Incident details
- Date of incident
- February 24, 2025
- Targets
- Max Blumenthal (The Grayzone)
- Border point
- Washington Dulles International Airport
- Target nationality
- US citizenship status of target
- U.S. citizen
- Denied entry?
- No
- Stopped previously?
- No
- Asked for device access?
- No
- Asked intrusive questions about work?
- No
Border Stop
Reporter Max Blumenthal, seen above on the video podcast “Judging Freedom,” was stopped for secondary screening at Dulles International Airport in Virginia on Feb. 24, 2026, by a customs official who referenced an appearance of his on the show.
Journalist Max Blumenthal was stopped by a Customs and Border Protection agent at Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia on Feb. 24, 2025, after returning from a family vacation in Nicaragua.
As Blumenthal approached the customs line, a man who identified himself as a CBP agent called him by name and escorted him to a secondary screening room, Blumenthal told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.
While walking to the inspection area, the officer told Blumenthal, who is founder and editor for online outlet The Grayzone, that he had watched a recent appearance on former Fox News host Andrew Napolitano’s online program, “Judging Freedom.”
Blumenthal had appeared on the show twice that month to discuss the Israel-Gaza war and the war in Ukraine. When Blumenthal asked what the agent thought of the interview, the officer declined to answer.
“This is just a friendly exchange,” the agent told him, according to Blumenthal’s recounting of the experience on social platform X. “You’re not a target or anything.”
Blumenthal said he was asked to complete a questionnaire with personal information and details about his trip. After he finished, the agent turned the form over to reveal a handwritten list of several names and asked Blumenthal whether he knew any of them.
According to Blumenthal, two were what he described as “Anglo” names, and three were common Muslim names. He told the agent he didn’t recognize any of them.
“I kept saying, ‘Why is this happening? Like, what is the nature of this?’ And he just said, ‘I can’t tell you for privacy reasons,’” Blumenthal told the Tracker.
After several minutes, the agent told Blumenthal he was free to leave.
Blumenthal said he believes authorities targeted him for his reporting.
“The interaction felt like an act of political harassment, and seemed to signal an escalation against journalists and activists who’ve expressed antiwar, anti-Zionist views,” he wrote on X.
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately return a request for comment.
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker catalogs press freedom violations in the United States. Email tips to [email protected].
