More than 130 individuals were reportedly arrested this weekend as US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), conducted “Operation Charlotte’s Web” in the state’s largest city, Charlotte. On Monday, the operation headed east toward the capital city of Raleigh, drawing criticism from Democratic Gov. Josh Stein.

The CBP-led operation focuses on criminal illegal aliens, according to press statements from the federal Department of Homeland Security. The “Charlotte’s Web” operation began on Saturday throughout the Charlotte area.

Rob Brisley, a spokesperson for US Customs and Border Protection in the southeastern region, which includes North Carolina, told news outlets that 130 people were arrested in Charlotte on Saturday and Sunday.

“Americans should be able to live without fear of violent criminal illegal aliens hurting them, their families, or their neighbors,” said DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “We are surging DHS law enforcement to Charlotte to ensure Americans are safe and public safety threats are removed. There have been too many victims of criminal illegal aliens. President Trump and Secretary Noem will step up to protect Americans when sanctuary politicians won’t.” 

Operation commander Gregory Bovino shared on social media details about several arrests, noting the criminal histories of some migrants, including charges such as DUI, DWI, aggravated assault, assault with a dangerous weapon, felony larceny, and more. 

Stein also took to social media Sunday night to criticize the federal operations. 

“We’ve seen masked, heavily armed agents and paramilitary garb driving unmarked cars, targeting American citizens based on their skin color, racially profiling and picking up random people in parking lots and off of our sidewalks, going after landscapers simply decorating a Christmas tree in someone’s front yard, and entering churches and stores to grab people,” said Stein. “This is not making us safer, it’s stoking fear and dividing our community. I want to say a word about immigration. We are a nation of immigrants and our state and this country is stronger because of our immigrant communities.”

Stein highlighted the importance of having secure borders, but he slammed Congress for having a broken immigration system. 

“Unfortunately, our immigration system is broken, but rather than fix it, the federal government continues to play politics with it. It is long past time for Congress to act. We need strong borders,” Stein said in the video. “We must hold accountable and deport anyone who has committed a serious crime and we must create a path to legal status for those who’ve been here a long time, paid their taxes and followed the law, especially our dreamers who came to this country as very young children.” 

Former Democrat governor, turned Senate candidate, Roy Cooper echoed similar criticisms as Stein. 

“I’ve prosecuted violent criminals and fought to keep them behind bars, so I know the importance of using federal resources to deport violent criminals and keep our borders strong,” wrote Cooper on X. “But randomly sweeping up people based on what they look like, including American citizens and those with no criminal records, risks leaving violent criminals at large while hurting families and the economy.” 

Anderson Clayton, chairwoman of the North Carolina Democratic Party, claimed on social media over the weekend that CBP was “stealing” members of the Charlotte community. When Bovino responded with the US Border Patrol position that they are “arrresting criminal aliens who are walking the streets with impunity,” Clayton fired back with an expletive. 

NCGOP Chairman Jason Simmons pushed back on how Democrats have reacted to CBP’s operations in Charlotte.

“Democrats at all levels are choosing to protect criminal illegals over North Carolina citizens,” said Simmons. “Threats to federal law enforcement agents are up 1,000% this year because of the rhetoric we see from the Left. Now, they’re showing more outrage over removing violent criminals from Charlotte’s streets than the brutal murder on a mass transit system of Iryna Zarutska.”

Federal officials have not set a timeline for operations in North Carolina. This story will be updated with any new developments.

Topics on this page
North Carolina Roy Cooper Josh Stein North Carolina Republican Party Democratic Party Donald Trump Charlotte United States Senate United States Congress Twitter U.S. Department of Homeland Security U.S. Customs and Border Protection Kristi Noem
More