Conservative media watchdog Newsbusters highlighted that major broadcast networks largely ignored or minimally covered what it described as an attempted terror attack on a federal building tied to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations near Boise, Idaho.
A suspect remains at large after allegedly stealing an ambulance, loading it with pre-staged gas cans, ramming it into a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) office building in Meridian (a Boise suburb), and attempting to set the vehicle and structure on fire. The incident occurred late Wednesday night, February 18, at the Portico North building leased by DHS for administrative purposes.
Meridian Police Chief Tracy Basterrechea described it as premeditated, with the suspect retrieving hidden accelerant from nearby vegetation before crashing the stolen Canyon County Paramedics ambulance from St. Luke’s Meridian Medical Center into the structure at about 25 mph around 11:10 p.m.
🚨 BREAKING: An attempted terrorist attack to KlLL ICE agents in Idaho just FAILED
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) February 20, 2026
Thank GOD.
Per local police, the assailant stole an ambulance, loaded it up with gas cans, and drove into a DHS office in Idaho
PLEASE pray for DHS heroes tonight 🙏🏻
pic.twitter.com/zt4xHCx1UH
Authorities classified it as suspected attempted arson and a potential domestic terrorism incident. First responders arrived quickly, preventing ignition and forcing the suspect to flee; no injuries or fire resulted, and officials stated no ongoing public threat exists. The joint investigation involves Meridian Police, FBI, DHS, and state agencies.
Newsbusters' Jorge Bonilla criticized the broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, NBC) for mostly omitting the story from evening newscasts. Only ABC's World News Tonight aired a segment, featuring correspondent Pierre Thomas on the manhunt, premeditation evidence, and the suspect's failed arson attempt after ramming the building. CBS and NBC provided no coverage, per the analysis.
Bonilla framed this as part of a broader pattern: immigration enforcement violence has become an "afterthought" on evening news since the 2020 Minneapolis unrest faded, with efforts to obstruct ICE—often violently—persisting "whether or not they make the evening news."
The building houses DHS administrative offices but is not an ICE detention or processing facility, and police clarified ICE agents are not stationed there. Some conservative outlets and social media amplified the story as an "anti-ICE" or "radical leftist" attack amid heightened national immigration tensions under the Trump administration's enforcement push. Mainstream local reporting (e.g., Idaho Statesman, KIVI) focused on the facts of the crash and search without emphasizing terrorism labels, while right-leaning sources like Gateway Pundit and Geller Report tied it directly to anti-ICE sentiment and called for stronger responses.
The suspect has not been identified or apprehended as of February 20, with authorities urging tips.