Apple ditches ICEBlock app, used by Dallas shooter to target agents

Apple has taken down Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) tracking apps in the aftermath of the anti-ICE shooting in Texas, as well as after pressure from the Trump administration. Last week, a shooting took place at an ICE facility in Dallas, where multiple people were shot, and two people detained at the facility died from their injuries.

The suspect in the shooting, Joshua Jahn, had been searching for ICE using the ICE tracking app, ICEBlock, according to authorities. Officials from the DOJ asked Apple to take down the app. "We reached out to Apple today demanding they remove the ICEBlock app from their App Store — and Apple did so," US Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement to Fox News.

"ICEBlock is designed to put ICE agents at risk just for doing their jobs, and violence against law enforcement is an intolerable red line that cannot be crossed," Bondi continued. "This Department of Justice will continue making every effort to protect our brave federal law enforcement officers, who risk their lives every day to keep Americans safe."

Controversy surrounded the app when it was first launched, with mainstream media outlets such as CNN covering the software and being accused of "promoting" it to their audience in June. Jahn died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the scene, and authorities revealed pictures of the bullets used in the case, which had anti-ICE slogans inscribed onto the casings, much like left-wing and Antifa-related slogans were written on bullets in the assassination of Charlie Kirk in Utah.

Marcos Charles, who is the acting director for ICE's removal operations, told the press that Jahn had every intention to murder ICE agents the day of the shooting. "The evidence is clear that this was intended as an assault on ICE personnel who come to work every day to do their job," Charles said. "Violent rhetoric has led to an over 1000% increase in assaults on ICE officers, and it has to stop."

Apple commented on the removal of the ICEBlock app, "We created the App Store to be a safe and trusted place to discover apps. Based on information we’ve received from law enforcement about the safety risks associated with ICEBlock, we have removed it and similar apps from the App Store."