks.
“I didn’t cross the Rio Grande to work like a slave, I came to the U.S. to mark my territory,” he said in a Feb. 21 post.
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“You’re hurt because I make more than you without much work while you work like slaves, understand? That’s the difference between you and me,” he continued. “I’m always going to make lots of money without much work, and you’re always going to be exploited and miserable and insignificant.”
Video sharing platform TikTok banned Moreno for his more incendiary posts, but he still has a presence on Instagram and Facebook.
He had an estimated 500,000 TikTok followers before the banishment of his account; he retained 18,500 on Instagram.
Moreno illegally crossed the border in 2022 and fled the local authorities shortly after crossing.
John Fabbricatore, a former field office director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office, said that such “absconders” are usually successful in their attempts to flee from the law.
“The ICE Alternatives to Detention program, despite its multibillion-dollar budget, is failing to meet necessary standards and has alarmingly high absconder rates,” he said. “ICE fails to track down absconders and instead just removes them from the program.”
Fabbricatore also expressed hope at Moreno’s capture and arrest, and said that illegal immigrants hoping to come into possession of firearms and ammunition should be wary of criminal charges.
American homeowners have faced arrest and death for attempting to remove squatters from their private property.
