allegedly

MIAMI — President Trump shared video of a deadly attack allegedly by a Haitian immigrant accused of bludgeoning a woman with a hammer at a Florida gas station, portraying the killing as justification for his administration’s mass deportation agenda.

Rolbert Joachin, 40, was arrested and charged with killing a woman on April 2 in Fort Myers, about 160 miles northwest of Miami. Authorities said the man was from Haiti and arrived in the U.S. in 2022. The woman who was killed was identified as a 51-year-old immigrant from Bangladesh and a mother of two adult daughters.

Trump, who posted the video late Thursday to his Truth Social account, has often sought to portray immigrants as bringing crime to the U.S., and the video emerging from the Florida attack presented him with a new, particularly graphic opportunity to do so. Trump also often paints Democrats and his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, as allowing in immigrants who posed a criminal or national security threat to the U.S.

Critics say the president unjustly paints all immigrants as criminals in an effort to bolster his immigration agenda, when studies have found that people living in the U.S. illegally are less likely than native-born Americans to have been arrested for violent, drug and property crimes.

“The video of her brutal slaying is one of the most vicious things you will ever see,” Trump said in his post, describing the man as an “animal.”

Graphic video captured woman’s killing

The woman who was killed was working as a clerk at the convenience store of the gas station, according to court documents. The killing happened outside the store and the man was arrested the same day.

In security camera footage of her killing posted on the Department of Homeland Security’s X feed, the man can be seen repeatedly slamming the hammer into a black vehicle parked in front of the gas station. Eventually a woman in black pants and a pink shirt comes out and appears to question him.

The man, wearing a yellow shirt and black shorts, walks up to the woman and immediately swings the hammer at her head. The woman falls down on the sidewalk in front of the gas station’s front doors. The man attacks the woman with the hammer multiple times before stepping over her unmoving body and walking away, out of the frame of the camera.

The victim was later identified in a police report as Nilufa Easmin, 51. A GoFundMe started by Samir Bahadur Syed, the President of the Bangladesh Association of Southwest Florida, described her as a “devoted mother who worked tirelessly to provide for her two young daughters.”

Syed said that Easmin arrived in the United States about three decades ago and resided in Miami and Palm Beach before moving to Florida’s west coast. She was a single mother, and her two daughters — one 23 years old and the other about 26 — were born in the U.S., Syed told the Associated Press.

He added that Easmin had been working at the convenience store for nearly five months and that she also held another job.

Fort Myers police said they responded to a report of a woman being hit with a hammer at a Chevron gas station. When officers arrived they found a woman on the ground with blood around her head and multiple cuts.

Officers later located Joachin walking on the street and took him into custody. The police said he has confessed. He was charged with murder and property damage and appeared in court on Wednesday. His arraignment is set for May 4.

An email message sent to the public defender listed in court records as Joachin’s lawyer seeking comment was not immediately returned.

Trump administration criticizes temporary deportation protections

Trump blamed Biden for granting the man temporary protection to stay in the U.S.

Kelly Walker, acting field office director for ICE enforcement and removal operations for the Miami field office, said during a news conference Friday that Joachin arrived in a “water vessel” near Key West, Fla., in August 2022. He was arrested and given Temporary Protected Status in 2023. That status was revoked this week, Walker said.

The Trump administration has harshly criticized the use of Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, which can be granted by an administration to citizens of a country going through turmoil or strife. Immigrants who qualify are allowed to stay in the U.S. and work for a temporary period, although Republican critics contend that the Biden administration misused its TPS authorities to broadly allow hundreds of thousands of people to stay in the country.

There are several lawsuits at the federal courts challenging Trump’s efforts to terminate TPS for more than one million people, including 350,000 Haitians. In March, a federal appeals court sided with a lower judge’s ruling against the end of temporary status for Haiti and the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on April 29.

The Department of Homeland Security and the Trump administration have often highlighted crimes committed by immigrants and created a website where one can look up people arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the crimes they’ve committed in the U.S.

The administration often highlights “Angel Families” who have lost family members to crimes committed by immigrants.

On Thursday, ICE held an event marking the one-year anniversary of the reopening of an office dedicated to assisting those families, including emotional testimony from some of the surviving family members.

Salomon, Bellisle and Santana write for the Associated Press. Bellisle reported from Seattle and Santana from Washington.

Rams star receiver Puka Nacua, who was involved in a string of off-the-field situations the last few months, including an alleged biting incident that led to a civil lawsuit, entered a rehabilitation care facility in March, his attorney confirmed Wednesday.

