A Temple University student was arrested Saturday night after allegedly impersonating a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent and causing a public disturbance with two other people, authorities said.
Aidan Steigelmann, 22, was charged with impersonating a public servant, a second-degree misdemeanor, and placed on interim suspension from the university, the school’s Department of Public Safety and the Philadelphia Police Department said in separate statements.
Authorities said Steigelmann and one other man, not immediately identified by police, falsely identified themselves as federal agents while donning black shirts reading “Police” on the front and “ICE” on the back. A third man with them, who was also not identified, recorded their interactions, the university said.
Temple’s Department of Public Safety briefly released a photo on social media Monday of one of the men suspected of being involved before removing it, reasoning that he had been successfully identified. The photo showed a white man with tattoos wearing a black T-shirt that said “Police.”
A spokesperson for the department declined to say whether the individual in the photo is a student at the university or if a search is continuing for the third individual involved. A public information officer for the city’s police department also told HuffPost that they had no additional information to share.
Police said authorities were first called to a campus residence hall around 9:45 p.m. Saturday after the two unidentified men introduced themselves as police and ICE agents to campus security. The pair left the building once Steigelmann arrived and before police showed up.
Ten minutes later, the trio allegedly pulled off the same stunt while inside a nearby Insomnia Cookies business, prompting another call to police.
Two of the men took off in a light-colored SUV while Steigelmann was taken into custody nearby 15 minutes later, authorities said.
The university issued a warning Sunday that any student found responsible for this type of conduct faces disciplinary action, including potential expulsion.
“It is deeply troubling and disappointing to know behavior like this reportedly occurred on our campus,” the school’s chief of police and vice president for public safety, Jennifer D. Griffin, said in a joint statement with the school’s vice president for student affairs, Jodi Bailey Accavallo.
“Our commitment is to provide a welcoming environment for all our students, faculty and staff, and we will continue to support the Temple community,” they said while reminding that there have been no reports — by Temple’s Department of Public Safety or the Philadelphia Police Department — of federal ICE agents being on campus.
The Philadelphia Police Department is asking anyone with information about the incident to contact Central Detectives at (215) 686-3093. Tips can also be submitted anonymously by calling or texting the police department’s tip line at (215) 686-TIPS (8477).
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The incident comes amid heightened fears and tensions after President Donald Trump ordered massive deportation raids of undocumented immigrants across the country. A Philadelphia car wash was reportedly subjected to a raid by ICE last week, resulting in several people being taken into custody.