Professor Advocates Doxxing ICE Agents, Sparks Controversy

OVERLAND PARK, Kansas — An English professor at Johnson County Community College has sparked controversy for advocating the doxxing of ICE agents and community interference in their operations, an audit of his social media account shows.

Steve Werkmeister, who uses the handle “Steve W” on Bluesky, shared a flyer from a left-wing advocacy group that teaches anti-ICE activists to use whistles to disrupt ICE operations. The flyer suggests blowing whistles allows people to follow ICE caravans, alert neighbors, and join together.

In addition, he reposted a statement from John Pavlovitz, an activist, urging people to “out” relatives who work for ICE, saying, “Good people need to start outing their ICE family members, neighbors, and community members.” Werkmeister has frequently referred to federal immigration enforcement as “kidnapping” and has expressed fear for his family’s safety due to their ethnicity.

In an Oct. 10 post, Werkmeister explained that he had communicated with college officials about potentially teaching online from overseas out of fear of being “kidnapped by the government at any time since our skin is brown.” He described a previous return to the U.S. as filled with anxiety over potential detention due to their racial identity.

His social media includes statements targeting White individuals, indicating that he feels hunted because of his ethnicity. In a post from June 26, he noted, “It’s psychological terrorism for the crime of being born brown in America.”

A spokesman for Johnson County Community College defended the institution’s values, emphasizing its commitment to open dialogue. Werkmeister did not respond to requests for comment.