In a chilling display, President Trump released a video Thursday night depicting a man violently attacking an SUV with a hammer outside a Florida gas station, subsequently using the weapon against a woman who confronted him.
The incident, which occurred at a Chevron station in Fort Myers last week, involved Rolbert Joachin, who allegedly struck the woman multiple times before fleeing the scene. According to the Fort Myers Police Department's arrest report, officers found the victim unresponsive on the ground, and she was later pronounced dead by emergency personnel.
Joachin, identified as an undocumented immigrant from Haiti by the Department of Homeland Security, was apprehended shortly after the attack. Following his arrest, he waived his rights and provided detectives with a detailed confession regarding the murder.
At 40 years old, Joachin faces charges of homicide, property damage, and criminal mischief. Court records indicate he is currently transient. His public defender has yet to respond to inquiries regarding the case. Joachin's pretrial detention hearing took place on Wednesday, with his next court appearance scheduled for May 4.
The victim has been named as Nilufa Easmin, also known as Yasmin, who worked as a clerk at the gas station and was a mother to two teenage daughters.
In a lengthy post on Truth Social, Trump criticized the Biden administration and Democratic lawmakers, attributing Joachin's temporary protected status to their policies. He specifically called out “Deranged Liberal District Court Judges” for their role in these decisions.
Responses from representatives of President Biden and key Democratic leaders were not immediately available. The Department of Homeland Security noted that Joachin entered the U.S. in August 2022 and was ordered removed by a federal judge that same year. However, he was granted temporary protected status by the Biden administration, which is set to expire in 2024. This status protects individuals from deportation if returning to their home country poses safety risks.
Trump has consistently made illegal immigration a focal point of his political agenda, advocating for stringent policies aimed at rapidly deporting undocumented immigrants. He frequently cites crimes committed by undocumented individuals as evidence of Democratic failures in immigration and border security.
Despite these claims, expert analyses and data from major urban police departments indicate no significant evidence of a crime wave driven by migrants in the United States.
The Trump administration previously sought to end temporary protected status for approximately 350,000 Haitian immigrants; however, this effort was halted by a federal judge. The administration has appealed this ruling to the Supreme Court, which is expected to hear arguments soon.
When asked for comment regarding Trump's statements, the White House referred back to his remarks on Truth Social.
Trump described the surveillance footage as “one of the most vicious things” one could witness. He stated, “As I’ve said all along, if you import the Third World, you become the Third World, and that is what happened over the four years of Democrat Control.”
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed that Immigration and Customs Enforcement has placed a hold on Joachin, ensuring his deportation will proceed regardless of the case's outcome.
