On CNN This Morning, former Obama DHS official and CNN analyst Juliette Kayyem tried to claim that Dallas ICE shooter Joshua Jahn couldn't have had any leftist political connections. Her evidence: that he got the message on a bullet wrong:

She has developed a new niche: dismissing the political connections of leftist shooters. Earlier this month, our Alex Christy caught Kayyem doing that in the case of Tyler Robinson. 

Now Kayyem is claiming that Dallas ICE shooter Joshua Jahn couldn't have had leftist political connections. 

"In this case, you see someone who didn't seem at all involved with ICE or anti-ICE testament [sentiment?]. In fact, on his casing, he says Anti-ICE, which isn't even the language of the politics of our time, which tends to be Abolish ICE.  That linkage is is something that people like me are studying because it's inexplicable at this stage. Someone who is not aligned with a political movement performing something that obviously has political consequences and is unjustified."

Case closed! He wrote Anti-ICE instead of the officially-approved phrase: Abolish ICE. Yup, no way did he have leftist political connections! That's like saying "Hey fascist! catch" on a bullet casing isn't anti-fascist. 

Kayyem claimed that Jahn had "no political involvement. I mean, he's not identified with any party." But oops, according to the New York Times:

"Mr. Jahn, according to records, voted in a Democratic primary in March 2020 in Texas."

Although Kayyem was loath to tie Jahn to terrorism, she had no such reluctance regarding President Trump. Shortly after January 6th, Kayyem accused Trump of being the leader of a terror movement. A year later, I caught Kayyem saying, "I think I was too kind" with that assessment. 

Notes:

• Kayyem employed a new-to-me bit of liberal lingo today. Discussing the shooting, she twice described Jahn as having "performed" something. Why not simply say he "did" something?
• As is her custom, CNN host Audie Cornish introduced Kayyem simply as a "former Department of Homeland Security Secretary," failing to mention Kayyem having been appointed by President Obama. If a guest has a Republican connection, Cornish doesn't fail to mention it.

Here's the transcript.

CNN This Morning
9/25/25
6:31 am EDT

AUDIE CORNISH: This morning, two people who were in custody at a Dallas ICE facility are in critical condition after being shot. Another detainee is dead. The Trump administration is investigating as, quote, targeted violence. 

FBI Director Kash Patel posted these images of bullet casings found near the shooter yesterday, one of them appearing to read Anti-ICE. 

Sources say the shooter is identified as 29-year-old Joshua Jahn. He died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. 

Speaking to CNN last night, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said the shooter wasn't targeting anything specifically. 

KRISTI NOEM: We know that there was bullet holes all over the building. It wasn't just targeted at one specific area or through a window, that he showered the building with bullets and was very much focused on hitting anyone that he could inside and making sure that they were victims of his attack. 

CORNISH: Joining us now, former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Juliette Kayyem. Juliette, thanks for being with us. 

JULIETTE KAYYEM: Thank you for having me. 

CORNISH: First, let's just start with the facts of what is known or has been revealed about the shooter. What can you tell us? 

KAYYEM: So, we don't know much in terms of what, sort of, prompted him to do this on this day. He is described as sort of a drifter. He does have no serious job. He has one criminal conviction related to marijuana in 2016. 

And no political involvement. I mean, he's not identified with any party. His friends that we've interviewed don't describe him as politically engaged. 

. . . 

So there's a rapid expansion, growth in terms of hiring, and tremendous pressure from the White House to get numbers. So you're seeing, as we know, these are big debates in this country, a lot of division, in particular in cities, about what ICE is doing. That leads to to two things. One is legitimate, which is criticism. In a democracy, communities, people have a right to ICE's expansive mandate because they clearly aren't just going after criminals and violent criminals. They're going after people who I think were not expected to be part of this major mass deportation. 

Lots of people can oppose and never get to violence. In this case, You see someone who didn't seem at all involved with ICE or anti-ICE testament [sentiment?]. In fact, on his casing, he uses, he says Anti-ICE, which isn't even the language of the politics of our time, which it tends to be Abolish ICE, and then goes to violence. 

That linkage is something that people like me are studying because it's inexplicable at this stage. Someone who is not aligned with a political movement performing something that obviously has political consequences and is unjustified. 

. . . 

JD VANCE: In Dallas, Texas, an ICE facility, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility, was opened fire upon by a violent left-wing extremist, a person who wrote Anti-ICE messaging on their bullets. 

And there's some evidence that we have that's not yet public, but we know this person was politically motivated. They were politically motivated to go after law enforcement. 

CORNISH: I'm playing that for you, because he says it's information that's not yet public. And what are you going to be listening for in the coming days? 
KAYYEM: That's exactly right. So it's a very nuanced distinction. Someone can perform something that is politically motivated, in this case unjustifiably targeting an ICE facility, but not be aligned with a political movement.