Last week, a woman filed a civil lawsuit against Nacua, alleging that on New Year’s Eve he made an antisemitic statement during a group dinner and later bit her shoulder. Attorney Levi McCathern told The Times before the lawsuit was filed that Nacua denied the allegations and that Nacua would “pursue all available legal remedies in response to these false and damaging statements.”

The California Post reported Wednesday that Nacua had checked into a Malibu rehab facility. A Rams official declined to comment.

In a statement to The Times on Wednesday, McCathern said Nacua “voluntarily entered a private facility to focus on his health, personal growth, and overall development — and I’m really proud of him for doing that ahead of his upcoming season.

“He is committed to using this time constructively so that he can return in the best possible position — both personally and professionally — to continue contributing to his team and the game he loves.”

The Rams are scheduled to begin offseason workouts under coach Sean McVay on April 20. In the statement, McCathern said that Nacua would complete the program in time to participate in Rams organized team activities. That part of the offseason program begins several weeks into the offseason.

“Puka is deeply grateful for the support he has received from his family, friends, Coach McVay, and his teammates,” McCathern said. “It is unfortunate that a trivial lawsuit has drawn attention to him during a time when he is committed to becoming a better person. I am excited to see what the future holds for this exceptionally talented young man.”

The lawsuit was the latest situation involving Nacua that cast a spotlight on the fourth-year pro.

During a livestream last December, Nacua criticized NFL officials and made a gesture regarded as antisemitic. Nacua apologized, and the Rams and the NFL issued statements condemning antisemitism and discrimination. But after the Rams’ loss to the Seattle Seahawks, Nacua criticized officials in a social media post from the locker room. The NFL fined him $25,000.

Nacua, 24, led the NFL with 129 receptions last season, was voted All-Pro and was a finalist for NFL offensive player of the year. He is entering the final year of his rookie contract, and he is eligible for an extension that could equal or surpass the deal Seattle Seahawks receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba recently signed that includes $120 million in guarantees.

On Monday, at the NFL owners meetings, McVay repeatedly said, “I trust this kid’s heart,” and later said “he understands what the responsibility is, not exclusive to just the production on the field.”

General manager Les Snead described Nacua as “ young man, becoming,” who is “continuing to evolve” as a person and player. Snead and Tony Pastoors, the Rams’ chief operating officer both said on-the-field performance is not the only factor that is taken into account when making decisions regarding contract extensions.

“It isn’t just, ‘OK, turn it on on Sundays and make decisions from there,’” Pastoors said. “We have to take in every data point we can.”

A U.S. Air Force F-35A fighter was forced to divert from a combat mission over Iran and make an emergency landing at an undisclosed U.S. airbase in the Middle East, the Pentagon has confirmed to TWZ. At this stage, details of the incident are very scarce, but there are meanwhile unconfirmed reports, and a video, suggesting that the jet was struck by Iranian fire. The video in question, if true, indicates a system was used that we have repeatedly highlighted as a top threat to allied aircraft, including stealthy ones, operating over Iran.

Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for U.S. Central Command, told TWZ that the F-35 was “flying a combat mission over Iran” when it was forced to make an emergency landing.

“The aircraft landed safely, and the pilot is in stable condition,” Hawkins added. “This incident is under investigation.”

The U.S. Air Force has deployed F-35As from multiple units in support of Operation Epic Fury, while carrier-capable F-35C versions from the U.S. Marine Corps have been operating from the supercarrier USS Abraham Lincoln. Hawkins confirmed to us that a U.S. Air Force jet was involved.

The Israeli Air Force additionally operates a version of the jet, the F-35I Adir, which has also been used in combat against Iran.

According to a report from CNN, which cites two unnamed sources familiar with the matter, it is thought that the F-35 may have been hit by Iranian fire.

Hawkins declined to comment to TWZ about whether the aircraft was hit by hostile fire.

There have been reports that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) released the video below, which claims to show the F-35 being hit over Iran, as seen through a forward-looking infrared (FLIR) system, but this cannot be independently verified.

Iran’s IRGC released a footage reportedly showing U.S. F-35 jet being hit over Iran.

Note that we can’t independently confirm the authenticity of the footage. pic.twitter.com/9N0ePd2LLf

— Clash Report (@clashreport) March 19, 2026

As far as we know, there have been no previous confirmed incidents of U.S. aircraft having been struck by Iranian air defenses since the conflict began at the end of last month. Three U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles were lost, but these fell to Kuwaiti friendly fire in an incident that remains puzzling. At the same time, some kind of friendly-fire incident cannot be ruled out on this occasion, too.

Meanwhile, a U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker that was taking part in Epic Fury crashed in Iraq, for reasons that remain unclear.

As we have discussed in our previous reporting, the skies of the Middle East are far from completely safe for U.S. and Israeli air operations.

An Israeli Air Force fighter was “almost shot down” over Iran, early on in the conflict, The Times of Israel has reported, citing the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

According to the IDF, an attempt was made to shoot down the jet, and it was “close to being hit.”

The Israeli military further claims that the attempted shootdown “failed due to the alertness and professionalism of the pilot,” the military says, adding that the sortie “was completed successfully.”

For all the defense-suppression missions that have been flown, Iran still possesses road-mobile air defenses as well as more exotic types that can pop up virtually anywhere and give aircrews very little time to react. These systems can be easily hidden and will remain a threat on the battlefield long after static air defenses are destroyed. Beyond that, there are man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS), which, while less of a menace in terms of outright performance and engagement envelopes, are impossible to entirely remove from the battlespace.

The reality is that, even for the F-35, there are risks, especially as the air campaign moves more toward direct attacks, bringing aircraft closer to potential threats. While the U.S. has claimed air supremacy over Iran, it certainly does not yet possess it across the entire country.

Declarations of air superiority are relative. Iran has road mobile air defenses that can hide and pop up out of nowhere. They have exotic stuff like loitering SAMs too. Moving fighters in for direct attacks doesn’t mean they can operate freely without threat, especially in some…

— Tyler Rogoway (@Aviation_Intel) March 5, 2026

As we pointed out in our recent analysis:

Moving to a direct attack-focused campaign comes with new risks. This is especially true when it comes to facing road-mobile air defenses and more exotic types that can pop up virtually anywhere and give aircrews very little time to react. These systems can be hidden pretty much anywhere and will be present on the battlefield long after fixed air defenses are completely destroyed. Electro-optical and infrared (EO/IR) surface-to-air missile systems are especially vexing, as U.S. fourth-generation fighter aircraft would have no idea they were being attacked until they are struck, unless they visibly see the missile launch and head their way. These aircraft lack missile approach warning systems. The F-22 and F-35 benefit from different versions of this capability. EO/IR SAM systems are also not affected by radiofrequency jamming, unless they use a radar for initial targeting.

Speaking today, Gen. Dan ​Caine, ​the ⁠chairman of the Joint ​Chiefs of ​Staff, ⁠told reporters: “We’re flying further to the east now and penetrating deeper into Iranian airspace to hunt and kill one-way attack drone garrisons, destroying Iran’s ability to project power outside of its borders.”

Flying further east in Iran brings more threats, compared to the more-sanitized airspace in the west.

Again, as we warned in the past:

Underestimating Iran’s ability to target and destroy coalition aircraft would be a perilous move. Even the improvised systems cobbled together by Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen, as well as their hodgepodge of other air defenses, have taken their toll on advanced fighter aircraft operated by Gulf Arab states and challenged even the most advanced fighters in the U.S. inventory. Iran’s capabilities, even in a deeply degraded state, far exceed those of the Houthis.

U.S.-operated F-35s have, at times, run the gauntlet against the relatively primitive air defense threat offered by the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Iran.

Last year, a U.S. official told TWZ that one of the stealth fighters had to take evasive maneuvers to avoid being hit by Houthi surface-to-air missiles. “They got close enough that the [F-35] had to maneuver,” the official said. Meanwhile, an Air Force F-16 pilot was awarded the Silver Star Medal after dodging multiple surface-to-air missiles during operations against the Houthi rebels. 

In fact, as you can read about here, the particular nature of Houthi air defenses appears to have prompted an increase in the use of stealthy aircraft like the F-35, in turn, exposing them to unconventional threats. If the same thing may now have happened in Iran, it should hardly come as a surprise.

Provided that the published video of the claimed shootdown is the real deal, that would point to the real possibility that the jet was targeted by a passive sensor, the same kind we repeatedly warned about. The footage looks very similar to that showing Houthi air defense equipment of this kind in action. As we noted in our analysis posted earlier in this story, passive systems can give off no radio emissions, making them especially hazardous to aircrew.

🇾🇪🇺🇸 | The Houthis show footage from the shootdown of another U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Reaper UCAV.

If I’m not mistaken, that would be the 20th MQ-9 downed by the Houthis from Yemen. pic.twitter.com/SCwRVLSs7s

— Status-6 (War & Military News) (@Archer83Able) April 18, 2025

It should be recalled that, at this point, we are still awaiting confirmation on exactly what led the F-35A to declare an emergency. TWZ continues to reach out to CENTCOM for more details about the incident.

We will continue to update this developing story.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com